300: Reservations Recommended

Ah ... they must be going to the Hawaiian Tropic Zone. Seriously, how ridiculous is this? Ridiculous enough for me to post it with only the tiniest bit of enjoyment (and thanks to UK mag Empire for posting this and several other stunning posters for the film). Although 300 (the much-anticipated film adaptation of Frank Miller's bloody graphic novel) has reportedly erased the Spartans' homo-friendly tendencies (whether erotic or no) from its script, it doesn't look like they've shied away from the male body worship in the least. It's interesting, though. A lot of Web chatter has been sparked by people who think that the film looks "gay" simply because it depicts muscular, shirtless men in every scene. The men aren't romantically involved or even touching, but the very fact of their barechestedness seems to set off gay alarms. Is it because the act of watching is still perceived as "masculine", and the act of simply watching a strapped hottie in a loincloth therefore a gay experience? Or is it something else? As one observant commenter on an IMDB thread put it:

It's not about the bare chests! Naked muscular guys in gyms or on beaches are not homoerotic at all. It's the cloak and shorts combination. It's like wearing a dinner jacket and bikini shorts without a shirt and pants.  

And there you have it. Running into battle shirtless = masculine. Being able to pull off a fashion coup in the process = gay. (PS - that's Gerard Butler on the poster, better known as the Half-Masked-One in the atrocious film version of The Phantom of the Opera)