Multimodal Assignment: American Values in "300"

A culture's artistic expressions reveal a great deal about that culture, and the film industry is no exception. When millions of people flock to the movie theater to see the latest blockbuster, it is worth considering why so many people were motivated to spend $7 to $15 on this particular movie instead of another. From a Historicist perspective, movies would depend on the social, cultural, and political climate surrounding their production and release. The prevailing zeitgeist creates the need for and influences the content of movies like "Stop Loss," in which an Iraq War veteran rebels against the army policy of extending soldiers' enlistment periods when manpower is needed (for a deeper understanding of Historicism's anthropological origins, go here). A New Historicist perspective, on the other hand, focuses on the movie's reflection of the audience and its context (for examples, see Stephen Greenblatt and his work, especially Practicing New Historicism). Whereas Historicism uses the socio-cultural context to understand the movie, New Historicism uses the movie to understand the socio-cultural context. The more popular the movie, the more it demands an analysis of why it was so popular with its audience.

View the trailer for "300."



This video was posted on YouTube by JohnK92 on December 9, 2006, and can be found with the search, "300."

In 2007, Zack Snyder's film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel “300” earned over a million dollars per Spartan warrior. It was in theaters for months and generated an enormous amount of buzz for its surprising success, stunning visual effects, and "Sin City" style cinematography (which was also based on a Frank Miller comic series). Some movie critics are puzzled by the movie's huge success, but most view it as a powerful, profitable appeal to simplistic chest-thumping, testerone-driven males. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says, "300 is a movie blood-drunk on its own artful excess" that "dazzles as spectacle." Josh Tyler alternately praises and criticizes the movie's sensuous, erotic style and bombastic battle scenes. A.O. Scott says of the movie, "The big idea, spelled out over and over, ... is that the free, manly men of Sparta fight harder and more valiantly than the enslaved masses under Xerxes’ command." In my New Historicist analysis, however, the stunning success of "300" is anything but surprising or simplistic. Yes, the movie is a violent gore-fest with a healthy helping of sex on the side, but it is also a striking depiction of core American values and beliefs.

Both the novel and the film recount the epic "David vs. Goliath" battle of Thermopylae between the Greeks and Persians. The film begins with the childhood of Leonidas, King of Sparta. According to Spartan custom, he is raised to be a soldier from the time he is a toddler. He endures beatings, is pitted against peers in brutal hand-to-hand combat, and enters manhood after trapping and killing a massive wolf in a narrow pass. The slaying of the wolf is an obvious foreshadowing of the battle of Thermoplyae years later. The movie fast-fowards to Leonidas' adulthood and Xerxes's impending invasion of Greece. A messenger arrives in Sparta ahead of the million-man Persian army and asks for Leonidas' fealty. Leonidas ponders his options and then kills the messenger, even though he knows this will lead to war. By Spartan law, Leonidas must seek the Oracles' approval of his war-plan prior to declaring an all-out war; the legislature will not act without the Oracles' approval. Since both the Oracles and an influential legislator have been bribed by Xerxes, Leonidas cannot convince the Oracles or the legislature of Sparta to commit the army to meeting the Persian advance. Instead, he leads three hundred select warriors in a liesurely walk to "the hot-gates," the narrow mountain pass at Thermoplyae. In this crucial choke-point, Leonidas and the Spartans hold the Persian army at bay until a traitor enables the Persians to encircle the Spartans. They fight until the last man, except for one charismatic soldier who Leonidas sent away prior to the battle's end so that he could share their story and inspire the rest of Greece to oppose Xerxes and his army. (Full Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis).

Movie critic Josh Tyler states, "Snyder’s take on the film is a fantasy, the way the battle would have looked in the minds of the Greeks, as they tell the story of the 300’s sacrifice." It is very important to note that this story is told from a Spartan perspective. From a historical viewpoint, the movie is wildly inaccurate and exaggerated. But many of the film's most fantastic elements become understandable when one realizes that the voiceover present throughout much of the movie belongs to the lone Spartan survivor of the battle, who is now sharing the tale to inspire the rest of Sparta and Greece to honor the 300 Spartans by kicking the living daylights out of the Persian Army. The Oracles are described as (and look like) "in-bred swine." The traitor, who shows Xerxes a second pass, is inhumanly deformed and wretched. The Persian army utilizes ferocious monsters and creatures that exist only in Frank Miller's imagination. Xerxes is seven-feet tall and incredibly hedonistic. All of the movie's fantasy is a realistic portrayal of how the Spartans memorialized the tale. Moreover, the movie's exaggerations enable it to more acutely represent American Values.

Brainstorming for the Sample Multimodal Assignment

It might just be my general level of exhaustion and near-burnout, but I am considering some off-the-wall topics for my sample multimodal assignment. I said to my wife, "I need a topic for my academic weblog." She replied, "What?" I clarified, "I need an academic topic." Then before she could reply, I said, "How about Human Trafficking?"

On the one hand, the thought of a non-English-related topic was refreshing and exciting. On the other hand, I realized how depressing it would be to write about Human Trafficking.

Then I thought of a more fun topic: a New Historicist analysis of the movie "300." I have presented this analysis to my writing students as a way of introducing analysis as a concept, practicing analysis, and discussing analytical frameworks. So I am familiar with it, and I know it can be applied to teaching. Plus, this topic could easily lend itself to multimodality and hyperlinking.

