![The queen simply nods her head and the messenger in kicked down into an endless pit. The
rest of the Spartans follow his actions and the messenger’s associates are killed. A huge
difference between the original film and the re-make, is that the king considers himself to
be on the same level as the rest of Spartan society, no matter who they are.
This is a sign of the times, in the mid-2000s, there was a lot more emphasis on gender
equality in society. On one occasion do we see the queen try and gain power and respect in
society and this is when she speaks to the council on behalf of her husband about his
decision to go to war with Persia. Although the only way that she was able to speak in front
of the council in the first place was through being blackmailed.
The queen was blackmailed into being abused in order to have her say and so even though
she did receive the tiniest bit of power to speak in front of the powerful, the only way for
that to happen in the first place was through men allowing it and blackmailing her to allow
her to. This proves that men still had the power over women.
The queen never smiled. She was the only one who truly understood the extent of the
situation, other than the king. She knew that it was unlikely that she would ever see her
husband again and that her country was in danger, yet no one took the time to listen to her.
The famous line “Only Spartan women give birth to real men.” This shows the queens pride
of being a Spartan and in conjunction to gender, it portrays the idea that other men are
worthless.
In relation to the representation of age in ‘The 300 Spartans’, only white upper class, middle
aged men were used. This was a reflection of what America was like at the time, a country
full of working successful middle-aged white men. No children were used in the making of
this film and this is because it was believed that the role of children was to be seen and not
heard. It was believed that they played no part in society and they added nothing to it.
As mentioned previously, there was the increasing movement of young rebels occurring at
the time of the film’s release. This external influence is portrayed in the film through the
love story which we are able to follow. The love story consists of two young lovers wanting
to be together through a tough time. We see that they will do anything to be together whilst
the male counterpart is fighting for his country.
In the film ‘300’ there is a significant contrast in the way that age is portrayed. At the
beginning of the film an old man is holding a new-born baby off of the edge of a cliff. The
reason for this being that it was believed that if a child was seen to be deformed in anyway,
they were no good to Spartan civilisation and would ] be thrown off of the cliff, and so in
this instance the old man is analysing the baby for any possible defects. We later come to
realise that this baby is in fact the child who later becomes to be King Leonidas. The film
shows and reflects all ages ranging from new-borns to the elderly.
Similarly to ‘The 300 Spartans’ film, this is a reflection of what society was like at the time of
release for the remake of the film. This external influence showed that no matter what age
you are, you are important. Contemporary society came to realise that children were the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/task2-180616140052/85/Task-2-7-320.jpg)
Task 2
- 1. Task 2 This illustrative essay will compare the films ‘The 300 Spartans’ (1962) directed and produced by Rudolph Maté and ‘300’ (2006) directed by Zack Snyder. Each topic spoken about will compare the original with its remake. The genre of ‘The 300 Spartans’ is an historical epic, which aims to replicate, include or base its events around a historical moment in time. In the 1960s cinema was very popular, and so it was believed that a piece of media that focuses itself around the genre of a historical epic would attract large audiences. At the same time the cold war was at its peak, and this is clearly represented in the film. The cold war began in 1947 and lasted until 1991. After the Second World War, it was the battle for power, and the top two contenders were the USA and the USSR. It is commonly known that the Americans were the smaller force yet still higher in power out of the two, whilst the Russians were a significantly larger force, still with great power. The filmis almost a form of propaganda to represent this historical battle for power, because the Spartans are meant to represent the Americans as small but mighty, whilst the Persians represent the USSR, a much larger opposition again with great power and force. The producers incorporated at the time, modern situations into its production. This was a huge external factor that influenced how the film ran and what it consisted of. These type of films became increasingly popular, which, in turn, led to other productions, such as ‘Ben Hur’ (1959), ‘Spartacus’ (1960), ‘El Cid’ (1961), ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962), and ‘Cleopatra’ (1963). Due to its popularity, the industry pumped money into films of this genre as they knew that they were bound to succeed. “300” is classed as a historical action fantasy. The film started its own genre and was new to Hollywood. It is based on a graphic novel, and this is shown through the use of effects and colours used in the film, which are similar to that of the novel. “Sin City” (2005) was the first film to ‘bring a comic to life’ followed by “300”. The reason the comic like movie was done, is due to its popularity. As the style increased in admiration from audiences, the media production “Beowulf” (2007) was produced. Although it was animated, it was still comic based. Through the use of CGI (Computer Generated Image), the realismof the comic based movie was possible. A significant amount of CGI was needed as many of the scenes produced in the comic, were not possible to create and reconstruct without it. Comic-book style violence was used in the film “300”. It was exaggerated due to its increased popularity and the fact that it is widely accepted in society. The stars included in “The 300 Spartans” were chosen for the job for a specific number of reasons. These external factors had an influence on the film and not only increased its popularity but gave their characters a special touch. Richard Egan was assigned the role of King Leonidas. Egan was chosen due to play this role due to the fact that he was a
