Analyzing Evil: Commodus From Gladiator

hello everyone and welcome to episode 46 of analysis of

evil

, featuring

commodus

of a

gladiator

derived from the real world, emperor joaquin phoenix gives us a masterful performance that leaves us with a spoiled, sadistic and completely disgusting man that instills in us, viewers, a hatred that can only be derived from a truly worm-like character like Commodus, the differences between the real and fictional Commodus are quite vast and Ridley Scott took several liberties with this film when it came to accuracy historical due to these differences, I will not cover the entirety of the actual comfortable, instead I will point out some of the differences between them and tell you about what really happened versus what we see in the movie if you are interested in watching a very informative about the life and reign of the royal comodo I suggest you watch a biographical video that details his life which I will link in the description of this video now without further ado let's begin comodo was born on August 31, 161 comodo spent much of his youth Taking advantage of the privileges granted to the son of an emperor by spending his time learning from great masters while being cared for by his family's personal physician as he aged, Commodus accompanied his father on some of his many campaigns learning the methods of war and the art of ruling during his travels with His father we are not told this backstory in the film, but I think all of this can still be applied to the Commodus we see in the film.

The first major difference between the real and fictional Commodus is in his position as emperor and how he acquires it. in reality, Commodus was co-emperor with his father for three years before he died and his father actually died of illness while in one of his aforementioned campaigns, the real Marcus Aurelius had concerns about his son, but none of them prevented him name Commodus. his successor and Commodus' succession after his father's death is as innocent a transition as you can get to a real position in the film Commodus murders his father for setting him aside in favor of Maximus, who Marcus believes will help mark the beginning of a new era. in Rome where the republic is reestablished and the people will rule once again, this is also not true to reality as Marcus clearly wanted his son to succeed him and for the imperial line to continue with his father's murder being the first act. of the

evil

Commodus. he commits himself in the movie we know and this scene is very important in establishing for us the motivations of his personality and his psyche.

Here we see that Commodus has lived his life in the shadow of his great father and has not lived up to his expectations. In the least he values ​​the more avaricious aspects of humanity, preferring glory and wealth to honor and charity. This scene also establishes Commodus as someone who is very envious of those around him and as a man who actually was or feels he was despised during his lifetime. childhood and that his father never loved him so he considered that the real Marcus Aurelius allowed Commodus to be co-emperor with him even with his reservations about his son.

I doubt that notion has much weight in the real world, however, what Marco tells him. Coming before he dies that his flaws as a son are a result of his failures as a father is an interesting line. This is Marcus admitting to Commodus that he is not entirely to blame for the man he grew up to be and this is also in line with the idea that the early development of a child and the involvement of his parents in his life is absolutely crucial in turning him into a the person he will eventually become, whether his father's transgressions were perceived or real, would probably have become a very different person if he had felt it.

That his father had loved and supported him does not mean that his father should not have tried to guide his son in a good direction or punish him for his bad behavior, but it stands to reason that when you encounter a horrible adult there is a slandered child. or careless who came before them, however, comfortable makes his own decisions in life and here he makes a categorically vile decision by murdering his own father to secure the throne of the Roman empire for himself over his father's still warm body , he corners Maximus and asks for his loyalty in a moment that gives us a slight hope that Commodus may actually allow Maximus to serve under him without consequences, but as is the case with many stubborn heroes, Maximus doesn't even bothers to consider it. option, a decision that is in fact his death sentence, Commodus wastes no time in consolidating his power and the first obstacle to realizing that power is the noble Maximus whose family he orders murdered while sending Maximus to die, a An act that I am sure was done to prevent Maximus Jr. from taking revenge for his father's murder once he came of age, we next see the new emperor return to Rome flanked by his Praetorian Guard riding a magnificent chariot through a huge crowd of people and we find that a good majority of them are not that interested in having Commodus, as their new Emperor and others are bought and paid to sponge up the crowd and Commodus's ego, although he comes in with Head held high, we can see at this point that Commodus's reign is already in trouble and with a troubled reign comes a worried mind, jumping at every insult thrown at him while dreading the prospect of having to rule his new empire in instead of enjoying only its advantages.

This is as good a time as any to talk about Commodus's appearance and mannerisms, since after his ascension to the throne we will see him dressed in finery or, more often than not, in full regalia, a striking sight that gives us shows how greedy and vain he is. Something to note about Commodus is the dark circles that shadow his eyes show us that this man probably sleeps very little and with a revelation made by his sister later in the film, part of this could be explained by his fear of the dark, However, I imagine that the very ambitious and scheming Commodus doesn't sleep much.

