In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences. His battle skills serve him well, and he becomes one of the most famous and admired men to fight in the Colosseum. Determined to avenge himself against the man who took away his freedom and laid waste to his family, Maximus believes that he can use his fame and skill in the ring to avenge the loss of his family and former glory. As the gladiator begins to challenge his rule, Commodus decides to put his own fighting mettle to the test by squaring off with Maximus in a battle to the death.
The scene that most attract me is the last scene Maximus kill commodus.Commodus arranges a duel with Maximus in arena. During the fight,Maximus kill Commodus.Maximus plunges the blade into Commodus throat and kill him.
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ReplyDeleteHi all
ReplyDeletePlease give me permission to post as a member of your group. Now I can only comment as a guest.
Thank you for the blog notes.
This is a general comment for you all.
You all seem to like these scenes for more or less the same reason? No one disagrees? No one is really critical of this film? I don't think you are looking at the film with critical eyes. I have four questions for you to answer. You will need to do a bit of research to answer these. Do not copy your answers from the web. Write them from your own ideas.
1. Is the story a hero's journey? Try to describe it as a hero's journey and see if it fits the template.
2. What did you learn about Rome from this movie? Do some research on the characters. Are they real people from history? Is the film accurate in historical detail? And architectural detail (for example, the Colosseum/ Flavian Ampitheatre)?
3. What was happening to the Roman empire during the period of Commodus' rule? And what eventually caused the decline and downfall of the Roman Empire?
4. Is this film propaganda for a certain set of ideas or a way of life? Did the writer, director and actors intend for you to have the reactions that you have expressed here? Aren't you just a bit suspicious and critical of the film and the black and white division between Commodus and Maximus? Such a bad and nasty Emperor and such a loyal gladiator! One is a 'good Roman' and the other is just out for himself? Doesn't it all seem a little too simple? So, again, is this film propaganda for an idea of loyalty? To answer this, look at which country produced it and when it was produced. How is the film 'constructed' to provide a lesson to the audiences of that country of its origin? Is it really about Rome, or about the country it came from? What was happening in that country in the years just before it was created?
We will discuss these issues in class next week. Answer them on your blogs before then and be ready with your answers next week.
Thank you.
Ray
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Ray Langenbach
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