Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Gladiator

Gladiator is an overall great movie and I think it really shows the integrity of the main character, Maximus. I love how ancient Rome is depicted in the movie. I've taken latin for years and this movie has many qualities that stay true to history of the Romans, and I think its so interesting to see a lot of qualities in this movie. I love seeing the scenes with the Colosseum and the gladiators, and gaining a sense of what entertainment was like for the Romans back at this time. I think the whole story of Maximus enables the audience to feel his pain and gain a strong compliance towards him. The events in the movie make me feel bad for Maximus in all that he has to endure. Marcus Aurelius entrusted Maximus so much, and knew that Rome would be taken care of very well with Maximus succeeding Marcus. When Commodus takes his father's life, you can feel the fear for Maximus. At the moment is when you begin to hate Commodus, and throughout the movie Commodus shows more and more awful qualities. He appears so creepy to his sister and her child, and overall comes off as an overly emotional man who should not be in charge of leading an empire, which his father knew. When Commodus has Maximus' family killed, I could truly feel the pain in Maximus. Throughout the movie, however, Maximus shows his integrity and doesn't stop fighting. Even at the end when he kills Commodus, he always dies with dignity and a sense of pride. I think this movie overall shows the hardships one man goes through and his integrity throughout the movie, while at the same time depicting a great history of the ancient Romans.

I think the moral of Gladiator is the integrity of Maximus. Maximus begins as an amazing gladiator for the Romans, and we can see his loyalty from his relationship with the emperor. When he is taken prisoner and his family is killed, he doesn't give up. He becomes a gladiator, and fights for himself, the Roman people, and what the emperor of Rome truly wanted. He endures so much throughout the movie, and you can truly see how strong and brave he is from the beginning, all the way to his death at the end.

1 comment:

Burk said...

Spot on Hollie and exactly what I'm looking for in a post. Integrity is a classic theme for such a film - and we can see both sides - what Commodus lacks versus what Maximus possesses. It's great to have you in class again! Hopefully, you're enjoying the class so far.