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Comparing Medieval Films 300, El Cid And Naser Salah Ad-Din

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The Medieval film industry unexpectedly emerged as a relatable, highly entertaining industry in the 20th Century and many weren’t sure why. Medieval films have two layers to them: the first being of historical precedent and the second being of creational bias. The following paper will address how the three movies 300, El Cid and El Naser Salah Ad-Din provide insight to the denial that members of the three Abrahamic religions portray against each other, as well as how the creators of each film frame the plot in order to validate events happening at the time of the movie’s creation. In order to best get a grasp on how denial transcends time, it is imperative to not focus on what is wrong in a movie, but why it is wrong. El Naser Salah Ad-Din …show more content…

300 provides a unique interpretation of Sparta’s relationship with the Persians. There is widespread controversy over the accuracy of the Persian’s portrayal, but it is far more productive to look at why this discrepancy was present, not what the discrepancies were. Screenwriter, Frank Miller, from the US was quoted in an interview with NPR about President Bush’s State of the Union Address in 2007 saying, “It seems to me quite obvious that our country and the entire Western World is up against an existential foe that knows exactly what it wants … and we’re behaving like a collapsing empire.” Miller is clearly demonstrating denial towards the ability for Islam to be compatible with Westernization and this comes through very evidently in 300. Throughout the film, the Persians are represented as deformed, piercing filled mutants who are looking to take the Spartan’s freedom away, while the Spartan army of 300 are perfectly sculpted white men. The shear number of parallels in appearance to the American battle against Iraqi insurgents in 2007 becomes monotonous. In the case of 300, the borderline racist representation of the Persian/Spartan encounter is framed purposefully by screenwriter Frank Miller in an attempt to prove with historical precedent that Islamic ideals do not and can not be merged with Western

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