The Battle Of Thermopylae, By Zack Snyder And Staring...

Society wants to believe in warriors who are so epic, that the mind can barely fathom the seemingly impossible things they achieve. As a result, tales of warriors accomplishing terrific feats are transformed into warriors unrealistically doing the impossible. Thus, the myth of the warrior is created by people’s desire to believe in the unbelievable. The movie â€Å"300†, directed by Zack Snyder and staring Gerard Butler as Leonidas, is the perfect example of how people’s craving for a fantastic warrior tale results in the creation of an embellished myth. This film is based on real events that occurred at the battle of Thermopylae, yet certain elements have been changed for the sake of satisfying the warrior myth. Due to society’s desire for warrior myths, the movie â€Å"300† reinvents the battle of Thermopylae by overstating Leonidas and his 300 men’s physical capabilities, the power of the Persian forces and, by distorting the battle i tself. Leonidas and his 300 men are characterized as blood thirsty warriors who are utterly void of fear. While the film does include some factual information about the fortitude of Spartan warriors, most things are elaborated. Spartans were inspected for any birth defects and, if any were found, then the baby Spartan would have been discarded. The movie makes note of this in the opening scenes when Leonidas is born (1:15). Also, Spartan children were in fact taken to barracks at the young age of 7 to begin military training. Once again, the