MovieChat Forums > Gladiator II (2024) Discussion > Gladiator 2 woke, prominent role for bla...

Gladiator 2 woke, prominent role for black


Don’t get me wrong here, I love Denzel. I’m a black man myself. But, Denzel in ancient Rome, playing a rich aristocrat?!? How historically accurate is that? Most blacks at the time didn’t have prominent positions. This smacks of woke propaganda and pandering to minorities and even I can recognize it.

reply

No, it's not historically accurate whatsoever. Like the first movie, it's possible to feature black characters, but not in this role. I guess Denzel was not willing to play a slave, even though that would be more close to the truth (and would fit the narrative of black people being oppressed!)

reply

According to Wikipedia, Macrinus was the next Emperor.

reply

He was not black, is the point.

reply

Right but also it was hard for him to be the next emperor the way it ended.

reply

You're talking about the real life Macrinus? He only lasted a year, so yeah, he had to deal with some issues. Being a arms dealer and former slave was not one of them, though.

reply

But it's Denzel, so doesn't matter. Hardly a "woke" hire you absolute ghoul. One of the greatest actors of all time. Gravitas + Charisma with a cherry on top.

Remember when directors would fall over themselves to hire Marlon Brando in the elder statesmen roles. Then Marlon would turn up asking the director if he could be replaced by a bagel so he could phone it in with just a voiceover. When on set, act like an ass and not bother to learn his lines?

Now we have Denzel Washington turning up to be the best thing in Gladiator II.

Denzel is the great reset.

If the actor can bring it, who cares.

Denzel can play Kris Kringle for all I care, and I'm in.

reply

Is he all that good? I wasn't impressed. (Nothing bad just wasn't impressed). And how can you replace Marlon Brando with a bagel?

reply

Google "Marlon Brando asked Richard Donner if he could play Jor-El As A Bagel In Original Superman Movie"

reply

Rome was woke indeed. Country first, gender and race non-existent. They focused on merit and whoever can make Rome the best.

Yes, there were Roman emperors of African descent. The most notable among them was Septimius Severus, who ruled from 193 to 211 AD. He was born in Leptis Magna, which is in present-day Libya. While the concept of race as we understand it today didn't exist in ancient Rome, Severus's heritage from North Africa makes him a significant figure in this context.

Another emperor often mentioned is Caracalla, the son of Septimius Severus, who also had African roots. However, it's important to note that these emperors were considered Romans first and foremost, and their African heritage was just one part of their identity.

reply

The political left has been rampant with their historical revisionism for decades.

reply

Africa is 3x the size of Europe or the USA.

Blacks lived south of the Sahara desert, which is still more than 2x the size of Europe/USA.

This whole we wuz pharaoh and now we wuz roman is embarrassing. I am a racist, I don't want blacks living next to me but I have enough empathy to give black people advice to see their history the right way. Just be proud that your ancestors rejected civilization and decided to live closer to nature, what's wrong about that? Just own it and then you can find pride in your identity.

Or don't. Just keep being cringe forever and claiming that you wuz romans and sheet. We'll all be laughing at you.

reply

I thought the same. But he also played some Shakespear dude.

reply