Gladiator Introduction::Jazmyn Lamar-Bruce

The film "Gladiator" directed by Ridley Scott is a very cut throat film showing how power and violence could corrupt a person. The main Gladiator, as known as Maximus, goes through the people closest to him being killed. These events seem to alter his character because he feels he has nobody else to live for since the ones he loves have been taken away from him. In this film, power also has a way of making people think differently. The character Commodus, after learning he won't be emperor, takes matters into his own hands to gain that power. Ridley Scott uses various creative ways to develop this story.

Gladiator Introduction Paragraph - Morgan Stevenson

In “Gladiator”, Ridley Scott is trying to show us that the Roman Empire was designed to “kill, steal, and destroy” and by doing so, it gave them power and control over a population of many but destroy them in the end, like karma.  Maximus, a solider that became the best Gladiator ever due to enslavement and a will to survive, led the Romans in a victory in a battle against their enemy.  His heroic acts and devotion to the Roman Empire led Marcus Aurelius, the dying emperor of the Roman Empire, to appointing him to the position of Emperor of Rome but Marcus’ son wanted to be emperor so he killed his father before anyone found out that Marcus wanted Maximus to be emperor.  Soon there after, Maximus was forced into slavery and became a Gladiator, a man trained to fight with weapons against other men or wild animals in an arena for the entertainment of the ruler and citizens.  Throughout this movie, the Roman Empire is portrayed as a government of manipulation that controls its citizens by putting the fear in them through death, barbaric acts or other forms of torture, which is shown primarily through the cinematography.  According to this film, the Roman Empire was strong in a sense but yet weak because of the inhuman ways it operated and even though it was seemingly structured, it had no foundation and that’s the reason why it collapsed and only the Roman Catholic Church survived the fall of the empire.

Gladiator Intro paragraph- Tevin Lanier

In Ancient Rome, Ridley Scott takes us through the mind of Maximus better known as "The Gladiator". "The Gladiator" played by Russell Crowe is an example of how losing your family to senseless acts of violence can turn a man into a crazed killer. During Maximus being in Rome, he has winessed some very gruesome events due to his participation in the military. Maximus saw many violent acts as the leader of the army,but experiencing his family being murdered took a serious toll on him. Maximus is now turned into a killing machine with no regard for human life, all to get revenge for his murdered family. Since Rome's government played a major part in their deaths, they now shall reap the effects of Maximus' wrath.

Introduction-Gladiator Quorneshia Milner

In the movie Gladiator Scott Ridley, the director, shows us his version of how rough and rigid the Romans could be and how interesting they could be to watch at the same time. There are a couple of movies that come to mind when watching this movie- - 300, Alexander, Troy,and last but not least Rome (the series) all of thes movies have lots of battles and strong men young and old fighting for what they believe is right and/or wrong. Movies like Gladiator and the others make you wonder could wars really be this glorious and could they really be that gory. Gladiator is bassically like all the other war movies in the fact that at the end Maximus prevails and comes out on top, but it is different because of the struggles thatg Maximus had to go through in order to overcome- - becoming a slave and being forced to fight. Scott Ridley's point seems to be that no matter how much someone trys to hold you down you can come out on top if you just keep pushing on until the end.

"Gladiator" Introduction Paragraph- Jowin Okere

Ancient Rome is known as one of the most revolutionary civilizations in history. It has been depicted in several different aspects from the artistic shifts to their powerful government. In "The Gladiator", Ridley Scott depicts the violent and barbaric nature of ancient Rome through the eyes of Maximus, a man who has been sold as a Gladiator after encountering a series of unfortunate events. His transition from an organized militant leader to a war hungry fighter is a human manifestation of the blurred spectrum that is Rome. Ridley Scott uses Maximus as an avatar of this depiction, to make a statement about the true nature of Rome and its culture through his trials and encounters throughout the movie.

Introduction...

Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott is a movie that empowers his audience to see how one individual being can concord a whole society of Rome by being humble but yet assertive Scott accomplishes this must dramatically with mis-en-scene. The sets and props was typically in Maxium favor. The costuming that was wear by Maxius was very bold symbolizing youth and strength. Scott tells a very heart lifting story with many details. This is very significant in understanding Scott venison of Rome. the cinematography, mise-en-scene, and actors all play a very important roles in showing how Scott wanted to depict Rome and the battled that was finally won.

NOTE RE: PAPERS (from Dr. Mazzone)

See the following note from Dr. Mazzone regarding your papers due this Thursday. We'll discuss more tomorrow. (And don't forget about the blog for tonight. See the PROMPT.)

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What you want to talk about is up to you--there's a lot to notice in the film. Whatever you notice, however, should be in the service of an argument you're making about Scott's purpose as a director. So what is he trying to show us? Something about individuality in the context of a social system that demands submission? Something about leadership and the voice of the "people"? Or maybe you can say something about the significance of the film to contemporary audiences--what does Rome mean to people seeing this film? What is the function of the action sequences in the film? What does the film say about violence, and how does it manipulate the audience into its vision about violence?

*[THESE ARE JUST SOME EXAMPLES. You need to pick a manageable and specific topic that YOU can write well about.]

The critical thing is to have a thesis--something to argue. Once you have that, everything you observe, whether technical or design-oriented, should be in service of that argument. You're not writing a review--so not a lot of superlatives about the production values, the battle scenes, or the wonderful acting. Rather, you want to explain how all those elements contribute to make the movie mean what you say it means.