Blog Post #3: marxism

This week, I watched Zack Snyder’s 300 (2006) and David Fincher’s Seven (1995), in addition to the episode of Freaks and Geeks we watched in class.

The film 300 has a very clear divisions of power as it focuses on King Leonidas of Sparta. In the grid-group analysis, Leonidas would be a fatalist because he defies the oracle and Spartan law and sets off with his army of 300 to war against the Persians. His wife, Queen Gorgo, is an egalitarian because she is independent, abandoning the stereotypes of a submissive woman and standing up for her husband as she tries to convince the council that Leonidas is right in his decision.

In Seven, the power divisions are slightly less clear-cut. Throughout the movie, viewers see Detective Somerset as having more power in his department, even though he is not the captain, because of his age and experience. He displays mannerisms similar to Sherlock that are contrary to the typical behavior of a police officer (i.e. does NOT take notes in the crime scene, jump to conclusions if the crime seems obvious, or take coffee from Detective Mills). Detective Mills is seen as less powerful in comparison to Somerset in skill and experience, but their partnership evolves as they investigate the seven deadly sins murders. This evolution expands their character profiles to overlap each other in some aspects.

After gaining insight on the purpose of this class, my media consumption has become keener to break down elements of the story, think about it in terms of what happens behind the scenes, and dig deeper for underlying meanings and themes.