Rome saw many Slave Revolts

The world’s broad success of filming Gladiator led to the generation of renewed interests in the ancient Rome and the roles that gladiators played. This film brings into light the specter of the slave war that was led by gladiator Spartacus between 73 and 71 BC. The context of the film shows a real slave revolt where over one hundred thousand slaves waged war on the Rome oppressors. In the film context, it shows the inspiration that has arisen giving rise to the revolutionary movements despite the revolt had been bloody and messy. 

The story of Rome and slave revolts did not come out of anywhere. It was an accurate reflection of the more significant social turmoil that rocked the Roman Empire (Malamud, 2007). As Romans were expanding their territory into the other regions, slavery increased. The humiliation from the ruling class saw a revolutionary organization where thousands of slaves stood up and waged war against the oppressors. The filming of the story was initiated by the need to make the next generations understand the real war against slavery that was led by Gladiator revolt leader. The leader led thousands of other slaves to wage war against the oppression that they were facing, resulting in bloody war but saving many people from the slave oppression. 

Ever since the filming of this story, it became a landmark in the American film history owing to the historic nature and significance of the content. The film came as a breakthrough into the story of how slave war began and the heroic leader who dared the ruling class to lead the slave revolt. It reminds of the long journey that slavery has taken from the days of intense oppression and hard labor to the days when the war against slavery is almost being won. The film, therefore, has a historical significance to Americans based on the great history it provides on the Rome slave revolt. 

Reference 

Malamud, M. (2007). Cold War Romans: Arion. A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, 14(3), 121-154.