- 2. Hollywood heartthrob; women fancied him, he was the eye candy. Whilst women wanted to be with him, men wanted to be him, and this factor made him appealing to all audiences. Sir Ralph Richardson, known in “The 300 Spartans” for his role of Themistocles, King Leonidas’ right hand man, was chosen for the role due to the fact that he is extremely well respected. His knighthood emphasises his respectability, and as a person of high authority in society, he was the perfect candidate to be a powerful politician in this historical epic. Dianne Baker was utilised due to her good young looks. The reason it was so important for a young female to be featured as a main character, was because the producers believed that she could be relatable to the audience, especially the young viewers who were and are trying to break out and rebel in their teenage years, as this were her role in the movie. Baker’s role was to rebel against Spartan law and do the opposite of the norms in society. The love story following her and her lover is also a way that the audience is supposed to relate to her and her character. Their love story also represents the hippy movement that was occurring during the time in which the filmwas produced. It is clear, in the scenes with the two young lovers, that the female had more of an active role than the male, as the man was listening to and following the advice of his partner. Similarly in the film “300”, actors were chosen specifically for the traits that they had and the impact that they could have on the audience. Gerard Butler was allocated the role of King Leonidas in order to emphasise the hyper-masculinity that was creeping into society at the time. That is, men trying to exaggerate their masculine behaviours, such as aggression, sexuality, strength and lack of sensitivity and what would be considered feminine emotions and traits. This is also reflected in the lack of clothing of the Spartan soldiers, to promote the hyper masculine image. In all scenes, Butler gives off the impression that his character has strength, courage and determination and this is intensified through his motivation and aggression. His actions and words show that he is hardcore, and with his loud voice, he is able to capture the audience and create everlasting unforgettable scenes. He was also chosen to take the lead role in this film due to the fact that he gives off vibes that he is someone that people would want to hang around with, and this makes him likeable. His physique makes his relatable. In contemporary society, people are concerned with their appearance and he clearly is, as it can be seen due to the way his body looks and his actions throughout the movie. Lena Headey also known as the King’s wife Queen Gorgo, was chosen to be part of “300” because she is a strong and independent woman, and this is shown both in society and throughout the movie. She says it how it is, she cuts to the chase and says what needs to be said, and in terms of Sparta, this is seen as rebellious. In interviews prior to and after the release of the film, she is shown to do the same. Her ‘turbulent’ behaviour is portrayed in the film through the way that she dresses and speaks and she stands her ground to prove that she is and will combat male dominance.
- 3. There is a clear difference between the screen time allocated to the main stars in the 1960s version and its modern remake. In the 1960s version, the handful of big-name attractions had a lot more screen time and dialogue, as they were the “main attraction” for the audience, as was the trend with such films at the time. However, by the 2000s, more films were beginning to feature more than just a handful of big-name stars. Therefore, they would dedicate a more equal proportion to these actors. When creating any media production, there are always financial factors. In the first production of “The 300 Spartans”, the budget they received to create it was $8,500,000. This money went towards shipping over the cast, crew, equipment, wardrobe and props to Greece, as this is where 98% of the production was filmed. This determinant would have used up a significant percentage of the overall budget, but it was more than necessary. In addition, the production company needed to hire the Greek land from the government to enable them to film, again this would use another significant sumof money. The filmneeded to be filmed in Athens and other surrounding cities to create realismand have the audience in awe and excited about it. Considering CGI was new technology, yet so rare that it was hardly used, and only in recent years has become more popular, the budget had to include the cost of paying the thousands of extras that were used to create both the Spartan and Persian empires. Furthermore, the cost of wardrobe and props had to be considered in the final budget as they all had to be hand made for each and every person (including the extras) who needed one. In comparison, the budget for the movie “300” was much higher. The budget that was allocated to create this film came to $65 million. As mentioned previously, the production company received a large budget because the genre was so popular at the time, and so money was constantly being pumped into these types of films. The money was used to hire the actors needed to star in this production (those mentioned above as well as others). In addition the money was split up to enable the hiring and building of studios and sets to film in. This is dissimilar to the original film as all except one scene of the movie was filmed inside (a studio or set). Prop preparation for the film took approximately 60 days and so those hired to create them would have needed to be paid through the money allocated to do so in the budget. Money would have also needed to be distributed to the materials needed to create them. The majority of the money from the budget would have been allocated to the post production stages of creating this piece of media. The post production stages included the buying and creating of sound that was needed to create an atmosphere and tone in the movie. This included both sound tracks and sound effects. Hiring editors to do this job would have also used a large sum of money from the budget. 98% of the film had some sort of visual effect added to it, and this was mostly done by CGI. Examples of this include photo shopping and airbrushing the bodies of warriors and soldiers, to make them seembigger, stronger and more powerful than they already are. Also the
