Download Oscar Vasquez HIST 1500 Professor Cody K. Carlson 9/16/2011

Oscar Vasquez
HIST 1500
Professor Cody K. Carlson
9/16/2011
Film Assignment: Spartacus (1960)
Film Synopsis: Spartacus is a 1960 film that depicts Spartacus, a slave who finds
himself in a gladiator academy. Spartacus and other prisoners escape from the academy and
lead a slave revolt against Rome. He and other former slaves recruit slaves around the region
of the academy and unite to form an gladiator army to fight their way out of Italy. The gladiator
army win many battles against Roman legions, and are nearly successful in escaping Italy via
the sea; but after a betrayal from sea pirates and being surrounded by Roman legions from
different directions, Spartacus leads his army towards Rome hoping to free and slaves in Italy.
The Roman legions end up destroying the revolt (with heavy losses on both sides), and after
prisoners refuse to turn in Spartacus, are all crucified except Spartacus and Antoninus, a fellow
soldier. In the end, Spartacus and Antoninus are forced to fight to the death, in which Spartacus
slays Antoninus to save him the pain of crucifixion; Spartacus is then crucified (1).
Critique: The film is obviously not a accurate portrayal of Spartacus and other people,
yet I think the film did a good job in describing the events which occurred in Roman history; in
this case, the slave revolt led by Spartacus (or more accurately, the Third Servile War). It
wasn't so much the fighting scenes or the climatic battles that made the film good, but the way
the people were portrayed in the movie. I liked how the film captures the humanity in an
otherwise action film; the small moments in peoples lives; the emotion each character
expressed. Overall, I was impressed how the human side of Spartacus and other characters
were depicted, showing the audience that these slaves, considered by the Roman elite to be the
lowest forms of life, were just ordinary people like everyone else, seeking and wanting peace
and happiness. And how sometimes, the price for freedom meant the shedding of blood.
As stated earlier, the film was not an complete accurate portrayal of historicial events.
That the events did happen is true, and the historical circumstances surrounding the film did
occur, which was the Third Servile War. Yet it is known that Hollywood tends to sacrifice the
historical accuracies of events in order to fit a desired storyline. In many cases, certain events
or peoples lives are changed to help an audience understand a historical concept better. And
sometimes, Hollywood changes historical events for self gratification, or to just spice things up.
For me, the story of Spartacus is no exception from historical inaccuracies. Here are a few
examples:
●
The film depicts Spartacus as born into slavery and sold to a gladiator academy; “The
real Spartacus was a freeborn provincial from Thrace, who may have served as an
auxiliary in the Roman army in Macedonia. He deserted the army, was outlawed,
captured, sold into slavery, and trained at the gladiatorial school of Batiatus in Capua”
(2).
●
The film depicts the slave army heading south towards the sea to escape from the
Romans; historians place Spartacus and his army attempting to head north and escape
through the Alps, yet disagreements within his soldiers and desires to plunders kept
them in the south (3).
●
The film depicts one climatic battle towards the end between the revolt and the Roman
legions to determine the victor; sources list several battles between Spartacus and the
Roman legions that eventually led to the utter defeat of the revolt (4)
●
The film depicts Spartacus captured by the Romans and later crucified; sources indicate
that Spartacus was killed in battle, and his body was never found (5)
●
The film depicts a Roman senator by the name of Gracchus who lived in the timeframe
in the film, circa 73 BC; there is a record of Gracchi (two Gracchus) elected to a tribune,
who lived approximately 50 years before, circa 121 BC (5).
Film relation to course material: As of now, the class lectures have not covered any
period of Roman history. Yet we have covered the Greek civilization, which would influence and
lead into the Roman civilization. One of the things covered in the Greek civilization which was
eventually passed on to the Roman world was the concept of citizenship, or being a ‘free man’.
The free man was able to be a part of the community, take part in passing laws, owning land
and property, having his rights and life protected by the state. We see a similar concept in the
film. In the film, the Roman citizen is depicted as a man free from turmoil; to live his life as he
pleased, living in furnished conditions, to purchase land for his gain, often served by slaves.
The free man life, property and civil rights were protected by the law, whereas a slave,
forced to work for the free man, was not protected by the law. We see in the film the struggles
of the slave, revolting and fighting against what they considered the oppressor (Rome)
preventing them from living a life free from labor, toil, abuse, neglect; all for the purpose to be
free. Not to have the privileges of the Roman citizen, but to be free overall, not to be weighed
down or to be subject to anything.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Spartacus. Stanley Kubrick. Universal Pictures. 1960. Film.
2. McManus, Barbara F. “Spartacus: Historical Background.” Vroma.org. June 1999. 16
Sep 2011. <http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/spartacus.html>.
3. "Spartacus." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2011
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404706079.html>.
4. McManus, Barbara F. “Spartacus: Historical Background.” Vroma.org. June 1999. 16
Sep 2011. <http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/spartacus.html>.
5. "Spartacus." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 16 Sep. 2011
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404706079.html>.