300: Rise Of An Empire

[TheGlyphstone]

Okay, so... would you be okay with a movie about, say, the American war for independence with broadswords and machine guns? And with the British being portrayed as barbarians ruled by a demon-worshipping king?

After all, this movie would definitely look awesome...

[consortium11]

Okay, so... would you be okay with a movie about, say, the American war for independence with broadswords and machine guns? And with the British being portrayed as barbarians ruled by a demon-worshipping king?

After all, this movie would definitely look awesome...

Absolutely fine with it.

I don't believe anyone blew their top over Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter for an extreme example. Likewise on the more moderate front I don't think anyone considered Gladiator a poor film because of its historical inaccuracies or that Apocalypse Now is poor because it doesn't portray the Vietnam war accurately.

If anything the fact that both 300 films are so ridiculous, over the top and inaccurate actually makes them less harmful in that regard. The most insidious historical inaccuracies are those which are subtle enough to not leap out and so tend to settle in the mind and become part of popular culture. The fact that the 300 movies director's notes appear to go "It needs more EPIC!" for every scene pretty much means its clear you're not watching something with even a hint of realism.

[RubySlippers]

I would only be concerned if you take a movie seriously if a normal person, then it would be an issue, but they have over the top movies like 300 (both) or Knights Tale which was a good popcorn flick but is hardly an historical movie.

[Beorning]

Hmmm. Let's continue with the analogy, then...

What if a movie was made in Great Britain that would take upon the subject of American revolution in that manner? As, the leaders of the revolution are demon-worshippers and the rest of Americans are barbarians? And the movie's lead character would be a couragous demon hunter named Benedict Arnold..?

[Oniya]

You realize, NaNoWriMo is coming up soon...

[Beorning]

Ah! I never have time to participate...

[TheGlyphstone]

Would still watch it, and enjoy the heck out of it, because I'm intelligent enough to be capable of distinguishing history from fiction, and have the elementary-level education necessary to know the history of my own country. Alt-history stories, particularly ones that blend science fiction or fantasy into the historical narrative, are some of my favorite things to read/watch.