Theme Of Slavery In The Film Industry

In recent years the topic of slavery has become a big hit in the film industry. Films like Ben Hur, Spartacus, Gladiator, and D’jango Unchained have all shared the same theme of slavery. These films tell stories of slaves and the terrible hardship of being held captive. Due to its thought-provoking nature films about slavery have become a reoccurring manifestation in the film industry. As a result of their popularity, slavery has been morphed into an almost glamorized notion. Movies like Ben Hur, Spartacus, and Gladiator have become prime examples of the way the film industry has succeeded in glamorizing a subject as disgusting as slavery. Slave movies, especially those that revolve around the gladiators, glamorize the state of being enslaved …show more content…
The films that use gladiators and slavery as a theme accentuate their numerous fight scenes with intense violence and gore. All of the films about gladiators romanticize the violence that gladiators were forced to unleash on their fellow slaves by attempting to justify it. Scenes in Spartacus especially stress the need for violence to survive. The scene where Spartacus and Crixus are discussing the probability of being matched together serves to highlight the importance of fighting to survive. Crixus asks Spartacus, if he would fight if they were matched together and Spartacus says he would. Crixus presses the subject and asks if he would try to kill him. Spartacus says yes, he goes on to say “I’d try to stay alive and so would you.” This brilliantly adds a justification to the violence gladiators were forced to inflict on one another. Another gladiator film that romanticizes violence is Gladiator. In this film, Maximus, a respected Roman general, becomes a slave after fleeing from Commodus rule. The film follows his journey as a gladiator and through his quest for revenge. Through his showmanship Maximus is able to win the crowd’s support in his defiance of Commodus. His disrespect eventually grants him a fight with Commodus himself. He violently attacks him and at the end is able to defeat him with a jab to the throat. This allowed him to achieve his …show more content…
Both Spartacus and Gladiator demonstrated the bond that is built through shared hardship. In the film Spartacus, Spartacus becomes the leader of a slave revolt in the gladiator school. Soon this uprising grows and developed into a full-fledged army composed of thousands of slaves. This army planned to march to southern Italy in the attempt to cross the sea and head back home. Seeing this as a threat to their authority the Romans effortlessly meet the ill equipped army of slaves and defeated them with their superior military. Once the Romans defeat the slaves the real display of brotherhood is exhibited. In an effort to find the leader of this revolt the Romans offer to spare the lives of all those captures if they are willing to identify Spartacus. Spartacus rises up and proclaims “I am Spartacus.” He is immediately joined by other slaves claiming to be Spartacus. This act of brotherhood and loyalty is the sorts of theme slave movies emphasize to beautify the idea of slavery. The idea of brotherhood is also echoed throughout Gladiator. Maximus becomes a leader of his fellow gladiators by showing them how to fight like a unit. This inevitably allows the gladiators alongside of him to survive longer. Through his fighting and teachings Maximus gains the loyalty of his fellow gladiators. Their bond as brothers is revealed when his fellow