Analysis #7: (Ethnicity Studies and/or Post-Colonial Theory)

        The 2006 film, 300, can be seen as a representation of Orientalism. This film is tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, a battler between the Spartans and the invading Persian army. The Persians pose a threat to Sparta and so the Spartan King Leonidas must fight the Persian King Xerxes to protect his country. He gathers an army of 300 soldiers to block the passage of Thermopylae. One of the characters named Ephialtes, a deformed man, wants to fight in the war with the Spartans. However, since the Spartans must be incredibly fit for battle and are fearsome warriors, Leonidas cannot allow a disfigured man to join his army. Ephialtes hopes are crushed and so vows to take revenge. He goes to Xerxes and agrees to show him the goat path if only Xerxes will provide him with women and wealth.

        This YouTube clip depicts the negative portrayal of the Persian army, which consists of various Eastern cultures. As the Spartans are preparing for battle and lamenting over their dead, the Persians are represented as having a lavish orgy and abandoning all morality. Ephialtes enters this orgy and is seduced by various women who fawn over him. They are portrayed as women who have dark hair and skin with barely wearing clothing. They are covered in riches and are even portrayed as having sexual relations with the opposite sex. Edward Said’s, “Orientalism” demonstrates how Westerners construct ideas of the East. He states, “Orientalism can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient—dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, by settling it, ruling over it..” (1868). He also illustrates how it is only representations, assumptions, and stereotypes regarding the lifestyle of the East. Said also demonstrates how the East is represented as people who are overpowered by the West and are suppressed because of their oriental culture. Since Ephialtes did not obtain the qualities of a fearsome, powerful, white good-looking Spartan, he was classified as “the other” which is represented by the people from the East. Said also states, “And yet, one must repeatedly ask oneself whether what matters in Orientalism is the general group of ideas overriding the mass of material—various kinds of racism, imperialism, and the like dogmatic views of ‘The Oriental’ (1872). The West views the East as people who are barbaric, uncivilized and exotic. In this clip, we can see that the Persians are represented as both barbaric and exotic at the same time. They are portrayed as very sexual beings whose only concerns involve sex and money.

        The Spartans on the other hand, are portrayed as men who are well defined and have human qualities instead of barbaric ones. The Persian women in this clip are shown as having deformities and dehumanized. The Spartan women, especially the wife of Leonidas, are depicted as strong, capable, and faithful to their husbands. The Persians are seen as inferior, unattractive, and immoral, the complete opposite of what the Spartans represent. Said also states, “Thus the history of Orientalism has both an internal consistency and a highly articulated set of relationships to the dominant culture surrounding it” (1883). The relationship between the Spartans and Persians that is conveyed in this film shows how the Spartans are considered more articulated than the Persians. The evil Persians serve to emphasize how wicked the Spartans are and vice versa. The Spartans are conveyed as the heroes whereas the Persians are demonized. 

Works Cited:
 300. "The Seduction of Ephialtes" YouTube. 18 October 2007. Web.
Said, Edward. "Orientalism". The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.

W.W. Norton &  Company; Second Edition. New York, 2001. Pages 1866-1888, Print.