Fighting as a “Gladiator”

Among the battle scenes and epic storyline of redemption in “Gladiator”, there is a deeper tale dealing with personal identity being told under the surface. Most have seen the film helmed by Ridley Scott so I won’t bore you with a synopsis of the entire movie, but there’s much more to the story than grisly battle scenes and political scheming. Maximus learns the true value of who he is and what he’s willing to fight for. Maximus has just been offered to succeed the dying Ceaser. Ceaser’s son Commodus, of course, isn’t going to let this happen. It’s his job to rule, and he will stop at nothing to get it. After the smothering of his father, Commodus has Maximus arrested and taken to be executed. However, Maximus is a resourceful and skilled Roman soldier. He escapes and kills his would-be executioners and races to save his family. Too late, he is taken by slavers to be a gladiator. It’s as a gladiator that Maximus takes a knife and scrapes off the tattoo on his arm that designates him as a soldier and citizen of Rome.

What a crazy response! That would be akin to an American citizen renouncing their citizenship and losing all the benefits thereof. The tattoo removal tells us something important about Maximus. He no longer identifies himself with Rome, an empire he once swore to protect because he loved and believed in what it stood for. He was wronged by the very institution he had previously given his life to, and under Commodus and as a slave he can no longer consider himself a citizen. He doesn’t want to. It’s not that he is rejecting Rome, he’s rejecting the idea that Rome gives him his identity. This is in stark contrast to the cultural norm of the day- blind allegiance to and worship of Ceaser no matter what. Anything other than that was deserving of punishment by law- an effective tactic at ruling the large empire that was Rome. Maximus knows himself well and has the courage and self-determination to fight for what is right, and nothing can take away that away from him. It’s not his Roman citizenship that defines him and determines his life anymore. He is defined by the ideals he holds, which contrast with what Rome under Commodus had become.

This isn’t about political reform, although I see how it could be taken as such. This is about identity, and what informs it. It’s an interesting character study, as Maximus defines himself based on his convictions not his circumstances. His identity shift occurs with the removal of his tattoo, and from that point on he is a different man. He is no longer a soldier, but a gladiator. He’s given up his old life as a soldier and has embraced his new life as a gladiator so that others can benefit.

He knows who he is no matter what others do to him, with or without shackles.