Not Quite Risen

Annie Havlicek
English II
Dr. Bonnie McCandles
19 March 2003
Not Quite Risen
There are several connections between the characters and story line of the film Gladiator and Plato's philosophy, and according to this philosophy the film does not effectively support the theme "A Hero Will Rise." There are many parallels between this philosophy and the journey of Maximus throughout the entire movie. Perhaps clearest parallels are those that can be drawn from reading Plato's The Simile of the Cave, and then analyzing the various transitions and settings that the character of Maximus encounters.
In the beginning of the movie we are presented with dark scenes. They are not only dark in the literal sense but in the figurative sense as well. The scenes are literally dark because sunlight is not used for any of the lighting. In every scenes Maximus is presented in the only lighting used is that of firelight. The battle scene of the German hoards takes place on a very dim an...