Gladiators

[NOIRTRASH]

I research the hell outta everything, to make my stuff accurate.

I'm researching gladiators.

I saw the movie, you saw the movie. The movie is bull shit.

Gladiators were slaves and slaves to rules and rituals. No gladiator performed like an acrobat. What they did was almost choreography. If the crowd liked your stuff, you got to live, if not...you died. I'm reminded of bull fights, also choreographed. No emperor got in the arena, no emperor went on stage with any performers.

A THUBS UP gesture meant DEATH. Then you got your throat cut. And no one pledged to fie for the emporer.

 

[ishtat]

I research the hell outta everything, to make my stuff accurate.

I'm researching gladiators.

I saw the movie, you saw the movie. The movie is bull shit.

Gladiators were slaves and slaves to rules and rituals. No gladiator performed like an acrobat. What they did was almost choreography. If the crowd liked your stuff, you got to live, if not...you died. I'm reminded of bull fights, also choreographed. No emperor got in the arena, no emperor went on stage with any performers.

A THUBS UP gesture meant DEATH. Then you got your throat cut. And no one pledged to fie for the emporer.

The Emperor Commodus did fight in the Arena but the fights were rigged to make certain he survived. He was supplied with cripples, injured veterans and the like to kill.

The crowd didn't like his performances because it was demeaning to perform except for slaves. Commodus was barking mad and assassinated in the year of the 5 Emperors 192 AD.

 

[ishtat]

.....

 

[Carnevil9]

What do you call a smiling Roman with hair between his teeth?
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Gladiator!

 

[someoneyouknow]

You mean a movie didn't accurately portray what happened a few thousand years ago?

Color me shocked.

 

[slutindianwife]

uh??? seriously?? the flick was fake???

 

[lovecraft68]

You mean a movie didn't accurately portray what happened a few thousand years ago?

Color me shocked.

I say the same thing to people who tell me all about how the bible is real and we should run our country based on the morals of a bunch of fairy tales.

 

[oggbashan]

You mean a movie didn't accurately portray what happened a few thousand years ago?

Color me shocked.

War movies are sometimes worse. John Wayne didn't win WW2 on his own.

British war movies tend to ignore the Americans and the Russians; American war movies tend to put Americans winning everywhere even before they entered WW1 or 2.

Even movies of more recent events take liberties with what actually happened.

Gladiators? The best of them were like modern highly-paid sports stars. They had fan clubs, sponsors, merchandising concessions and women groupies. They weren't expected to die in the arena while they were still earning money for their sponsors.

The ones who died were the criminals and the incompetent.

 

[sr71plt]

The ones who died were the criminals and the incompetent.

And those past their prime and ability to attract followers?

 

[oggbashan]

And those past their prime and ability to attract followers?

Them too if they hadn't had the sense to buy their freedom and retire. The last, last, last farewell appearance could be fatal...

The older and more battered they became the cheaper the cost of buying their freedom but if they left it too late, or were too much of an asset - they died.