Imperialism is Good.

So, the most interesting realization in teaching Classics and Cinema this year has been comparing the portrayal of Rome in the 1950s films to the portrayal in the last ten years. Consistently, Rome in the 1950s is associated with wickedness, oppression, slavery, corruption, sexual decadence, and a tyranny of the elite. The heroes are the oppressed minority de jour (slaves, Jews, Christians...) rising up to make a stand against the Roman Man. In the last decade, Rome (and to some extent antiquity in general) is represented as a beacon of light, to quote _Gladiator_, the shining civilization bringing culture and order to the barbarians, by force when necessary. It is potentially corrupt and open to abuse, but the basic idea of a civilized, expansionist empire is a good one; it's just the implementation that can be potentially problematic. The oppressed minority, meanwhile, is basically gone, replaced by heroes who rise to power through their own merits and talents, aided by good connections.

And they say what I teach isn't relevant.

The other major discovery, which has now held consistent over both classes, is how much my students love Gladiator. Admittedly, it's a self-selected group of students, but Gladiator was by far their favorite film in the course, and most had seen it multiple times before the course. This includes the athletes, the engineers, the classics majors, and the theater geeks. They think it's Deep and Meaningful. I've gotten to appreciate it more, but I've never had much use for it, certainly not compared to, say, Spartacus. What am I missing? Do I just not see the greatness?

Rome final update: (more ruminations about teaching a LARP to follow) After initially all agreeing in debate to just send a diplomatic mission to the Parthian Empire, rather than going to war, one student gradually talked the other fifteen around until they agreed to launch an offensive war of twelve legions, led by Marcus Antonius, Octavius, and the student who had achieved a military reputation as consul against Spartacus, 30 years before, with Cassius, the only Roman leader with experience fighting Parthians, as an incognito military advisor. I rolled some dice and told them that after some initial successes, the student consul died of heatstroke, Antonius died in battle, and Octavius retreated with the rest of the troops in ignominious defeat. Consequently, they were unable to fund Caesar's construction projects like the Isthmian and Sinai Canals, which they had dearly wanted to, but did agree to keep the fifth month as July and to settle the military veterans on Italian public land and in Gaul.

Happy Birthday redhound!

On this day, in Roman lore, your personal genius spirit visits you and grants you one wish. However, most people's personal genii aren't very powerful, unless you've gotten other people to make offerings to it, so you must be careful to wish only for something it is capable of granting.

May you have the judiciously appropriate reward of your choice.