- 4. addition of the Photoshop and airbrush effect was used to make the bodies of the warriors look smooth and comic like. The budget also included the use of either hiring or buying green and blue screens to aid the editing stages of the production, to make realismpossible. Not only was money spent on technology used to create the production, but prior to filming it, money was spent on hardcore training for the ‘soldiers’ that were going to be featured in the film. This was to bulk up their bodies and make their soldier like acts seemrealistic. In the film “The 300 Spartans” the warriors can be seen wearing body armour, in contrast in the film “300” no body armour is worn by the Spartan soldiers. The reason for this being that the producers wanted to show off the men's bodies, and this may be due to female gaze and the desire to enhance hyper masculinity. In terms of technology “The 300 Spartans” would have used the best technology that was available to them at the time. They would have used the best cameras and the best sound recording equipment that was readily available to them at the current time of production. Little or no CGI was available to them to use in terms of editing and so they had to do what they could without it. They used the best editing techniques known to them and this most likely included the use of the Steenbeck. This meant that they had money to spend on other things, unlike “300”, which spent a large amount of its budget on the post-production elements. The production team and camera crew used 35mm film to shoot the production. If any editing was to have occurred, it would be unsurprising if it was the use of colour editing, to adapt the look and feel of shots. Unlike the original, the remake of the Spartan film would have been shot with modern technological equipment that which is significantly better than the technology used to create the first film. The film was transcoded and put into a digital format so that it could be edited and manipulated in terms of the way it looked, more easily. It was put into a 2K format which enabled CGI to be used. After the 60 days of constant filming, excluding rehearsals and training, the post-production process took approximately a year because the raw footage needed to be ordered into a rough cut, then edited as well as sound checked and sound edited. This included more than 1,500 visual effects shots. The CGI equipment used was the most modern around at the time and was by far the best equipment that one could get. Around 18 companies handled the special effects in this one film, and each of those companies used their speciality to bring the filmto life. As previously mentioned blue screen technology was used. Green screens are more commonly well known, but blue was used to ensure that there were no colour clashes or obstructions that may have been caused through the use of colours worn by actors throughout the production process. The majority of soldier’s outfits were red and there was a little if any blue clothing or items used, and so this made blue a perfect colour for the screen, as green may have clashed with the grass seen in the production. This would have obstructed the editorial stages of the production.
- 5. Distribution and exhibition are a huge part of producing a piece of media. Considering “The 300 Spartans” came out so early in terms of other media productions, cinema was the only form of distribution that could be used to exhibit the film. At the time production companies had no other alternative to distribute their productions and it was known that if I piece of media was missed at the cinema, nobody would be to able to see it again. In dramatic contrast the film “300” was able to distribute its media across a range of platforms. These included the cinema, which was shortly followed by a DVD option of the film which was available once it had come out of the cinema. In addition the PSP game “300 March to Glory” game came out as an expansion of the storyline which is hinted in the end of the 2006 film. Not only does the game show and expand on the storyline, it also gives an insight into the pre battle context and offers information about it. In addition, the game does the same for the battle and post battle stages of this famous war. This type of distribution, across different platforms and timelines of a media text is called transmedia. In addition, a website was created for fans and browsers who were looking for information, posters, storylines, video games, trailers, and behind the scenes footage, regarding the movie. Finally, as society begins to modernise, illegal streaming sites have also been used to watch this movie. Synergy regards the use and number of platforms a piece of media can be distributed on. “The 300 Spartans” only used one form of synergy, and this was the film. No other techniques were necessary or used as they had no opportunity to synergize their filmon any other platform. Again, in comparison, “300” used synergistic techniques to promote the brand across a range of platforms. As previously mentioned, the brand was first produced as a graphic novel. The second platform closely followed with the production of the film. Video games were then introduced to expand the storyline, this was made for the sequel and counts as another form of synergy. The reason that this film came out on many platforms, was to widen its potential audience. For example, if members of the audience enjoyed the film, they then may be more likely to invest in the video game to expand upon the storyline that they had received from the movie. This can give a wide experience of a brand to its audience. This idea of synergy can work in a number of ways, for example, if a person is primarily more interested in video games rather than films and enjoys playing “March to Glory”, then they may be more willing to go out and watch the movie and recommend it to friends, creating a domino effect and a positive turnover for the brand. Gender is represented in a number of ways throughout the duration of both films. In the film “The 300 Spartans” there is a clear patriarchal society shown. The majority of characters shown in the movie tend to middle aged men who have high authority or power in the Spartan community. There is also an evident hierarchy of Persians and again, this is
