‘300’
Religion & Liberty Online

‘300’

I’m planning on going to see the film ‘300’ tomorrow, in all its IMAX glory.

This despite Scott Holleran’s quite critical review that calls the film “history hijacked by horror,” and says that “The script is filled with words—tyranny, freedom, reason—that go completely unsupported and have no meaning. The Spartans, portrayed as snarling animals seeking hostility for its own sake, claim superiority over mysticism, but cartoonish mystics inflict real damage, thereby negating the power of reason over faith.”

He also can’t help but draw unfavorable comparisons to the US government’s place in the contemporary global political situation. These are allusions the movie’s director has called “unavoidable,” but has also said, “The point is only that there can be nobility in sacrifice. That is a real thing.”

G4’s Attack of the Show provides a nice and short introduction to the film-making philosophy behind bringing a graphic novel to the big screen:


For some background resources on the battle of Thermopylae, especially on teaching the history of the war, check out these items from Professor Plum’s page on designing instruction on the Persian Wars. See especially this PowerPoint and this strategy page.

Jordan J. Ballor

Jordan J. Ballor (Dr. theol., University of Zurich; Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is director of research at the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy, an initiative of the First Liberty Institute. He has previously held research positions at the Acton Institute and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and has authored multiple books, including a forthcoming introduction to the public theology of Abraham Kuyper. Working with Lexham Press, he served as a general editor for the 12 volume Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series, and his research can be found in publications including Journal of Markets & Morality, Journal of Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Reformation & Renaissance Review, Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Faith & Economics, and Calvin Theological Journal. He is also associate director of the Junius Institute for Digital Reformation Research at Calvin Theological Seminary and the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics at Calvin University.