Airbnb is hosting The Gladiator Colosseum experience in Rome, an event that gives fans of the “Gladiator” franchise or Roman history the ability to have a private showing of the over two thousand year old monument that they decorate to resemble what the Colosseum would have looked like in its original glory and allow pretend gladiator fights inside.
This experience is tied to advertising the release of the film “Gladiator II,” released Nov. 22.
Although an experience like this may sound fun to many, as a Latin student, I have to disagree. Like many other Roman-inspired films, this is just another instance of Hollywood and big corporations showing disregard for Ancient history.
In “Gladiator II,” one of the notable fight scenes is where Lucius, played by Paul Mescal, fights baboons. Although fun to watch at the movies, a quick google search would reveal that would never have happened historically. In the first “Gladiator,” Marcus Arulius was murdered by his son Commodus. In reality, his cause of death was likely disease. Again, his death in the movie is cooler but still not true.
With a $250-310 million budget and extravagant advertising for “Gladiator II,” I would think director Ridley Scott would finally fix the historical inaccuracies from the original. A big inaccuracy in the original film was emperor Marcus Aurelius banning gladiator fights. In real life, Marcus Aurelius actually promoted gladiator fights to distract from the failing Roman economy at the time.
I worry this ad stunt will damage the Colosseum and turn a protected piece of ancient history, symbolizing its impact on language, architecture and media into a prop. It may seem silly to get worked up over Hollywood mischaracterizing a dead empire but it’s not just about Rome. Hollywood’s willingness to embellish and fictionalize stories of real individuals and cultures expands far beyond the ancient world. Minority groups have been complaining for decades about the stereotypes and falsehoods movies perpetuate because they refuse to research the proper way to represent different ethnic groups.
Rome represents a history that affects the cultures and practices of many countries, including the U.S. From Roman-style buildings like the New York Stock Exchange and the Lincoln Memorial to the Roman republic inspiring the U.S. senate and separation of power and even the English language, with many words stemming from Latin. Like any other group’s culture and monuments, I believe there should be respect and appreciation. The media shouldn’t exploit history for profit, especially if it risks harming ancient monuments that have shaped the modern world.
