Ideological underpinnings of a movie Essay

An expectation has arisen among get hold of-critics and listenings, that panorama-makers allow deal with the serious issues, much(prenominal) as racism and violence, at a serious level. In other words, it is pass judgment by critics and film-goers alike that films will have heart. However, if meaning is expected what precisely creates and slip aways meaning in a film? As Louis Giannetti points proscribed in his book, Understanding Movies (2008), the presence of political orientation in a film impacts the film in its entirety, from note to theme.In Giannettis estimation, ideology is other language system in film and this language is largely conveyed with with(predicate) decree (Giannetti, 453). In order to help illustrate the way that ideology determines films, Giannetti offers a series of categories into which the influence of ideology in film stub be functionally divided. The succeeding(a) discussion of the film three hundred (2007) will use Giannettis intellec tions as a support-structure to show how meaning in film is ultimately determined by the films prevailing ideology.In any discussion of meaning in film, it will be key to distinguish betwixt what might be considered overt or even propagandistic meaning and thematic or expressive meaning. Of seam this distinction is quite artificial and the both hypothetically divided types of meaning are often bingle and the same. That said, there is often a dazzling difference mingled with a film which has an explicit propagandistic agendum than a film which is based on generating thematic and emotional subtlety. The icon ccc offers, even to the most casual informant, an example of what Giannetti calls Explicit ideology (Giannetti, 449).In this category of ideological discipline, a pictorial matter serves, at to the lowest degree partially, as obvious propaganda for a viewpoint or cause. That 300 functions as a form of propaganda is easily argu able. However, it is s deadly more(pr enominal) difficult to atom exactly what specific cause or theme is being for competeded by the films ideology. In order to determine the films ideological bearing, closer attention must be paid to its content and its artistic tone. Giannetti mentions that tone in a film laughingstock be one of the most important smells of presenting the films ideology.What Giannetti means by tone is its manner of presentation (Giannetti, 489). For example, in the image 300, any issuance of important scenes, if played with a comic or else than a doughty tone, would create a different response in the viewer and therfore communicate a different ideological vision. Imagine the scene where Leonidas kicks the Persian courier defeat the well if the well had sounded out a loud eruct after swallowing the messenger, the tone of the scene would have mocked the idea of Spartan plume and Spartan loyalty rather than celebrating it.The reason that tone is so important in a film is that it defines the way the audience will assess and judge the characters and scenes of a film. Because as Giannetti insists, Tone can strongly strike our responses to a granted effectuate of values (Giannetti, 489), tone is closely committed to ideology and theme. In the example presumption above, Leonidas kicks the Persian messenger down the well and this scene is presented in a heroic tone. From the out particularize of the film, the viewer is cued-in to understand that the Spartans are heroic and that they operate from a sense of self-exaltation and fearlessness.The tone of heroicism is conveyed not that through the action of the scene, solely through the stylized representation of the characters as muscle-bound heros. The Mise-en-scene of the film is connected to the opthalmic color-schemes of comic books and graphic novels. The sense of legend permeates the film, as it permeates the actual diachronic event. Therefore, the most supreme or dogmatic tone of 300 can be considered heroic. The fact that a characterization has a controlling tone does not mean that other types of tones are not present in isolated scenes.In fact, the opposite is generally the case. The shifts against the dominant tone withal help to convey meaning and ideology in a film. If the controlling tone of 300 is heroic, then the scenes that play against this dominant tone, much(prenominal) as the scene where Theron rapes Queen Gorgo, serve to reinforce the films dominant tone and ideology. When Theron tells the Queen she will not enjoy what is going to dislodge to her, the tone of the scene is tragic rather than heroic, and Therons status as a villain is cemented in the audiences minds.The scene, by portrait graphically, the rape of Spartas Queen reinforces the heroic sacrifice of Leonidas and his men. Another picture of films that influences ideological language is the ethnic mise en scene in which a given film is make and shown. Cultural circumstance is a crucial facet of a films ide ological meaning. The expectations of a given audience rest on the fact that E rattling nation has a diagnostic way of looking at life, a set of values that is usual of a given culture (Giannetti, 465). The movie 300 is an American movie made for American audiences. ecause of this it would be hard for anyone to miss the obvious connections between contemporary world-events and the ideological themes that are shown in the movie. Comparisons with recent events are more or less easy. Any observer could see the present-day war against terrorism as a stand for freedom and to view the action of passage of arms of Thermopylae as a sort of allegory for the neo-day struggle against tyranny. Obviously, the movie 300 forwards this connection through the kind of code that Giannetti describes.Still, as Dennis Behreandt points out in his review of the film from The New American (2007) the movie serves to buttress the American novelos that our present-day warriors are likewise scrap for fre edom in Iraq and also that this is most evident in the scene where Gorgo addresses the Gerousia, the Spartan Senate when her speech could only remind any aware mortal of the recent troop surge in Iraq (Behreandt). This kind of cultural context would, obviously, be of less significance to person who lived out side of the U. S. han to someone steeped in to American values. In addition to the cultural context of a film, there is usually a predominant political context. The political context of a film, for Giannetti, can loosely be divided into one of two categories left and right. Left-leaning films are those that show multiple viewpoints to issues and propose more on the table responses to issues and problems. Giannetti describes leftists as people who believe we ought to be flexible in our judgments. By contrast, right-leaning film-makers are those who embrace a more stringent world-view.The rightist film-maker is more absolute in judging human behavior Right