They've never been black so what's the deal, plus what's up with their dress-code?
Here's a comparison of how they looked, and how they where portrayed in the movie:
1.http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2162/2persianshv5.png (Persians)
2.http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/9122/1xerxesespe6.png (Xerxes)
3.http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2760/3immortalswn4.png (The immortals)
I know this is a film and all, but how wrong can you get.
I'm pretty sure there existed black persians. Especially in a country thats part of the middle east. All persians have to look alike? What are you stupid?
shareNo, but it's clear that you are stupid. Black Persians do not exist. Ask any reputable anthropologist. I cite Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza. There is a minority of Iranian blacks who were imported as slaves from the Horn of Africa during the Safavid era. They do not originate from the Iranian Plateau and their phenotype is clearly Ethiopic (Which none of the black actors in this atrocious film obviously are).
Do not even think of replying. It is not possible to object against these academically established facts. I will break you with so many references you will wish to not have touched your keyboard in the first place.
The movie takes place around 350BC; people have not evolved from being completely black to being white/tan skinned in that relative short time.
As for the blacks being enslaved messengers: slavery was abolished about 150-200 years before when this movie takes place. And also, all the Persians were black in the film, not just the messenger...
And it is believed that people immigrated from around Russia to Iran. You can look it up.
And as for recognizing the people in the film for being Persian/Greek, that could have easily been achieved by having them wear clothes they used to wear at that time... That would have easily distinguished the Persians from the Greeks. There is not need to make one group black. That is completely ridicules, hence never use in movies (excluding making Persians black that is).
"all the Persians were black in the film"
What movie did you see? I good many of the speaking parts were but surely not all were.
[deleted]
No. Nothing that you wrote has anything to do with modern day anthropology. You clearly do not know anything about the distribution of the Indo-European languages, nor should you pretend to with this shoddy and wishy-washy application of the African migration (Which occurred tens of thousands of years before written history as a phenomenon existed). Saba is correct when he/she wrote that the distribution of the Iranic languages (As well as that of other Indo-European languages such as Celtic, Greek and Indo-Aryan) spread from the Caspian and Pontic steppes. The existence of the Andronovo and BMAC-cultures are further proof of this.
Swarthiness has nothing to do with phenotype. Swarthy Greeks and Iranians alike are "still" white (Whatever that means). Pigmentation of eyes and hair are solely due to recessiveness or dominance of certain genetics that appear to be rather independent from racial phenotype. This explains in major parts the occurrence of albinism and leucism both in animals and in human beings. The mistake many people do is to confuse people with Nordic ancestry to be the archetypal "white man".
Even the designation "Caucasian" originally meant with heritage from the Caucasus (derived from a skull finding in Georgia). If we apply the purely geographical argument, both Iran and Greece are closer to that range than say Scandinavia. And people from the Caucasus do not exactly have Nordic features.
It does not matter if you profess yourself to be an atheist and believe in the evolution. I do that as well and I am telling you that you are blatantly wrong.
[deleted]
Persia was a vast empire, even today there are dark skinned persians almost look as indians some even african in the southern parts of Iran, i'm iranian myself, but if u aren't iranian it would be hard for you to know.
share[deleted]
The Aryan ideal you're talking about is the Nazi ideal and it has nothing to do with Greece, it was the Nordics they saw as "real" whites. The usage of the term Aryan goes back to Iran were the first usage of it is known from a Darius the Great - and Iran means "land of the Aryans"... Thus, the movie does not have anything to do with Aryins in such way
And since you seem to be under the impression that this film was close to what really happened... well it is not! The persians did not run around in masks like ninjas, etc. etc...
[deleted]
How did that have anything to do with my question?
shareI wondered the same thing OP, but what you have to consider is that the story is told from Telios' viewpoint. Persia is the lead country but they have taken over many lands -- probably some African ones as well -- that explains how the emisaries could have been black. Assuming Xerses reach, he could have hired Samurai as personal bodyguard. Also, I came to the conclusion that Telios is telling a "tall tale" ie. everything is exagerated to make the Spartans look good and the enemy sound scary.
shareIt's a play off of greek Mythology do you think Odysseus was 6 ft 5 and 215 pounds? Or the Giants were 10 feet tall and one eyed? No exaggeration from the story teller to make the hero look godly.
The spartans did not have 300 men but more like 3 thousand or three hundred thousand
Persia did not invade just because, Athens supported a revolt by one of the persian cities
Sparta was not morally superior their whole economy was based off slavery,
Persia was not one Iranian army they were made up of different cultures and races because Xerxes was actually a Good leader who conquered and persuade many countries
Xerxes is not played by a black man...he's played by a spanish man
"Xerxes is not played by a black man...he's played by a spanish man"
He's a Brazilian man
Xerxes is not played by a black man...he's played by a spanish man
Hardly any of them are black. The only ones I remember are two messengers, a general, and the dude at the oracle.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
No, not all of them are black. Only the elites. The rest are deformed, orchs, tubs of lard with blades for hands, goatboys or faceless cannon-fodder and the crowning achievement is an 8-foot tall tranny.
You were saying what again?
Yes, so not all Persians are black. He's wrong, I'm right.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
*facepalm*
...And you wonder why Iranians are railing against this film...
Because lots of people are overly sensitive. :P
There are always people whining about something. No matter what movie (or game, song, whatever).
