In the movie ‘Gladiator’, directed by Ridley Scott, leadership takes a big part. The 3 main protagonists are Maximus who is the general, Commodus who is the emperor and Marcus Aurelius, Commodus’ father, who was the emperor. Maximus and Commodus show two different sources of leadership. Maximus, who is just a gladiator, but still is trusted and respected because of his capabilities. This can be proven when he said “Together we survive”, he uses his experience to get their trust very quickly and to help everyone. Commodus is the total opposite, Commodus uses his position to command, and people only follow him because of fear.
Maximus is a great example when it comes to leadership skills. Maximus is a military leader and his strategy wins wars. He uses this leadership style in the Colosseum when he becomes a gladiator. He focused on becoming a leader whom his men could trust. For example, at the start of the movie, Maximus had a clear image of what war would be like for his men and insured them they could win the victory. In the movie Marcus Aurelius, the emperor, even tells Maximus he “should have been his own biological son”. Another example is when they had to fight as a team, Maximus gave directions and told the other gladiators to follow his instructions, and they did so. Maximus also said: “Brothers what we do in life echoes in eternity”. This shows that they believe Maximus and trust him. Maximus motivated the other gladiators to do the best they can and wished to give the power back to the Senate. It clearly shows he was a leader and he set goals.
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Commodus is the total opposite of Maximus. He has unlucky leadership because he is always jealous of other people and is more concerned about himself. He always gave priority to himself, even if someone else was right. He thinks his position means he’s successful in life. In the movie, you can see he is wearing beautiful purple clothes, which shows he wants to look and feel like an honor. The people only follow him because they are scared of him if they deny him. He does whatever he can to get what he wants. “Get Senator Gracchus and locked him up because he didn’t follow my orders”. He killed his own father after he announced that Maximus would be the next general. Even his father didn’t believe in him. “Commodus is not a moral man you were known that since you were young. Commodus cannot rule”. Another example shown at the end was when Commodus had no weapon and he called out for help, but the people decided not to help or feel sorry for him when he needed help.
And the third person in the movie that showed leadership was Marcus Aurelius. He is a wise leader who has a responsibility to the people of Rome. He was the emperor of the Roman Empire and wanted his kingdom to be the most respected in the world. He was murdered by his selfish son. He wanted Maximus to become the next emperor because he knew his own son wasn’t going to be a good leader. This shows leadership because he will never ask an unresponsible leader, even if it was his own son.
In conclusion, the theme of leadership is important in the movie ‘Gladiator’. The heroes of the film show different types of leadership and demonstrate their leadership qualities in different ways, which is confirmed by this essay.
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