“I think they got chicken,” Washington said of the scene that didn’t make it into the movie.
  • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.worldEnglish
    23·
    1 month ago

    Just to educate, Romans didn’t have an issue with homosexuality as long as there was a clear power dynamic. A Roman man could have sex with a younger, lower status person and he would be looked at as virile. The boy would also not face backlash. However as they grow into adults, the “bottom” would be looked at as a woman or unmanly. Caesar was mocked as the queen of Bithynia due to a gay rumor between Caesar and the king, but the making fun wasn’t because of the gay act, but because Caesar was rumored to be the bottom.

    I’m guessing two Gladiators going at it would not be an issue for anyone as they were slaves and prisoners. Additionally, Gladiators were extremely sought after as male prostitutes to women of wealth.

    • Kusimulkku@lemm.eeEnglish
      41·
      1 month ago

      If I remember correctly, being gay in the sense of being exclusively with men was strange to them and socially bad.

      • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 month ago

        For like equestrian and ruling class I would say yes. That was the nice thing about being a pleb, you’re already looked down on so you can just do whatever the fuck you want really lol

        • Kusimulkku@lemm.eeEnglish
          31·
          1 month ago

          I’d imagine overarching social taboos and whatnot were in effect for them too, when it came to sexuality. But we know less of them because average pleb didn’t write about this stuff and nobody else gave two shits to document them.

    • ryedaft@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      The western Roman empire lasted about a thousand years, right? So I’m guessing they would have gone through many social norms over time and even had different norms depending on geography and class.

      • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.worldEnglish
        6·
        1 month ago

        Well yeah. But in the time period this film is set in, it was still Roman norm. Homophobia entered later, when Christianity took over.

  • RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    252·
    1 month ago

    Yesterday I watched something about Sacha Baron Cohen (https://youtu.be/a8d-Xj2V4Zg) and a gay kissing scene (recorded live and in front of an unexpecting crowd) and they tried to at least beat him up, I guess they’d have him lynched if they had the possibility. I guess the American, rural crowd isn’t ready yet for sweaty men kissing.

    So yes, show it! Make them feel uncomfortable! 😂

    • Letstakealook@lemm.eeEnglish
      241·
      1 month ago

      There was more context to it than “rural Americans saw men kissing and got angry.” He intentially created a situation where the crowd was filled with hateful bigots, they were specifically there because they are homophonic.

        • Letstakealook@lemm.eeEnglish
          101·
          1 month ago

          Oh lord, it’s OK boo boo, no need to be angry. Let’s break it down. I did not claim there are not problems in rural America, at all. All I stated was that that particular incident was intentionally created for that reaction. He even hyped up their homophobia to a fervor before the kiss. That was a demonstration of herd mentality and crowd manipulation.

        • Letstakealook@lemm.eeEnglish
          62·
          1 month ago

          It was his “super straight, straight pride” hype for the event. During the event, he even hyped them up before the kiss to elicit that reaction. How is this not plainly obvious? I’m not saying those people aren’t shit stains. Let’s just keep it reality.

          • BossDj@lemm.eeEnglish
            3·
            1 month ago

            It seems like he manipulated the crowd after they’d arrived, but I couldn’t find anything that suggests they advertised it as straight pride or anything other than a cage match to specifically draw in homophobes and bigots as you suggested.

            • Letstakealook@lemm.eeEnglish
              3·
              1 month ago

              It has been awhile, but I remember that he promoted it ahead of time with his “super straight carl” (or whatever the name was) persona.

  • Visstix@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 month ago

    I saw the trailer of the movie and saw that lucius is somehow the son of maximus… couldn’t they cut that part instead?

    • StalinwolfEnglish
      6·
      1 month ago

      I believe his father was fairly ambiguous in the original film. I don’t know that he was ever intended to be Maximus’ son, but be did have a bond with Lucius, and be was definitely implied to be an old lover and likely a mashing buddy of his mother’s.