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
Being depicted as sub-human creatures is, according to you, not a blatant display of racism, but people reacting to it as blatantly racist are overly sensitive?
Excuse me, but you are a jackass.
You know how many times Germans have been portrayed as demons, zombies, monsters, etc. in movies and games? Ever see them complaining about it? Never (as far as I know). Not in such large numbers at least. I'm not even including movies/games in which they are portrayed as ''regular'' bad guys. And then there's the Russians, English, French, etc.
Iranians are outraged over ONE silly fantasy movie. It's *beep* pathetic.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
comparing Persian empire ( great and civilized empire) with Nazis (not Germans)
is just madness.
you know why Iranians are angry? I tell you, Iranian's history have never been portrayed in Hollywood , with all it's greatness and important events , not a single damn movie.(at least not a serious one)
and now they(history rapers aka Hollywood) have come with this sh*t and portrayed them like TLOTR's orcs.
"It's *beep* pathetic"
yes, its *beep* pathetic. /a big *beep* sarcasm/
have a good *beep* day.
Mein Furer.
I can walk...
''I tell you, Iranian's history have never been portrayed in Hollywood , with all it's greatness and important events , not a single damn movie.(at least not a serious one) ''
Why would they...?
''and now they(history rapers aka Hollywood) have come with this sh*t and portrayed them like TLOTR's orcs.''
Yeah, monsters, lots of action, lots of blood. Simple entertainment => lots of profit. That's what Hollywood is about.
It's not the best place to look for a history lesson.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
Why would they...?
Yeah, monsters, lots of action, lots of blood. Simple entertainment => lots of profit.
That's what Hollywood is about.
It's not the best place to look for a history lesson.
For the same reason Hollywood abuses Greek history to its own ends. Gee, why would they?
Did you actually read the post I was responding to?
Why would Hollywood portray Iranian’s history with ''all it greatness and important events''? It’s not their job. All they care about is money. Well, Hollywood’s suits anyway.
Want to learn about Persian or Greek history? Look elsewhere.
You don't see why it's legally and morally wrong to make money out of portraying people as monsters? It's defamation of the highest order and your inability to see how half a billion dollars were made out of the Iranians' expense is quite frankly sickening.
People have been doing so for ages. I don’t really get why it’s 300 that gets you all upset, but none of the tons of other books/movies/games out there doing the exact same thing.
True, Hollywood is a cinematic cesspit. Far superior films are usually found either overseas or by independent film-makers who have no obligation to cater towards a bored, disfunctional Xbox-generation who crave this sort of crass bubble-gum hack-and-slash rape of history.
Really? The cliché kids-these-days rant? Check out this quote from a fellow Greek:
''Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.''
- Socrates
Kids will be kids. Nothing has changed.
But I agree about independent cinema. Lots of amazing movies can be found, if you’re willing to look for them.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
Did you actually read the post I was responding to?
Why would Hollywood portray Iranian’s history with ''all it greatness and important events''? It’s not their job. All they care about is money. Well, Hollywood’s suits anyway.
Want to learn about Persian or Greek history? Look elsewhere.
People have been doing so for ages.
I don’t really get why it’s 300 that gets you all upset
but none of the tons of other books/movies/games out there doing the exact same thing.
Really? The cliché kids-these-days rant? Check out this quote from a fellow Greek:
What Hollywood fancies itself in this case amounts to ethnic defamation. There are laws and they transcend any venture of profiteering. This reckless treatment of history is amoral and illegal.
Well, it's not illegal, obviously.
Amoral? Yeah, I guess. Maybe. :P
Well, let me...
...clash-of-civilizations.
But how? How is this a spit in the face of those historians? Unless Zack Snyder was claiming the movie to be accurate. But he isn't, and neither is Frank Miller. I highly doubt any historians are offended by 300. Annoyed, maybe.
You admit it is racist. However, unlike you, I am not reduced to a state of acceptance.
No, no. I admit that it isn't accurate. Not that it is racist.
There is a...
...of the Germans.
The point of that was that the youth, in general, has always been that way. Those things you're ranting about are the EXACT same complaints you hear from people every single generation, again and again. It's just getting old.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
so, you are simply saying the only way to make lots of money nowadays is making crap like 300? taste of humans have come this low? I don't want to believe that.
"Why would they...? "
the Greece-Persia wars ( and relationships) were the most important events in those years which defined the new world as we know today, why wouldn't they make a realistic and worthy movie about that?
Mein Furer.
I can walk...
so, you are simply saying the only way to make lots of money nowadays is making crap like 300? taste of humans have come this low? I don't want to believe that.
Not the only way, but it's a good way. Simple entertainment has almost always done well. The majority simply doesn't care that much about movies. People have been enjoying light entertainment since forever. Do you think people in the 1920's were busy reading Dostoyevsky all day? No, they were watching Chaplin being chased around in circles by a cop.
the Greece-Persia wars ( and relationships) were the most important events in those years which defined the new world as we know today, why wouldn't they make a realistic and worthy movie about that?
Because that's not what Hollywood cares about. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see movies like that. But it just ain't gonna happen.
Mel Gibson will be doing a movie about the Maccabees though, which is getting really close. And though his movies aren't always accurate, they sure are good.
I'm the grim reaper, lardass, and you're my next customer.
[deleted]