Due to the constant stress he is under, as well as his fragile and volatile psyche, which I'm sure plagues his thoughts even more, this lack of sleep is likely a large component of his irrationality and brash behavior, as Commodus quickly becomes irritated. and in his Anger, he often acts rashly and lashes out like a spoiled child who doesn't get his way. His mannerisms often flourish in an attempt to appear regal, carefree and relaxed. Creepy or threatening in his public persona. He attempts to appear as the gallant and gentle emperor, father of the people and magnificent ruler who will usher in a new era of glory for his people, one that will lead Rome to the pinnacle of power and prosperity when dealing with his senators, he initially attempts to do the same and while he is at it he manages to convey to them that he is quite bored with the current government of the empire and that he is not the least bit interested in promoting its growth and well-being by providing significant aid to his people.

Intimidation comes into play here, as he is often challenged by these wiser men, but his chill comes in the form of his advances towards his sister, of which there will be many as the film progresses, returning to his return. to Rome, we see Grakkus making a comment that he has returned as if he were a conquering hero. he has not conquered anything, a valid point considering that Commodus wishes to be praised without earning any praise, however, in reality, while it is not true that he returned as a conqueror, he can be partly given the title of peacemaker, as before returning to Rome from a In his campaign he made peace with the Nubian tribes and his reign was generally seen as much more peaceful compared to the more militarized reigns of his predecessors after being received by the senators, the chief of them, the sycophant Falco Commodus, proceeds to hold an audience with his senators in which he denounces them as traitors to the people, pointing out their privileges and hedonistic tendencies in an extravagant display of hypocrisy, promoting himself as the father of the people while deigning to tell the senators that he is the one who has the solutions to the problem. the people's problems, a notion that is greeted with a strong note of sarcasm from Grakkus, apart from Commodus' veiled threat against Maximus when he asks him to proclaim his loyalty.

This is the first real threat we see Commodus make an early one that serves as a foreshadowing of what is happening. to come later in his reign, what's interesting to note here is how he points out the flaws of two of the senators, one who is somewhat innocent in that he points out that grakkus eats better than most people, but when he points out that Gaius has fined his lovers, this indicates that the scheming Commodus has returned to Rome well prepared to take advantage in his dealings with the senators, even if it means resorting to blackmail after this meeting Commodus reacts to the reprimands of the senators of a way we would expect like a boy crying to his sister about how these more experienced and knowledgeable men have no right to lecture someone as great as him, we have already touched on the next notion a bit, but this scene illustrates to us that, although Commodus desires to be a great emperor by helping his people, his ideas for doing so are not based on tangible solutions and instead focus on giving people a distraction to take their mind off their problems, a gold plate painted on a house with rotten foundations, although this is not the case. exactly what you would call good politics, Gracchus makes an excellent point in the next scene where he comments that Commodus actually understands something about people, that if you give them a show and take their mind off their problems, it works for a while, like grace He says that the marble of the senate is not the beating heart of Rome, it is the arena of the comfortable coliseum.

He will bring death to the people and they will love him for it when the people realize the hidden damage he will have already caused in their lives. too late but at least his destruction will be buried in a very thin coffin now something interesting about his desire to give people what they want but not necessarily what they need is that it is born in part from the lack of love he feels in his comfortable life . He comments on the sleeping form of his nephew who sleeps so well because they love him and then tells his sister how all his desires are breaking his head into pieces.

We talked about this a little when we were talking about the dark circles around his eyes. but this is confirmation that Commodus is stressed, anxious and disturbed, his desire to be loved has led him to a mad effort to make plans that will make all of Rome honor him and that he imagines will fill the hole in his heart that he left. his father and sister's rejection of his advances, this hole is so big that he would dissolve the senate and denounce its members as enemies who wander only so they can monopolize the adoration of the people, the pinnacle at the head of an empire that the The entire world would look at him in awe and reverence in a later scene in which he talks to his sister about Gracchus and his betrayals.

