Values In The Movie Gladiator

A value is what someone believes is the most important thing in life. Values played a huge role in Roman society. Rome was an extremely violent empire. They spent years fighting to expand their empire, and the slaves they took hostage were forced to be gladiators. Some of the emperors ruled with a vicious hand, and they executed people left and right. Others were kind and only cared about making Rome a better empire, but most of the time rulers were violent. The Romans enjoyed violent acts, and were encouraged to attend gladiator fights every week. In Ridley Scott’s movie Gladiator, Marcus Aurelius told Maximus that he should be the next ruler of Rome. When Commodus heard what his father planned to do, he murdered his father. Then Commodus ordered his men to execute Maximus. The men took …show more content…
His reasons to stay alive are because of the things he valued most in his life. Maximus’ family meant everything to him. During the entire time he was at war, all he could think about was going home to his wife and son. Maximus often dreamed about going home to his family. He would be walking in a field of tall grass towards his wife and son, but he never actually reached them until the end of the movie. This scene appears several times throughout the movie, and it clearly shows that Maximus just wanted to be home with his family. Another example is when Maximus chose to fight back against his executors because he knew Commodus had ordered his men to kill them as well. Maximus escaped from the men, stole a horse and rushed home to his family. When Maximus arrived at his house, he saw his wife and son hanging from a branch. Maximus is heartbroken and immediately seeks revenge. This example clearly shows how much Maximus loved his family. Maximus did everything possible to try to save them, but it was too late. The previous examples showed that Maximus truly loved his family and how this value shaped his