HIST145 Assignment One: Report Films can be reviewed for many specific reasons; however films are generally

reviewed in order that the reader might inform themselves about the film based on the reviewers opinions and credibility. When considering a review from a historical perspective the opinions provided by the reviewer ought to address issues relevant to the historical profession, and ideally the reviewer themselves might have some relevant credentials. Some of those criteria are met by the review of the movie 300 by John Seavey. 1 Subsequently, each incidence will be examined on its merits as they relate to the historical profession, and then some suggestions made about how a review might be made more relevant to the historical field. Whilst Seaveys credentials in history are unknown, and it is therefore fair to say he is not a notable historian, his review raises some relevant issues2. Seavey acknowledges a film does not have to nit-pick history3 as Eugene Borza did in parts of his review.4 Seavey instead critiques the grand narrative of the film which he suggests espouses the virtue of free professional soldiers5 and their ability to defeat oppression and evil6. Seavey also ties this into another purpose of

John Seavey, Review: 300, 11 March 2007, <http://fraggmented.blogspot.com/2007/03/review-300.html> [accessed 22 March 2009]. 2 Novelists and film-makers, one is tempted to conclude, have played a more important role than historians in developing the twentieth centurys historical imagination. Modris Eksteins, All Quiet on the Western Front, in The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century, ed. by David W. Ellwood (Great Britain, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000) p. 25. 3 I did not walk into the film '300' expecting an accurate account of the early days of the war between Greece and Persia, and of the Battle of Thermopylae Seavey, p. 1. 4 The 300 are shown marching south out of Sparta (with Mt. Taygetos on the right) whereas Thermopylae is north of Sparta. Eugene N. Borza, Spartans Overwhelmed at Thermopylae, Again, 22 March 2007, <http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/300.html> [accessed 22 March 2009]. 5 we get the conservative refrain that the military culture is "better" than the civilian culture Seavey, p. 1. 6 they frequently talk about how they're "free men", equating Persia with slavery and slavery with evil. Seavey, p. 1.

history, which is to help inform the audiences opinion on current day events7. Seavey makes a convincing argument that Leonidas and the 300 reflects the then President George W. Bushs role in the War on Terror8. has the foresight to spot the need for a war, and when the cowardly and decadent Senate refuses to fund his troops, he's forced to go off alone...9 However, one of the most important issues in history is context, and Seavey appears to have forgotten this. The suggestion that Zack Snyder used the movie as a platform for a right wing message does not take into account that Snyder simply followed Frank Millars original comic, published in 199810 three years before the September-Eleven Attacks which sparked the War on Terror. Had a historian written this review, having immediately dismissed the small inaccuracies, they ought to provide a sound critique of the narrative, master narrative and grand narrative 11. The reader should understand whether they will experience the past through this movie, if they will get a sense of what this period was really like12.

films change public attitudes toward matters of social or political importance Peter C. Rollins, Introduction in Hollywood as Historian: American Film in a Cultural Context, ed. by Peter C. Rollins (Kentucky, University Press of Kentucky, 1983) p. 1. 8 This is, of course, not so much a distortion of history as a cut-and-paste replacement of it with the current conservative view of the present day. Seavey, p. 1. 9 Seavey p. 1. 10 Frank Millar, 300 #1 (of 5), (Oregon, Dark Horse Comics, Inc., 1998) <http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-655/300-1-of-5> [accessed 22 March 2009]. 11 products of both cinematic historians and book-oriented historians are essentially personal perspectives on the past, not reality itself. Robert Brent Toplin, History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past, (United States of America, University of Illinois Press, 1996) p. ix. 12 Fraser claims that the visual feel and overall sense of the age might be as important as getting the facts right Alan Rosenthal, Taking the Stage: Developments and Challenges, in Why Docudrama? Fact-Fiction on Film and TV, ed. by Alan Rosenthal (United States of America, Southern Illinois University Press, 1999) p. 2.

A historian would inform whether a viewer can gain any insight into the politics and culture of the period, and potentially predict if the movie is likely to be successful in turning the viewers toward the field of history itself13. It can consequently be seen that whilst Seaveys review goes part way to explaining the relevance of 300 to those whose interest is historical, it also has some shortcomings, notably in the area of context, when Seavey attempts to tie the grand narrative as he sees it to current events; as well as ignoring the narrative and master narrative almost entirely. The review also fails to advise whether this film actually allows the viewer to experience the past in any way.

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Hollywood, by providing splendid entertainment, has sent people to the history shelves in their millions George MacDonald Fraser, Hollywood and World History, in Why Docudrama? FactFiction on Film and TV, ed. by Alan Rosenthal (United States of America, Southern Illinois University Press, 1999) p. 18.

HIST145 Assignment One: Bibliography Borza, Eugene N., Spartans Overwhelmed at Thermopylae, Again, 22 March 2007, <http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/300.html> [accessed 22 March 2009] Eksteins, Modris, All Quiet on the Western Front, in The Movies as History: Visions of the Twentieth Century, ed. by David W. Ellwood (Great Britain, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000) pp. 18-25 Fraser, George MacDonald, Hollywood and World History, in Why Docudrama? Fact-Fiction on Film and TV, ed. by Alan Rosenthal (United States of America, Southern Illinois University Press, 1999) pp. 12-18 Millar, Frank, 300 #1 (of 5), (Oregon, Dark Horse Comics, Inc., 1998) <http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-655/300-1-of-5> [accessed 22 March 2009] Rollins, Peter C., Introduction in Hollywood as Historian: American Film in a Cultural Context, ed. by Peter C. Rollins (Kentucky, University Press of Kentucky, 1983) pp. 1-8 Rosenthal, Alan, Taking the Stage: Developments and Challenges, in Why Docudrama? Fact-Fiction on Film and TV, ed. by Alan Rosenthal (United States of America, Southern Illinois University Press, 1999) pp. 1-11 Toplin, Robert Brent, History by Hollywood: The Use and Abuse of the American Past, (United States of America, University of Illinois Press, 1996) Seavey, John, Review: 300, 11 March 2007, <http://fraggmented.blogspot.com/2007/03/review-300.html> [accessed 22 March 2009]