We received this line from Commodus for the health of Rome. The Senate must be bled. This is in line with his dissolution plans. the senate, but something to note here is that, although Commodus presents himself as the savior of Rome, the only person's health he is concerned about is his own and everything he says in favor of keeping his people and his kingdom is only said to be in service to ensure his own power and his own happiness, the real comfortable one seems to have had the same ideas as the fictional one; However, it is unknown if his actions were born of perceived negligence, what we do know is that during the first four years of Commodus' reign, the empire was quite stable and peaceful, as Comet prefers to spend his time abusing luxury. at his disposal, leaving the day-to-day management of the empire to his advisors and senators, while it is theorized that his sister in the film rejects his advances. that in real life her sister really desired her brother and was deeply jealous of Commodus's marriage and out of this jealousy she made a plot to murder her brother which sent him into the depths of paranoia sending his hedonistic actions towards negligence and cruelty during the rest.

During his reign he would organize endless games just like our Commodus did, but he would go a step further and participate in these games and eventually declared himself to be the god Hercules personified, erecting statues of himself throughout the city that represented him as the mythological god. . God, clearly real communists also had a lot of trouble wanting attention and it may have been to an even greater degree than the fictional portrayal of him. Now these games are central to the film version as it is Commodus' ticket to achieving his dreams, but Now let's examine this sport for a moment if two consenting adults decide they want to participate in a deadly sport involving sword play, that is their prerogative and there is no blame when it comes to morality;

However, this practice, as we see in the film, is one that often uses slaves whoThey fight against their will against all kinds of warriors and creatures and most of them do so until they meet their end in the arena, all in order to entertain others, the pomp and fervor that these scenes and other representations of this. It sports a certain magnificence and grandeur, but at the end of the day it is a horrible practice, one that I certainly consider to be quite evil. This abuse of human beings that Commodus is more than willing to allow shows us another side to this man.

That adds an extra layer of villainy to his character. He is not the only one who likes the games and I cannot attest to the thoughts of Roman society in general or the thoughts of other emperors on this topic as many people might have had a negative view of this sport and left it. continue for the sake of tradition and the entertainment of the population, but in general his fascination with the arena is morbid like him. more than willing to pit these hapless men and women against each other for his own amusement, the amusement of his people and to earn their adoration, showing us that this man sees his subjects as nothing more than mere toys that is within his rights. to play with Commodus they feel quite confident in his position and his plans to transform the empire into a sanctuary dedicated to himself.

Until Maximus arrives in Rome, the character of Maximus and the events that happen from this point on are completely fictional and there is not much to compare with reality here, among a crowd of spectators, Commodus receives perhaps the biggest obstacle to his machinations outside the Senate, a ghost that has returned to haunt him, tormented by confusion and panic, Commodus immediately seeks to sever the life of this dilemma, however, his greatest strength. The spectacle he has given to his people has turned against him at this moment, as the heroic Maximus has won the hearts of the crowd, a crowd that Commodus cannot afford to turn against him, so he leaves May Maximus live for now.

After this event, we see Cometo taking his anger at a bust of his father, a scene that highlights something quite important: even though Cometo murdered his father, this murder was carried out out of frustration, ambition, and a feeling of abandonment. , but like with his sister, he loved his father and although he hated him for His transgressions, whether real or perceived, at the end of the day, all he wanted was to feel the love he had for his father return to him to show how angry he is about Maximus' survival. He arranges the execution of the men who found the bodies of the Praetorians Maximus killed and while this satisfies his anger, it also serves a dual purpose as a test for Quintus and his Praetorians to prove their loyalty, prompting Quintus to give the order to kill. to the communists or their men, an incredibly risky decision for comfortable to take however quintus. he decides to let him live and Commodus at this point can feel a little safer knowing that he still has the loyalty of his Praetorians in his subsequent plots to destroy Maximus.

We find him resorting to underhanded tactics in his efforts to kill Commodus. is no stranger to pitting Maximus against a formidable opponent while tigers pursue him, it's a situation any lesser man would have perished in regardless of how our hero prevails, and to show just how bitter and absolutely disgusting the human being Commodus is, taunts Maximus after his victory with details of his family's death a cruel attempt to break Maximus that fails just as well as his plan to kill him did now that Maximus's hero distinction is one that would be a deal breaker for him. turning the people of Rome against Commodus Comedus is learning that the people truly appreciate an emperor who gives them a show to alleviate their problems, but they love and worship a hero, one who embodies honor, glory, humility and mercy, a man that people can admire.

