The tropification of Hollywood heroes thrown into the arena

Abstract

The 1960 movie Spartacus itself follows a long tradition of Spartacus reception that includes a ballet, novels and earlier films, but he is arguably a gladiator in Hollywood so iconic, homages to him became a trope. Gladiators are firmly embedded in modern popular culture, and nowhere more extensively than on screen. Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus left an indelible mark on cinematic gladiatorial stories, with Roman spectacle becoming a stock story arc for protagonists across genres. The stories share repeated commonalities that serve as narrative shorthand for audiences. The standardisation of the trope signposts the story ‘beats,’ creating a sense of familiarity with the audience whilst allowing for novelty. The role of gladiator is one that protagonists assume, almost as a costume, to evoke ancient ideals whilst adapting brutality for modern sensibilities. As the external audience, our act of watching events on screen is not only as witnesses to the violence, but as partakers of the pleasure in doing so. The gladiator trope has been designed to provide us with narrative structure, exempting us from the taboo of enjoying violence for its own sake.