Maximus is upfront and always “played the game fair”. He never cheats to win a match and his honesty is admired by the audience. By using extras, both CGI and real, Ridley Scott is able to show the audience in the cinema how to react; the more the mob reacts to Maximus, the more we are encouraged to do the same. This way he earns a well deserved respect from the audience. Meaning exactly what he said is another reason why Maximus is seen as a real man. Instead of just uttering dry threats with no meaning, he does what he said he would. He was always action and not just words. For example, when Maximus publicly declared that he would get his vengeance, he actually means it, and in the end he proves that he does what he says he would – getting his revenge. The theatrical style of the script at this point links it to other filmic tales of revenge such as Ben Hur.
There are several other men in the film who we can compare Maximus to. Firstly, there is his main rival, as it were, Emperor Commodus. He is the complete opposite of Maximus. Although he could get away with being slightly good looking, Commodus lacks charisma, of which Maximus has plenty. He is a very puny character with not much build and his voice is more like that of a child than a man as opposed to Maximus’ much more deep and manly voice. His lisp is accentuated by a hare-lip which plays on a traditionally cruel stereotype of disfigurement being linked with evil. He is not strong and this can be shown by the fact that he is defeated by Maximus at the “grand finale” even though maximus is half-dead due to a wound inflicted on him by the emperor. By editing the film so we the audience witness Commodus stabbing Maximus but others do not the film makes us reaffirm our sympathy with Maximus. The fact that Commodus literally stabs Maximus in the back shows that he is indeed a great coward and was not at all upfront. Also, when we see this, the long shot showing Maximus tied up in a pose like Christ on the cross, which cuts to a close up of the knife and then Commodus’ sneaky face, do not emphasize Commodus’ power and strength but on the contrary his cowardice and status as the anti-hero or antagonist. Whenever Maximus is involved in violence and killing it is staged in a public area and quick edits of weapons, injuries and impact are cut together with sound effects to emphasize clean, direct power. I think the major reason why Commodus is unable to control his own nation is the fact that he is very threatening but, however, does not have the guts to carry a threat out. Commodus is also quite frightened to stand up to Maximus and this is why he has to stab him in the back. We can also see several examples of his cowardice when he cannot do anything when he is defied by Maximus. He has to consult his sister and this representation of Commodus a man deferring to his sister, a woman, shows everyone he is a very weak person as it supports the ideologies of the time that valued men and masculinity as more important than women and femininity in terms of power.
Secondly, there is Juba, Maximus’ best friend who is black. Juba is a type and shadow of Maximus. He acts as Maximus’ second in command when Maximus becomes a Gladiator. He also has similar qualities to Maximus. Although he is not particularly handsome or charismatic, we see his love for his family from the very beginning of the film as he has several expository scenes in which he tells Maximus about his family. He is very brave, like Maximus, as we can see through his bold fighting. Although he does take a real major role in the film, we can see why he wasn’t the main character. This is because there are a few characteristics which separate him from Maximus. In the film, we didn’t really see Juba take any leading roles or show any leadership skills. He was more of a loyal man, willing to obey commands, but unable to give them out. He is the closest to Maximus than any other man in the film. He plays quite a major role in the film because, as with many other films of the same genre, he is a black sidekick to the hero. This may be because other roman epics have always portrayed the hero as white and their sidekick as black or a person from another ethnic community. It may have looked strange to the audience, therefore, to have a black hero and a white sidekick.
Thirdly, at the beginning of the film, we meet the elderly Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a man whom Maximus gives the highest respect. He is Maximus’ role model and someone that he looks up to. Maximus, and the audience, love Emperor Aurelius because of his love for Rome and the love he showed to Maximus. Also because of the fact that this character is played by a popular actor Richard Harris who also stars in the Harry Potter films. He, like Juba, does not have all the good characteristics that Maximus has, but we the audience can clearly see the various things that Maximus has learnt from the Emperor. The major value that is common with both Aurelius and Maximus was a love for Rome. The Emperor identified that Maximus loved Rome even more than his son, and therefore wanted to make him heir though this was made impossible as the Emperor was murdered by his own son.
The staging of the final scene, as the emperor begs Maximus for help contrasts the physical differences of the characters. The emperor is shown with a wisened face but a weak body faltering under his heavy costume. Maximus is strong, standing straight and tall and is shot from below to emphasise this.
From the recurring theme of masculinity, it is safe to say that Gladiator is most likely to be aimed at a male audience because although female audiences will admire and look at Maximus as a hero, this film is more of a “teacher” to the male audience. Showing them how much better it is to be upfront, courageous, strong and loving.
Other examples of this genre such as Spartacus, share the same theme of men and masculinity and use many of the same cinematic devices, especially the prolific use of close ups of men’s bodies. The “weapon of choice” in this genre of film is the sword or the knife which, like the gun in Westerns, can be described as phallic. The audience therefore usually knows what to expect when watching a roman epic.
Overall, however, the theme of masculinity is displayed constantly throughout Gladiator and throughout other films with a related genre and it can be said that masculinity is a major topic in most roman epics.
