Transcript Spartacus PP

Historical Themes
• Roman Civilization
• Slavery
• Gladiators
• War/Revolution
• Solidarity among people
believing in a cause
Spartacus
• Born between 111-109 B.C. in
Thrace (Eastern Europe)
• Served in Roman Army?
• Later Sold in to Slavery and
became a Gladiator
Rome
• Republic from 509 BC to 27 BC
• Became the Empire (most people refer
to) from 27 BC to 476 AD From England
to Africa, From Syria to Spain
• Emperors-Julius Caesar, Augustus,
Tiberius, Caligula, Nero
• Known for Military Strength, Lavish
Lifestyles of the Wealthy, and Brutality
Third Servile War
• Escaped Slavery in 73 B.C.
• Many slaves (over 100,000
according to some estimates)
joined and rebelled
• 6,000+ slaves crucified
• Most agree Spartacus killed in
battle but body was never found
Historical “Liberties”
• Origins
• Love Interest
• Gladiator lifestyle
• Motivations for the revolt
• “I’m Spartacus!”
Red Scare
• HUAC investigated possible Communist
subversion after WWII
• Politicians, Teachers, Writers, Musicians
and anyone in the Film Industry
• “Are you now, or have you ever been a
member of the communist party?”
• 1947 Blacklist official policy of
Hollywood to make sure business did
not suffer
“I’m Spartacus!!!”
• Writers, Producers, Directors, Actors
among others testified
• Refusal to cooperate =Blacklisting
• Dalton Trumbo (writer of Spartacus)
member of Hollywood Ten
• Solidarity between the accused
Communist sympathizers and those who
refused to implicate others
• What was Spartacus and his people fighting for and/or
against when they took on the Roman Republic? How is
their fight related to the circumstances of Dalton
Trumbo (writer of the film) and his fellow Hollywood
Ten members in America in the years after WWII?
• Based on background information about this topic and
film, should this movie be used as a historical source? If
yes, what are the most important parts of the film that
help us understand the events from history being
portrayed (Ancient Times or Era when film was
released)? If no, what in the film makes the movie a
bad source of information?
Paper MUST be TYPED, Times New Roman 12 point font.
1-2 Pages (at least 3 paragraphs) in length. 1” inch
margins, double-spaced. If you need to research anything
and include it in your paper, you MUST cite using MLA
format. Plagiarism will result in a ZERO Percent on the
assignment. MUST GIVE EXAMPLES FROM MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!