Like most toga movies, Gladiator is filled with political subtext. Along with serving as a warning for government corruption, Gladiator comments on the mob effect of politics and the power of the people. In the film, both Maximus and Commodus must gain and retain public favor to achieve their goals. Maximus needs the support of the people to kill Commodus and avenge his family and Commodus needs the support of the people in order to rule Rome. This need for support can be seen in the scene where Commodus tries to orders his Praetorian Guard to execute Maximus after he revealed himself. Due to Maximus’s incredibly entertaining performance in the ring, the people in the stadiums angrily yell at Commodus to spare the gladiator. Commodus quickly realizes that executing Maximus would damage his already rocky popularity and orders the Praetorian Guard to stand down, causing the crowd to cheer. From this scene, it becomes clear that even Commodus, one of the most reviled Roman emperors in history, can be swayed by the pressure of public opinion. Interestingly, Maximus is able to defy the crowd by sparing the life of Tigris. Instead of this turning the crowd against Maximus, the crowd’s support for Maximus increases. This can be interpreted as commentary on how easily swayed public opinions can be, especially when dealing with a popular and exciting figure. Ultimately, Gladiator shows that the power of the people and public opinion can be just as powerful as the sword.
I agree with this interpretation of this scene, it says a lot about our modern politics and politics of our past. This can even be applied to our current election and how the views of the public have swayed continuously as the election has progressed.
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