Rome and Epic Cinema - Essay Example

?Rome and Epic Cinema The depiction of ancient Rome in Hollywood films has often remained loyal to the of these two civilizations provided by the scholars of the middle Ages. These two civilizations are often considered the golden age of European civilization and because of this, in many Hollywood films, only the positive aspects of them are displayed. An example of this is that of the city of Rome where in film, it is often quite rare to find the filmmaker showing the poorer parts of the city. Instead, they tend to concentrate on showing only the lives of the people of the upper classes of Roman society, as if they are secretly ashamed or averse to displaying the lives of the common people of this city. In addition, when one considers the fact that the Roman Empire was based not only in the cities but also in the rural areas, since without the latter the empire would not have lasted for long. It seems that most film directors often avoid showing these areas, ignoring the fact that they were an integral part of the life of those times. In fact, Rome is often depicted the same way in almost all the films concerning it and this tends to be based on research concerning the life of the upper classes of Roman society. The Hollywood films tend to be united in depicting this civilization as having been extremely martial and it is only on rare occasions where one will not have a war or some sort of conflict resulting in bloodshed being depicted on the films (Wyke, 1997). Despite the fact that many Hollywood films try to show ancient Rome as having been the golden age of European civilization, in line with the beliefs of medieval scholars, one of the most accurate displays of these civilizations tends to be the institution of slavery. Slavery was an integral part of the lives of Ancient Rome and it is a fact that at least more than half of the populations of these civilizations was made up of slaves. Slavery continued to grow as these states expanded and this went on until it became one of the core institutions of these civilizations, with the latter having a large dependency on it. In ancient Rome, for example, slavery played a very important role in both the society and the economy because besides manual labor, slaves were tasked to do many other domestic services and some were even employed in very skilled jobs and professions. There were unskilled slaves many of who had been condemned to slavery as punishment, or had been captured in war, and these were given very hard tasks to perform such as working on farms, in the mines or at mills and their living conditions tended to be very brutal and this made their life expectancy very low. It can therefore be said that slavery in ancient Rome was a part of its everyday life and that this institution is one of the core pillars, which kept this state running (Malamud, 2008). Many Hollywood films have remained loyal to the depictions of slavery in these ancient civilizations and in some cases, directors often go the extra mile to show just how much the slaves of these civilizations were treated. A most vivid description of this in current times has been in the television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. In the Hollywood films, this civilization is often depicted as having been extremely martial not only at a national level but also at a domestic level. In ancient Rome, for example, one of the most praiseworthy forms of martial endeavors by the Rome that has often been depicted in films was that made by Julius Caesar during the wars that he made against the Gauls in his attempt to conquer them and bring them into the Roman Empire. In Rome, the martial feats of its citizens are often displayed through gladiatorial encounters and this is most accurately displayed in the film Gladiator. As depicted in the series Spartacus, slaves were acquired through the warfare made by its army, which always brought back captives in their hundreds and thousands from each war that they went to fight in. Many of these wars were wars of expansion in which the defeated enemies were captured as well as civil wars and these captives were often sold to slave traders who in turn took them to the market and sold them to the highest bidder. In addition to those slaves captured in war, there were also a large number of them who came through the slave traffic of Thrace and perhaps the most famous Thracian importee was Spartacus, who years later would come to lead a great revolt against his new masters. Piracy was among the biggest contributors to the slave market because an increase in the activities of pirates also led to an increase in slavery in the Roman state because they ensured a large supply of slaves from the places they raided. These descriptions of ancient Rome tend to be followed by many of the filmmakers of Hollywood, who attempt to recreate life as it really was within the city (Cyrino, 2005). Most Hollywood films depict the people of this civilization as having worked in unskilled jobs from prostitution and cleaning to mining, shepherding and manning oars, but there are some, however, who worked in relative comfort as secretaries and physicians. In addition to the tasks, which they were given as their duties, the common people are depicted as having very few rights and in fact, they were not allowed to refuse their masters, who were often patricians, anything. In depictions of the Roman state, it is seen that the household slaves of the rich families of Rome enjoy the highest standards of living. Moreover, was very rare for them to be subject to the whims of their masters as other slaves were because of the fact that many of them had specialized duties, which they tended to carry out without being asked by their masters. When one considers such Hollywood series as Spartacus, one will see that many of these household slaves had lodgings, which were far much better than those of some of the free Roman population, and in fact, they often did much better than the latter economically. These household slaves could be found doing very specialized jobs such as working as barbers, hairdressers, and even as teachers and if they had a higher level of education and intelligence, they could even work as accountants, and physicians. As further depicted in this series, nearly half of the gladiators who fought in the Roman arenas were slaves and it was not an uncommon practice for the most successful among them to be rewarded with their freedom. However, many of these slave gladiators were viewed with suspicion by the Roman elite because most had been trained warriors who had been captured after defeat and sold as slaves, and a good example of these was Spartacus, who as mentioned above led a vicious revolt against the Romans. While it is a fact that there were many slaves in ancient Rome, this is not often shown on film and instead, the films tend to show Roman domestic life as having been more refined. While this may be the current practice, it is also a fact that most of the films depicting ancient Rome tend to concentrate more on the military feats of its people more than anything else. The conflicts that existed between Rome and its archrival, Carthage, are rarely seen on film and tend to be only mentioned in passing by the main characters. Among of the most notable films displaying Roman martial skills are the various Julius Caesar films, which are a romanticized version of the story of how the Romans fought the their various wars, both foreign and domestic and ended up defeating their enemies. The instances where slaves are displayed in films on other classical films show them as being submissive and are not as prominent as those depicted in Rome. There are some instances where some masters treat their slaves very harshly but this is a rare practice considering the fact that many of these incidents were considered to be private matters and very few people wanted to write about it. However, there were very kindly masters who tend to take good care of their slave because of the belief that a well-treated slave would perform their tasks better than one who was not well treated. Some of these masters even freed those of their slaves who had served them well and these in general could become citizens with the right to vote if they were male. In Rome, on the other hand, films often depict a group of slaves who were permanently barred from becoming citizens even if they had been freed and this was because the fact that due to some misconduct on their part, their masters had been forced to punish them through torture or by putting them in chains (Elley, 1984). Many of these were considered to be a great threat to the Roman state and in fact, when they were freed, they were not allowed to come within a hundred miles of the city of Rome otherwise, they would risk being enslaved again. A final aspect of Hollywood films on ancient Rome is the fact that most of the slaves depicted are often people of African descent, perhaps as a result of the racist attitudes from the 17th century onwards that have come down to the present day. In conclusion, it can be said that while Hollywood films try to provide an accurate depiction of ancient Rome, their depictions only get half the story. The fact that only the story of the upper classes of these societies is displayed shows the bias that Hollywood filmmakers have against the common people of these civilizations. It can be said that their effort to suppress the depiction of the commoners is mainly because of the fact that they are attempting to create a better image of European civilization. This attempt, however, does not do justice not only to the common people of these civilizations, but also to those people of other races who contributed significantly to their growth. More needs to be done to ensure that a more balanced depiction of all the people involved in the affairs of Rome is made so that an accurate understanding of the life of this city and its empire can be developed. References Cyrino, M.S. 2005. Big Screen Rome. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Elley, D. 1984. The Epic Film: Myth and history. London: Routledge. Malamud, M. 2009. Ancient Rome and Modern America. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Wyke, M. 1997. Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, cinema and history. London: Routledge. Read More