When reading the short story Battle Royal by Ralph Ellison, I found a connection to the 2000
film Gladiator, starring Russell
Crowe. In Battle Royal, the main character is haunted with the last words of his
grandfather and attempts to live up to them. He graduates top of his class and
is given the honor of presenting his graduation speech in front of the most
important white people in the town. However, instead of giving his speech, the
protagonist is forced to participant in a “fight to the death” type boxing
match against other African American boys. The battle amongst the boys was for
entertainment for the men as they also humiliated and taunted them. Not only
were they forced to fight but were electrocuted. The teenage boys were essentially
slaves to the white men’s amusement. When the narrator finally gives his speech,
it is clear that the men do not care at all for what he has to say. The men
used these tactics, not only for fun, but also to teach the young African American
boys of their place in society because they see black people as threats.
In Gladiator, Russell Crowe’s character, Maximus, captured and turned
into a slave to become a gladiator while his family is killed under control of
the new Roman emperor who surpassed his father. Maximus is forced to literally
fight to the death against other slaves as the Roman people watch for
entertainment. Maximus is betrayed by the new emperor because he seen as a
threat to his throne due to his high status. Crowe’s character eventually rises
through the ranks and avenges the death of his family and former emperor.
The ending of the two stories are
not what makes them connected, but rather the sense of enforced power. Both the
white men and the Roman emperor abused their power in attempts to minimize the
rise of a threat.
No comments:
Post a Comment