The presidential election season has started again in America. Candidates from both parties have already positioned themselves as men of the people. The same thing can be seen from the Roman politicians in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. But why bother winning over the masses in an empire, where one man rules? Ridley Scott’s Gladiator shows the struggle for power between the will of the emperor and the will of the people he rules.
First, one of the main political conflicts of the movie was whether to disband the senate or to give the power back to it. The senate was seen as a people’s tool for governing even after the fall of the Republic. It’s best explained by Gracchus before one of the gladiator fights, “I don’t claim to be a man of the people,
First, one of the main political conflicts of the movie was whether to disband the senate or to give the power back to it. The senate was seen as a people’s tool for governing even after the fall of the Republic. It’s best explained by Gracchus before one of the gladiator fights, “I don’t claim to be a man of the people,