Well, I guess I've talked myself into it.

Explanation of Multimodal Assignment

For Eng 625, our next assignment is the creation and completion of a multimodal assignment. I came up with a blog assignment in which students develop an academic blog focused on a particular theme or topic. Multiple entries and modalities (text, visual images, video, and audio) are required. Students are supposed to state, develop, and support a thesis, using hyperlinks and multimedia in much the same way block quotes are used in academic writing. Before beginning the assignment, students may choose to conduct brainstorming on their blogs. Afterward, they are required to blog a meta-narrative in which they reflect on their creative processes, explain the rationale behind their processes, and evaluate the overall learning experience. During and after completion of the assignment, there is an emphasis on reading and commenting on other students' blogs. Since there is an audience, there is (hopefully) an impetus for doing quality work. Now that I've explained the assignment, I'm going to begin completing it. Hopefully it will be quality work.

Regarding the Departmental Furor Over Grade Inflation

I completely agree with Dr. Baumlin's assessment of the "English Department Grade Inflation" situation. Even before I read his reply to Dr. Blackmon's e-mail, I was telling fellow teaching assistants that our department's grades should be higher because we use process-oriented pedagogy. If our students' first round of essays adhere to the standard bell curve prior to revision, then the combination of peer feedback, instructor feedback, and student revision should increase each student's grade. If the quality of their writing and thus their grades are not increasing from draft to draft, or assignment to assignment, then we are not doing our jobs as teachers of the writing process.

I also agree with Dr. Baumlin that assuming a stubborn, intransigent stance toward the administration will not do us any good. Instead, we need to closely analyze the context of the grade inflation numbers and justify our pedagogy. If we do indeed need to adjust our standards, then we can do that. But we should do it for good pedagogical reasons, not because a decontextualized, irrational fear of grade inflation says we should.

Finally, I partially agree with Jean Stringam's caustic indictment of the administration for encouraging retention (i.e. easier classes, higher grades) and then expressing shock and awe at grade inflation. I do not share her belief in the administration's hypocrisy. However, I do think it is rather interesting that we (as educators and a society) demand improved education and then question ourselves when assessment shows improvement. With this kind of attitude, we will never be happy with our educational institutions. They will always either be failing or coddling students.

Comps are Over, Thesis virtually Complete

Once again, the title says it all. I took my Comps yesterday morning. Got some good questions, wrote some good answers. I am happy with myself. I tormented myself with the formatting of my thesis for the rest of the day.

I happened to catch a presentation on writing a thesis on Friday afternoon (long story), which focused almost entirely on lower-order concerns such as page numbering, formatting, etc. So I went to my office and spent pretty much all of friday night studying for comps, working on my thesis, and talking to fellow TAs about various topics of interest (including, of course, comps). Then Saturday afternoon and evening I spent hours reformatting tables, double and triple-checking page numbering, messing around with my signature pages because of page numbering snafus (looooong story), writing a cover letter for my oral comps portfolio, and completing a couple semi-overdue homework assignments.

On Friday night, I got home a little before midnight and Saturday night I got home a little before nine. This, after I had planned to spend a couple hours putting the triumphant touches on my thesis and then having fun the rest of the day and night. At least I allowed myself to watch "Wonder Boys" when I finally got home.

I suppose it was all worth it. I learned a ton of useful material thanks to studying for so many questions, and I will be able to submit the review copy of my thesis on Monday. I've already put my oral comps exam portfolio in one of my reader's mailboxes. Now I need to get off the computer and the couch and go to work until 9 p.m. Yay.

To end on a bright-spot: I really, really enjoyed the relaxing, fun lunch with all my friends. We deserved it after Comps.

Studying for Comps

The title basically says it all. I have been cramming for the last week or so. I'm not sure how the English Department expects us to study for comps while keeping up with our course reading, paper writing, teaching, grading, and off-campus jobs (which most of us have because we're paid so little). Somehow we do it though. I know most TAs are studying harder than I am. I've been very fortunate in having some great classes that have really prepared me for the comps exam. My thesis also helped. One of my TA friends said he's read about forty articles in the last week. If I combine journal articles, anthologized essays, books, and portions of books, I must have read the equivalent of sixty, maybe seventy articles for my thesis. Plus, I have a nice background on Plato, Aristotle, and other notable rhetoricians. So it hasn't been that bad, but I definitely have a headache.

Seminar Paper Brainstorming

Right now, I am planning to write my seminar paper on the use of Facebook as a teaching tool. I had never thought of using Facebook for teaching, but it makes a lot of sense. While Blackboard has an academic, "teacher-ish" feel to its interface, Facebook has plenty of "street-cred" with college students. They are accustomed to using Facebook to connect and interact with friends, often through silly applets, groups, status updates, etc. Whereas students usually feel obligated to get on Blackboard for class purposes, they may actually enjoy getting on Facebook since they can do so many non-class related things on it. At the least, they may not mind taking the time to visit the course Facebook group while they're sending people bumper-stickers or writing on someone's wall. The increased social capital of Facebook would be one its biggest advantages. Its only disadvantage (that I can think of right now) would be the lack of a "gradebook." Other than that, I think a Facebook group can accomplish everything else you can do on Blackboard.

I've found a surprising number of articles on the use of Facebook in teaching. I haven't had time to actually read through them yet, but the titles are promising.