- 6. mainly formed of men. At the top there is Xerxes the ruler of the Persian army and soon to be ruler of the world. Simply the fact that there is a male leader at the top of both the Spartan army and Persian hierarchy, says that the all living in those times were affected by male dominance. This film had external influences that came from society at the point in time that it was produced. The filmmakes it obvious that women who lived through the time of the “Battle of Thermopylae” had less, little or no status than men. One example of this is that whilst the men are in the room and sitting on chairs, the women are sitting on the floor, which physically emphasises there lower status and level in society. Another time that this is shown is when the women stop talking after men walk into the room. Again, this shows that what the men have to say is ‘clearly’ more important, regardless of what the women are talking about. This again represented that women in society in the 1960s had little or no authority or power. In addition to this, all bar one woman is used for the appeal of the Male Gaze theory which was invented by Laura Mulvey in 1975. The Male Gaze is a theory that explains how women are exploited through the use of their bodies and other features for the visual pleasure of men and can definitely be applied to the film. Not only do the main characters in the production show femininity and its exploitation, but the use of the extras do to. Throughout the entirety of the film only one woman has power, the queen. Even still her power does not mean that she gets any respect, in fact it does the opposite and my point is proven that women are seen to have little if any status in society. It is evident that women are always stood behind the men. The males are in the foreground of the shots and the women tend to be in the background. When women are shown on screen, they are shown as weak and incapable, without the help of a man. At one point, King Xerxes says “A woman's tongue is deadlier than the sword”, which emphasises men’s opinion of women at the time. In the film ‘300’ similarly, Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory is applicable. This is done through the way that they dress and the profanity used in the filmand as a result, women are almost likened to objects rather than humans. For example the queen dresses in a surprisingly provocative manner. Not only is the male gaze applicable, but so is the female gaze; this is a theory that opposes the male gaze and suggests that men are used in media productions for the visual pleasure of women. For example through the simple fact that the majority of the time, all of the Spartan soldiers who are trained, bulky and strong are topless. Yet in contrast to ‘The 300 Spartans’ we see that women in this film are increasingly more part of society. Men are at the top of the societal hierarchy with women beside them, rather than beneath them, which is what is portrayed in the original film. A prime example of this is when King Leonidas turns to his wife to know whether or not he should kill the Persian messenger.
- 7. The queen simply nods her head and the messenger in kicked down into an endless pit. The rest of the Spartans follow his actions and the messenger’s associates are killed. A huge difference between the original film and the re-make, is that the king considers himself to be on the same level as the rest of Spartan society, no matter who they are. This is a sign of the times, in the mid-2000s, there was a lot more emphasis on gender equality in society. On one occasion do we see the queen try and gain power and respect in society and this is when she speaks to the council on behalf of her husband about his decision to go to war with Persia. Although the only way that she was able to speak in front of the council in the first place was through being blackmailed. The queen was blackmailed into being abused in order to have her say and so even though she did receive the tiniest bit of power to speak in front of the powerful, the only way for that to happen in the first place was through men allowing it and blackmailing her to allow her to. This proves that men still had the power over women. The queen never smiled. She was the only one who truly understood the extent of the situation, other than the king. She knew that it was unlikely that she would ever see her husband again and that her country was in danger, yet no one took the time to listen to her. The famous line “Only Spartan women give birth to real men.” This shows the queens pride of being a Spartan and in conjunction to gender, it portrays the idea that other men are worthless. In relation to the representation of age in ‘The 300 Spartans’, only white upper class, middle aged men were used. This was a reflection of what America was like at the time, a country full of working successful middle-aged white men. No children were used in the making of this film and this is because it was believed that the role of children was to be seen and not heard. It was believed that they played no part in society and they added nothing to it. As mentioned previously, there was the increasing movement of young rebels occurring at the time of the film’s release. This external influence is portrayed in the film through the love story which we are able to follow. The love