The Characteristic Of "The Troy" Movie
The Troy movie that I’ve watched since my junior high school days during the lessons of the Greek mythology in English. A movie situate the known scenarios of the best epic poem in the Greek history written by Homer,” The Iliad and Odyssey”. A story of war between the Greeks and the Trojan. As I watched it again and hunt for the clues to write a reaction paper on it. As I watched it for nth time in my life, the part of being a critique of movies will be seen here and a sudden realization came into my mind. As I told earlier that troy is movie based on the epic poem of Homer, if you read it especially for grades during your junior high school days, I guess you will see the difference of the movie and the poem but I guess we really need to expect that historical accuracy will never going to have justice in the films. Yet the essence of Homer is still there like Paris’ feebleness in single combat with Menelaus or Priam’s begging Achilles for the body of his son, Hector.
As I much love comparing the book and the movie just like I’ve in the 8 movies of Harry Potter, The Hobbit and the lord of the rings, I probably say that the movie of the Troy was based on their writers wants and many of the changes are more drastic than those who performed by any writer of antiquity.
Nowadays, most of the demographic for Troy would have no knowledge that Agamemnon should go home to be killed by his wife because he sacrificed his own daughter or that Menelaus will be charmed by Helen again and will live in a quiet contentment or Aeneas will lead a ragged band of escaped Trojans to Rome. The movie tried to tell the whole story, including the dispute over the armor of Odysseus, would be extremely long and very complicated, not to mention the fact in the cinematography production would have a great difficulty in dealing with the brazen unfairness of character’s fates but we just don’t mind it just like the fate of Agamemnon and Menelaus tidied up before the end of the film (especially the part wherein Achilles saved Briseis to Agamemnon lustful desire).
As I already cited Briseis, she became the cousin of Hector and Paris rather than mere slave in the story. Just like I said earlier that characters was changed into something useful in the film and the goal of the film was to familiarize the audience with the Trojan cycle but includes a little bit for people who are really present and was given importance in the poem. As the movie goes on I finally realized the role of Menelaus in the story of the film, he plays no dramatic role beyond providing the excuse for Agamemnon to start a war with the Trojans but in the first part of the movie an introductory narration clearly states that Odysseus will survive and even in the last part said it and quoted “if they ever write my story…” and obviously Odysseus was given a broad characterization along with Achilles whose a petulant baby, Agamemnon as well a manipulative tyrant, Menelaus a thuggish prig,
Hector who is more noble and heroic than any of the Greeks can dream of being and his brother Paris who is a pretty boy who lack inner steel of a true hero in short, a coward prince and lastly the noble king Priam, a wise man but his important decision he makes is wrong. Many of these characterizations can be found in Homer's poem are almost all are in classical literature that contains many different versions of these figures. All in all the variations in detail was there,Troy never actually misses the point of the Trojan War stories. Troy still falls. But something is not acceptable because of Paris’ survival, and that’s not because it breaks from the traditional legend, but because it’s dramatically not right within the film.
The question hit me when I saw him with Briseis and Helen who flee to Mount Ida with other people who escapes the Troy. This mishandling of Paris is a disgrace, because otherwise, the deaths, at least of major characters, all happen for a decent emotional reason, on the grounds that there is some flaw in every person for which they should pay the price.Patroclus dies because he is too eager for the fray, Menelaus because he has not the wit to treat Helen as more than an object to possess, Hector because, for all his honor, he cherishes his sibling more than he adores his city, Priam because he presumptuously accept that the gods are his ally, Agamemnon because since his desire for control the world blinds him to all else, Achilles because of his desire for war drives him to think nothing about those he executes. The injustice for him lives as he carelessly steals another man’s wife, the reason why Hector needs to die and killing the hero, Achilles as well as the people in his own country that have been killed the night the Trojan horse put inside the walls of Troy.
I guess need to end my criticism of it here but I still wonder does the real critics of Troy might benefit from another read the Illiad themselves? Because the central theme of the epic is Achilles' anger at the removal of Briseis by Agamemnon, an anger that blinds him to what’s really important, winning the war.Troy is a blockbuster film, that raise the profile of Homer and the Classics in general. So aside from criticizing it, we go down on the philosophies you might encounter while watching the film so here the philosophies
I knew while watching and having a discussion within this matter during my junior high school days.
Fear is as important as courage, these were shown in the Greeks soldiers because they need to attack bravely no matter Trojans was armed and prepared for battle but in times they must turn back and run for their lives. Fear is very different from cowardice, it is good to be afraid sometimes especially if you know you can’t do something and it is not good to be coward when you can do something but you are ashamed or scared to do it.
Loyalty is the most important aspect of service, it was shown by one of the member Myrmidons, Eudorus because of his faithfulness to Achilles which he became the symbol of loyal friend and companion because of his faithfulness and being loyal, Achilles entrusted Eudorus the most treasured team which is the Myrmidons. Loyalty was the most important thing in the world because of loyalty a security will be formed and a connection will start as it grows the loyalty you give will go back to you.
Wisdom is mightier than strength, this trait is manifested to Odysseus. The wise plan of Greece’s wisest king overcame the strong wall of the known greatest nation, Troy and if it wasn’t Odysseus’ idea we might see Greece have suffered loss and despondency to Troy. This principle was taught to us when we were kids while reading fables, as a man use his wisdom to make a strategy to fight successfully while the strong will have the pride of being unbeatable regardless if he has a plan or not just his strength he thinks he can win but sadly lost.
High tide and low tide, in Tagalog phrase “gulong ng palad”, once a friend, now it’s your enemy. Once the greatest; now the weakest. Once a body; now a dust. Life has no confirmation on the point of view of the story. It effectively moves between various ways, and back once more. This principle is manifested by everyone. Not one is exclusive to the peculiarity of life.
Myths are just myths, the deities of Troy didn’t really win nor lose the fight. It’s the priests and advisors’ suspicions and confidence in superstitions that made Troy helpless. Sometimes, one must be practical in order to be successful, which did not happen when King Priam assented to his committee rather than listen to his wise and rational sons.
The life story of Hector, Achilles, Paris, Helen, Menelaus, Agamemnon, Priam, Briseis, and the other characters that partake the history, leaving the modern people their legacies, demonstrating their oversights with the goal that we would not repeat them. Like these individuals, each of them can make his name essential to all generation by emulating the noble deeds of the world’s greatest heroes. Every person should not die leaving his name on the sand, washed away by the waves of the sea (Agamemnon told Achilles the opposite of these). We should make our lives respectable on the spectacle of the people that are like the tide of life, it comes and goes upon us.