and incorrect ar e fairly clear-cut and ought to be evaluated according to a tight code of conduct (Giannetti, 457). In the case of 300, the designation of Rightest is, obviously, the most suit for the film due to its tone and cultural perspective. Loosely, according to the discussion above, the following observations about 300 can be made in light of Giannettis criteria for evaluating the ideological underpinnings of films.First, that 300 is a film that relies predominantly on a heroic tone. Second, the film 300 depends on the specific cultural associations of American society to find its full ideological impact. Third, that 300 represents a Rightest political ideology. The three conclusions, taken together, along with the initial determination that 300 is an explicit communicator if ideology, beg the question as to whether or not 300 is more a vehicle for entertainment or propaganda.One of the argue aspects to this idea is the fact that 300 is based on history. The idea that historic realism ba lances out the poetic licesne often taken by Hollywood regarding tone and presentation is one that, for better or worse, many film-goers likely believe. In addition to the idea that a culture could exert such self-discipline in its military caste and instill inwardly apiece soldier a sense of bra very and fearlessness was a very powerful concept in 300 , which seems to resonate deeply with modern times.It is hard not to be fascinated by the Spartans, to wonder what made them as strong and resolute a they were and to wonder just as Xerxes What kind of men were these Spartans who in three days had slain forwards his Majestys eyes no fewer than twenty cat valium of His most valiant warriors? (Pressfield, 8). However, the fact shades of realism exist within the largely stylized or expressionistic flavor of the film only serves to elevate its power to transmit equally stylized (or stereotyped) ideologies.For example, the difference between narcissism and pride seemed to have a gre at deal of influence on the Spartan conception of bravery as it was portrayed in the movie 300. Modern-day leaders would never think of putting themselves in direct danger like King Leonidas his pride rather than his vanity dictated his actions and pride stems from a sense of civic (or national) agreement. Loyalty is another(prenominal) important concept in the movie. It becomes the central most important idea, given that Spartan military power evolved out of the phalanx, which required the utmost loyalty and steadfastness of each warrior in the unit as a whole.The idea that a Greek traitor showed the Persians another path, which enabled them to come round piece of ass and encircle the Greeks and that this ultimately led to the wholesale destruction of the Spartans at Thermopylae shows how important loyalty was to the Spartans. After Leonidas is killed his men fought on with redoubled rage under the Persian arrows, as much to defend the fallen dust of their King from the savage ry of the barbarians as to show their valor (THE GREATEST WARRIORS).The historical basis of the film is incorporated into the larger and more important myth of the movie that is conveyed in heroic tones that simplify historical subtleties and create a fictional paradigm of idealism. Therefore, the fact that realism in films can be construed into a propagandistic function, is the reality that filmmakers, and especially American filmmakers, are loose to the prejudices and blind-spots which are inherent to the social position they occupy and to which they owe their mogul to make high-profile films.Elizabeth G. Traubes Dreaming Identities Class, Gender, and Generation in 1980s (1992) offers footing to the mores and machinations of the filmmaking industry in America and her observations are important for understanding that movies are, in fact, propagandistic and often they represent the experience of only a very small segment of American society. This narrowness is obscured, accordin g to Traube, beneath a veneer which can be thought of as a conventional moralistic package.Traube points out that, in reality, audience preferences are only one of many factors that influence production decisions. Producers also shape their work to align to dominant sensibilities and values, including those of the producing community itself (Traube, 69). This reality combined with Traubes complex but insightful understanding of fairy-tale motifs in movies is crucial to elucidating the way that anger and racial conflict are expressed propagandistically in film.All fables rely on a straightforward, linear narrative due to the fact that complex stories tend to obscure the thrust of the intended moral. Because the author of any fable is able to transform topical news and politics into universal predicaments (Haggiss allegory 38), a fable carries with it the dangerous connotations of stereotype and oversimplification. The movie 300 stands as an heroic statement about the importance o f protecting liberty and freedom.The ideological message that bravery and loyalty are essential aspects of preserving freedom and rather than Sparta, now it is America that faces the threat from Persia and by telling this story so forcefully and with so much passion the film embrace the mythos of the battle rather than the historical truth of the era, which is strongly conveyed in the film. (Behreandt). The ideological underpinnings of the movie 300 are based in a rightist, conservative set of political values that celebrate military capacity and force of strength. he films ideological message is one of social and civic duty as well as xenophobia.The film is geared toward an American audience in a time when America faces military challenges on several fronts and as such plays to the expectations of its audience. The tone of the film is heroic and its political ideology is conservative. The most logical conclusion that can be drawn from these facts is that, as mentioned by Giannetti, the ideological language of the film emerges as the most important aspect of the film as a whole.Further, the code that is used in the movie is comprised of historical truths and cultural stereotypes. The film blurs the line between entertainment and propaganda. It is ideal to suggest that the film, stripped of its propagandistic functions, would cease to exist. The unity of the film, in equipment casualty of narrative, editing, staging, costuming, scene construction and even music is derived more from a unity of ideology than from a unity of style or form.The movie follows a traditional fairy-tale arc of narrative to reinforce an already existing set of ideologies in its expected audience. Therefore, the best way in which to interpret the movie 300 is the method demonstrated by Giannetti that isolates and categorizes the ideological code of a film and makes the ideological language much more understandable for the add up film-goer.