Movie Critics just don't get it

I have always had a rule of thumb when it comes to watching a good movie. The more the movie critics hate the picture, the better it will be.

Critics are always looking for the art, the historic value and the subtle meanings of the director. When in the public’s eye, the truth is so far removed that it is even funny. The majority of movie goers could care less about the art; the mood the director was trying to show, the value, we only want to see a good movie. It is called entertainment for a very good reason; critics simply do not grasp this concept and never will.

Take a look at a Mike Myers film, or Jim Carey when he made funny movies. Austin Powers, The Pet Detective, the critics saw disgust, we saw a funny, entertaining movie and it made millions.

All of this came to mind when reading a critic’s review of The 300 on Slate. From a historic vantage, the battle of Thermopylae has always held a significant place in history. The battle itself actually happened, a few men stood against an invading army of hundreds of thousands and held them back until they were overran and marched into the pages of history.

The article, written by, Dana Stevens, titled, A movie only a Spartan could love can be read in its entirety here. I am going to directly quote a paragraph that was not only uncalled for, but totally offended me as it should any other movie goers.

“The comic fanboys who make up 300's primary audience demographic aren't likely to get hung up on the movie's historical content, much less any parallels with present-day politics. But what's maddening about 300 (besides the paralyzing monotony of watching chiseled white guys make shish kebabs from swarthy Persians for 116 indistinguishable minutes) is that no one involved—not Miller, not Snyder, not one of the army of screenwriters, art directors, and tech wizards who mounted this empty, gorgeous spectacle—seems to have noticed that we're in the middle of an actual war. With actual Persians (or at least denizens of that vast swath of land once occupied by the Persian empire).”

Perhaps Dana needs to go to the local library and read a book once in awhile. The Persians were not nice people; in fact they burned Athens to the ground in retribution for their defeat at the battle of Marathon, when they first invaded Greece. In fact, they had their way with whatever country they wished until a young man named, Alexander the Great told them different.

These 300 men were not merely individuals united to fight an invading army, they were Spartans, bred from birth to be a warrior, to protect Greece, that was their only commerce, all that they lived for. They stood their ground and took the best the invading army threw at them and they killed over twenty thousand of them in brutal hand-to-hand combat before they lost their lives. This is the stuff of legends, but in fact, this is history.

The critic on Slate, as all critics, simply does not get it. We watch movies because we want to be entertained, period. The critic felt it was in poor taste to show a war with the Persian Empire, when in fact we are presently at war with what used to be that empire. Dana Stevens was downright insulting to the actors, the film makers and the public going to see it.

Yes, I often disagree with critics, but seldom am I actually offended by what they write and this time I was.