story consists of two young lovers wanting to be together through a tough time. We see that they will do anything to be together whilst the male counterpart is fighting for his country. In the film ‘300’ there is a significant contrast in the way that age is portrayed. At the beginning of the film an old man is holding a new-born baby off of the edge of a cliff. The reason for this being that it was believed that if a child was seen to be deformed in anyway, they were no good to Spartan civilisation and would ] be thrown off of the cliff, and so in this instance the old man is analysing the baby for any possible defects. We later come to realise that this baby is in fact the child who later becomes to be King Leonidas. The film shows and reflects all ages ranging from new-borns to the elderly. Similarly to ‘The 300 Spartans’ film, this is a reflection of what society was like at the time of release for the remake of the film. This external influence showed that no matter what age you are, you are important. Contemporary society came to realise that children were the
- 8. future and they do in fact help to contribute towards it in a number of ways - and this is heavily reflected in the film. In contrast to ‘The 300 Spartans’, again a range of ages were used to make up the council. Society at the time of the film’s release clearly had a huge impact on the way that films were chosen to be portrayed, and how the producers wanted the audience to understand the film’s messages and meanings. In ‘The 300 Spartans’, every single one of the actors used were Caucasians, even the Persians. All characters were played by white actors who were made to look darker skinned. This was due to high racism at the time of production. It is clear that audiences want and almost have a need for there to be no non-white actors shown in media productions. This is similar to the film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Mickey Rooney was a Caucasian male actor who was made to look like a Japanese character. This decision was made instead of hiring a Japanese actor because producers knew it would not be accepted by the audience to have non-white characters on screen and so even though specific ethnic roles where necessary for some productions, Caucasians were used and made to look the part of any character. A key example of this in ‘The 300 Spartans’ is when the Asian Fighters known as the “Immortals” were played by white male actors and made to look as though they were part of the foreign army and exotic. At the time, Xerxes army would have been made up of people from Asia, Africa and Europe, yet only Caucasian actors would have used. In contrast, by the time ‘300’ was released the gap between the use of Caucasian and non- Caucasian actors was narrowed, allowing for more a more diverse mix of ethnicities to be given screen time. In the remake not all actors were Caucasians and it was more widely accepted for those who were not Caucasian to be in media productions. Society has become more diverse since the release of the original and is full of a range of races, cultures and ethnicities and this is heavily reflected in the film. There are more external differences that are clearly shown in both ‘The 300 Spartans’ and ‘300’. In ‘The 300 Spartans’, we can clearly see that most people were upper class, and we know this due to the way that they sound. The language of all of the characters were clearly more articulate, well-spoken and lacked any informal speech patterns or dialect. This indicates that the producers wanted to illustrate a high class society, reflecting the status of their primary audience. Even if those in the audience were not classified as upper class, many would have desired this status, hence the constant representation of ‘high society’ in films at the time. This is yet another reflection of the capitalist ideals of the time. The external influence for the language used in the film‘The 300 Spartans’ was that the people who watched the film would only accept that type of language one that was well
- 9. spoken and clean. If they accepted the language then they were more likely to respect the film and give it good reviews, increasing its chances of doing well. In comparison in ‘300’ we can clearly tell who is upper class and who is lower class. For example, King Leonidas acts as a member of lower class society due to his aggression, his tone of voice and his choice of words. In the film ‘300’ we hear a range of accents including, Scottish, English, Persian and American. This range of geographical tone is used as a reflection of the diversity in contemporary society. In terms of profanity again the two films differ. In the original film ‘The 300 Spartans’ it is evident that there is no sex, nudity, violence, or blood. The external influence of this decision was that the audience at the time of release would simply not accept it. Considering the audience influences what happens in media productions due to reviews and research, of what is liked, disliked, acceptable and unacceptable this would have caused outrage and violence towards the producers and Production Company as contemporary society would be heavily against it. In major contrast the film‘300’ uses a significant amount of profanity. We can clearly see more aggression, blood, limb loss, violence, swearing and sex. The reason for this being that society learnt to accept it by the time of the film’s release. In fact it was one of the first films that people thought this theme was ‘cool’. Audience’s knew that it was light hearted and fake, yet at the same time it caused excitement amongst them and it was almost seen as art. In today's society all published productions must be rated by the BBFC. The British Board of Film Classification is an age rating company that watches productions and decides what age groups the production is suitable for. In the 1960s there were no regulatory bodies to give certifications about who was most suited to watch a production. Now that the BBFC and other regulatory bodies are around, they’re used to safeguard children of specific age groups to ensure that the media they watch is suitable for their age.