estimated reading time: __ minutes

I want to preface this and say that I am not a political theorist. I’m simply using a movie to draw comparisons to what I’m personally observing in American politics - it’s ultimately not very serious.

For the last few years (2022 onwards), I’ve been tracking my first time watches on Letterboxd. I don’t keep track of how many movies I watch in a year, but I keep track of the ones that I had never seen until that point. I don’t know why, but in 2023 and 2024, I started the year off with particularly dumb choices (Saltburn and Bullet Train respectively). This year I was determined to start with a banger.

So I chose Gladiator.

Gladiator (2000) is not in any genres that I would normally gravitate towards. I enjoy the Ripley Scott movies I’ve seen so far, but I don’t have much interest in historical dramas, the Roman Empire, or 2.5 hour long epics. Like hello, my name is Helen, of course I’m going to have a bias towards the Greeks. But when the sequel came out late last year, I thought “Hm, I’ll put both movies on my watchlist, see how it goes.”

My watch experience is also a little unique, since I don’t have a TV in my apartment. Movie nights in my home look a little like this:

I get a decent throw distance with my projector; it’s not perfect but it works. I also have a little side table with an adjustable height, so I use it both for holding snacks next to my bathtub, or holding snacks beside my bed. I like to be cozy, I like to have snacks when I watch stuff, and I like being able to pause to go to the bathroom or brush my teeth. I know people have mixed feelings on snacking in bed, I do it but I keep all the food off the bed. And I wash and change my sheets weekly, which is probably a lot more often than I can speak for some people.

Long story short: the movie’s great. The music is delightfully dated, as Hans Zimmer in the 2000s was still deriving his musical influences from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” and he was busy being booked and blessed with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. I went in pretty much blind, having only seen the scene where Russell Crowe snottily breaks down (you know the one), and only recognizing the phrase “Are you not entertained?!” as a meme.

But my mind…my mind was churning so many thoughts. Thoughts specifically on the American political system. I kept looking at the Caesars, the Praetorians, and the Colosseum, thinking to myself “Even though I’m watching a film that takes place in 2nd century AD, I feel like I’m living through this hell right now.” Especially watching this in the days before President Trump starts his second term, it just feels extra relevant.

The most obvious political connection is the Roman Senate and our Senate. I don’t think much has changed in over two thousand years, and many of the complaints erected in Gladiator are still uncannily correct today. “Rome used to be a Republic, give Rome back to the people!” sounds eerily like “Make America Great Again,” and I hate it. I hate how the Caesars, specifically Commodus remind me of tech oligarchs trying to dissolve the Senate in the name of totalitarianism. It’s been noted in several publications that Mark Zuckerburg has an obsession with the Roman Empire (go look it up!), so is it any surprise that a billionaire, with excessive resources and ambition, might actually want to support the country that makes his obsession a reality?

Sigh.

I know that’s a lot of doom and gloom. The way I see it is: Gladiator has a lot of classic archetypes that fit very well in our American Empire. You have the unnamed victims, the people who suffer under the decisions made by a select few. You have the Senate, a politically corrupt group of officials who benefit from the stagnation of the country’s progress. They feign activism and being “for the people” but almost always act in their own self interests. You have the King, which comes in a few varieties. One type of ruler benefits from nepotism and cronyism, takes an active stance, and is trying to eliminate all threats to his rule (this is Commodus). Another type of ruler is the puppet, the one who’s willing to let others take on his faults and burdens, but remains in the good graces of the public somehow (like Marcus Aurelius).

I’m sure you can think of politicians, public figures, and people in your lives which fit all three of these labels. It doesn’t matter what party they’re from - these figures are all subject to criticism (as they should be). All we’re missing is the hero. In fiction, we are often given a clear character like Maximus, a person who was wronged by the system and sought to make things right. In real life, we don’t have one unified person that represents that symbol of hope for us. But we do have heroes! I’m a firm believer that heroes are the people around us.

While we celebrate this MLK day (which ironically coincides with the inauguration), I hope that the world we are turning towards is one of peace. It’s corny to say this, but I genuinely want people to connect in the ways we used to, and to eschew political tools of manipulation in order to solidify camaraderie. And yes I will watch Gladiator II, I just have to wait until the rental price comes down significantly.

Have a good week,

Helen