John Whitehead's Commentary
Gladiator Deserves the Academy Award
Ridley Scott has made some of the most influential movies in the history of film. His movies Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982) changed the face of film. Blade Runner's "look" is probably the most copied of any film in the past 50 years. Virtually anything Scott makes is worth seeing. His attention to detail is often amazing. But like all creative people, he has had his share of also-rans. Gladiator, however, is Scott's return to form.
Gladiator is an epic film, one that in many ways transcends the notion of blockbuster to which we've become accustomed. All the elements of fine filmmaking are here: editing, cinematography, acting, directing, story, soundtrack and so on.
A true visual delight, Gladiator centers on a fallen Roman general, Maximus (Russell Crowe), in 180 A.D., who becomes a gladiator and has to fight to survive. Maximus' archenemy is the decadent Roman ruler Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Gladiator may be the best battle film ever made and is certainly one of the bloodiest.
What sets Gladiator apart from routine action drama, however, are its social message and its emphasis on the meaning of human existence. In preparation for battle, Maximus tells his troops, "What we do in life echoes in eternity." Thus, the film is centered on eternal purpose and eternal consequences for our acts. Our present molecular structure may be "shadows and dust," as one character notes in the film, but once our human edifice decays, the spirit lives on. And as Gladiator would have it, you are judged on the scales of heaven for the quality of life you led on earth. Was it one of wisdom, justice, fortitude and deference? Or do you live your life according to the materialistic rat race of Madison Avenue and the entertainment industry?
Gladiator, however, is more than a story about virtue and the Roman Empire. Parallels to the modern American Empire are apparent. The screenplay was co-written by Josh Logan, who also wrote Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday (1999), which addressed similar themes. The real subtext to Gladiator is whether the Roman republic, with its attendant freedoms, will survive in a system where the people are driven to desire and lust for entertainment. Sound familiar? As long as Commodus gave the people bread and circuses, he knew he could stay in power. Thus, the corrupt emperor played to the people's lusts. Flash forward to the modern political candidates, who promise the world and hawk their wares on entertainment venues--for example, both George W. Bush and Al Gore opted for appearances on Jay Leno and David Letterman rather than hold press conferences. Unfortunately, the trend is toward politics as entertainment.
Ridley Scott also had the Praetorian Guard dressed in black, mirroring quite accurately what many modern American police look like. Maybe the FBI, the INS and police organizations that often seem to be in the storm trooper mode should take a lesson from Scott. We do live in a democracy, right?
This country is in the midst of cultural and moral chaos. This is evident in the recurring crises in our political system, as well as in many of our daily lives. And some believe that these crises may very well escalate to epidemic proportions within the early decades of the Third Millennium. This is why films such as Gladiator are important--they address these problems in their historical context and raise vital questions for us to ponder. This is what great art is all about.
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ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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