I watched this movie last weekend. Great show, great company, greater lessons.
The place: Thermopylae, Greece
The people: Leonidas vs Xerxes
The plot: Hold a narrow pass till reinforcement arrive
The pain: Betrayed by a deformed soul
The price: $7
The movie is about the greatest goal line stand of all time:
300 hundred Spartan warriors were all that stood in the path of a million-man Persian army. The Persian king, Xerxes, tried to march his guys through the tiny Spartan army which was holding a narrow pass between the ocean and sheer cliffs.
The Spartans were renowned for their incredible bravery, and ferocity, on the field of battle. Persia's million men were stopped in their tracks and couldn't advance on their way to Athens. As a true Spartan king, Leonidas led by example and remained in the front ranks with his men during the battle. The Spartans had known before the battle that it was hopeless, and basically, a suicide mission. They knew the numbers were overwhelming, but they wanted to slow the advance of the Persians just long enough for the Spartan allies to form a defense, and like true warriors, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their comrades, utterly willing to fight to the death. They knew their sacrifice would allow the Athenians to regroup, hopefully saving Greece.
The finale came three days later when the Spartans were betrayed by their own, who showed the Persians a secret pass around and behind the Spartans. Sandwiched between two opposing forces, they were forced into retreat against the cliffs. Even with their spears and swords broken, and their shields smashed, the Spartans fought on with even their bare hands and teeth. The Persians were so intimidated, they brought in the archers to finish the job. Since the Spartans considered the shooting of a man from a distance an act of complete cowardice, they stood their ground, knowing they hadn't adequate defense, yet defiantly facing the enemy without fear; they'd learned to transcend the fear of death and walk in total presence. The Spartans were at peace in the midst of this chaos and accepted their deaths.In at least one way, the film is true to the ethos of ancient Greece: It conflates moral excellence and physical beauty (which, in this movie, means being young, white, male, and fresh from the gyms). Here are just a few of the categories that are not-so-vaguely conflated with the "bad" (i.e., Persian) side in the movie: black people. Brown people. Disfigured people. Gay men (not gay in the buff, homoerotic Spartan fashion, but in the effeminate Persian style). Lesbians. Disfigured lesbians. Ten-foot-tall giants with filed teeth and lobster claws. Elephants and rhinos. The Persian commander, the god-king Xerxes is a towering, bald club fag with facial piercings, kohl-rimmed eyes, and a disturbing predilection for making people kneel before him.
Meanwhile, the Spartans, clad in naught but leather man-briefs, fight under the stern command of Leonidas, whose warrior ethic was forged during a childhood spent fighting wolves in the snow. Leonidas likes to rally the troops with bellowed speeches about "freedom," "honor," and "glory," promising that they will be remembered for having created "a world free from mysticism and tyranny."
Another of the Spartans' less-than-glorious customs is the practice of eugenics, hurling any less-than-perfect infant off a cliff onto a huge pile of baby skeletons. Unfortunately for the 300 at Thermopylae, this system of racial cleansing isn't foolproof: One deformed hunchback, Ephialtes, manages to make it to adulthood and begs Leonidas for a chance to serve Sparta in the 300. Sure enough, when he's turned down, the hunchback confirms his moral weakness by accepting Xerxes' offer to join ranks with the Persians.
Meanwhile, back home in Sparta, Leonidas' wife, Gorgo, engages in some plot-padding political intrigue with the evil Theron. Theron wants to persuade the Spartan council not to send reinforcements to the desperately outnumbered 300. The noble and sexy Gorgo finally gives herself to Theron in exchange for a chance to persuade the council.
7 Key lessons learned in this movie:
1. Steadfastness in the face of odds. There was this spirit of determination, a courage to resist an overwhelming situation. They displayed such spirit which refuse to surrender. They encouraged us to hold our ground against impossible odds.
2. Strength are available when we fight as a unit/ team. According to history, the Spartans developed a technique known as the "phalanx", a wall of overlapping shields and layered spearpoints spanning the entire defense line that proved unbeatable against as advancing foe.
3. Ancient combat are fought with hands; modern ones are fought with head and heart. There was a scene when King Leonidas coached his son on the art of combat, ending with these words, "You fight with your head", followed by his mother who added, "then with your heart". How true, when physical and visible strength and techniques expire, we must draw the ultimate power from within, the heart -our seat of passion and guts.
4. Keeping morale high is vital for survival. Discouragement and fault-finding is poisonous. Morale is contagious, whether high or low.
5. Training and discipline is essential in order to fight the good fight in life. The Spartans were drilled to slay the enemies like a well-oiled machine. This same fighting tactics are still been studied till this day in modern warfare. Mental training and continuous learning is vital for keeping "in shape" for life challenges.
6. Learn to master your fear, whatever it may be. Fear cripples and paralyses your performance, render you ineffective to complete the task at hand. Master them, or they master you.
7. Stay out of politics. It is a dirty game. You will inevitably and eventually get screwed (like the queen).
My best line: "See...I brought more men than you".
My Conclusion:
I will serve out my life purpose and mission with unwavering dedication and steadfastness, to and for those that count on me for love and protection;
to and for the child that aspire one day to be just like me.
I will find and define clearly my "Thermopylae", and guard it at all cost.
I will discipline myself to be physically and mentally fit and firm.
I will remember to fight with my heart, to excel through passion and purpose.
I will choose to be positive and energising to those around me, to be an oasis of motivation and a pillar of strength for my fellow friends.
I WILL!!!