Later that night we find Commodus having a breakdown as he realizes that this is a nightmare in the form of a man who has all the traits that Commodus lacks, one that shines brightly in the shadow of the depraved Commodus. He wants to kill him, but knows that if he does, the mob will turn against him. even more than they already have, which will undoubtedly be their downfall, so Commodus with Falco's advice waits for the moment when his enemies will surely reveal themselves, a moment that the impatient and deeply worried Commodus has difficulty waiting for because his His mind is cooking with the betrayal and plots surrounding him as the seconds pass along with his problems with Maximus come his thoughts and feelings regarding his sister thoughts that are similar to his supposed concern for Rome's health as if Commodus knew that his sister does not have romantic feelings for him, he still pushes her defenses and in that scene in which he talks to her about Grachus, we have a tremendously sensual moment in which Commodus rapes her in a seductive way, a violation that transmits to us the intense lust that he hides behind his gentle caresses Commodus as emperor would undoubtedly have access to almost any woman he wished to have in the empire and this affection for a woman who is both his blood and who has no interest in him is Strangely, until you consider how fractured the comedy's idea of ​​love is and how starved he is of familial bonds, Commodus desires his sister because he's probably genuinely in love with her, but this love also comes from that notion that the desire for Familial love very soon, however, he realizes that his desire will never be obtained through persuasion.

As when he discovers his sister's betrayal, he knows how far away that dream is, his heart breaks even more sending Commodus into an abyss of depravity. After this revelation, we find Commodus finally enacting his revenge against those conspirators who attempted to bring about his downfall, as we see. who has ordered men to be burned and poisoned while his Praetorians search for Maximus at dawn the next day, we find a comfortable victorious man watching the Roman dawn contemplating whether or not he should grant mercy to his sister the way he does while forgiving her. life. However, keeping her living here is a faith worse than death, as Commodus now has her son as a hostage, a hostage who will be killed if she dares to defy him or even commits suicide, a hostage in her own right who is now forced to serve her. her brother provides her with children as her forced lover, a position she still defies even as he looms over her threatening everything she loves from here Commodus moves to see his victory assured personally desiring the satisfaction of ridding his enemy with his own. hands dressed all in white.

Commodus marches to the coliseum to see his quarry, but we see that his insignia are not pure white, as his armor is stained with the decay of age and rust, showing us that these finery reflect the decaying soul of a deranged man rotting beneath her, of course. Commodus still wants to have her victory assured and what would Commodus' plan be if he didn't include the underhanded tactics he's known for stabbing Maximus in the back before the duel arrives? It seeks to show the people of Rome that the brave and heroic Maximus is no match for the glorious Emperor of Rome, the white beacon of light that guides the people of the empire towards glory and prosperity, however, vanity, ambition and Cruelty is no match for honor, determination, discipline and comfort, although he had every advantage at his disposal when trying.

With his enemies he is finally crushed under the weight of his ambition and all his sins fall on the sword of the man who had within him the humanity that was actually missing after his sister's plot to murder him. . Comet has spent many years running his empire. on the ground and after many plots and mishaps that we do not know about in the film, the communist meets his end at the hands of his fellow fighter Narcissus, who strangles him in his bathroom, ending a 12-year reign that sent the empire Roman even further. in decline, if not for the movie Commodus at the end of his short reign, who was this man?

He was a man who felt marginalized by his father, neglected as a son who did not live up to the expectations of the great emperor, one who valued virtues that contrast sharply with those of his father, deprived of love and then deprived of what he wanted. He believed it was his birthright, murders the father he felt had despised him his entire life, killing the man whose love he had longed for since he was a child rising to emperor of one of the greatest empires the world had ever seen. , the comedy began to implement his vision for the Roman Empire, one that would see his people live the glory he believed they craved and deserved, a fantasy that ignored the real problems plaguing his empire sent his people down the path of adulation.

Blind to the games and decadence she displayed as the foundations of their lives slowly crumbled beneath her feet during her reign, she oversaw the murder and suffering of countless people, and while she brought much spectacle to her world, she offered nothing substantial in return. , preferring to contemplate his own disgusting reflection instead of turning his eyes towards the people who suffered beyond his limits, vain, cruel, greedy and conniving with the intense selfishness and ambition of Commodus, revealed the monster within him, a monster whose satisfaction lay in him. In the praise and adulation he felt that he had been robbed of the desire that led him to commit a large number of crimes, all to satisfy his own ego and, although he may have been abused as a child to some extent, his choices and actions are all his. own and all of these things are in conjunction with his despicable and callous acts of brutality that make this man a barbarically decadent master of evil.

Thank you all for tuning into this evil analysis episode and I hope you enjoyed the thoughts on it. in

commodus

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