Domina, Spartacus and Those About To Die

There is a rising interest in films that portray life in Ancient Rome. There are several ideas that these shows normally focus on. Everyone’s favorite is the life of gladiators. Slaves whose fate was decided in the stadium doomed to engage in battles with beats and fellow brutes in order to earn their right to freedom. We have had some commentary from thinkers who have likened the obsession with entertainment and sports in the modern day to the lives of Romans who were often distracted from the challenges of everyday activities through sports. But apart from the layer that deals with life as a slave, there is another layer about the warrior class, and the ruling classes. 

This is the story at the heart of Spartacus. My only criticism is the choice of colors that makes the certain parts of the series almost sleepy and unreal. 

But the story telling is really good. The greater percentage of shows that have depicted Roman life do not shy away from steamy scenes of pleasure and Spartacus is no exception. 

There are a few layers that are worth exploring though. The first is the strict nature of classes and lineage that dominated the time and that was responsible for everything that happened and how wealth and power were transferred. 

One of the leading characters is a man (played by John Hannah) who has for generations been in charge of a group of gladiators (ludus). He has ambition though and so does his wife Lucretia (played by Lucy Lawless). They have a friend who is a general in the army called Glaber whose wife ilythiya (played by Viva Bianca) have some affection for the ludus owning couple. 

Viva’s character is a confident well bred and cultured Roman who knows her place and how to put those who who are beneath her in theirs. As fate would have it these two families collide on the whole out of the lower status’ couple’s desire to rise up in ranks using the more connected military family. All this takes place in a background of love, hate and seething anger between different personalities in the ludus each seeking to rise and take the place of champion amongst the gladiators. The gladiators are foreseen by an older fighter faithful to his master and with keen eye for those with skill. Spartacus in the meantime (name comes later) has to work through his own issues and rivalries including a hatred from ilythiya and Glaber for breaking an agreement made with him while on the battlefield years prior. 

You have the same dynamics at play in Domina although here the protagonist is seen making moves to the top through careful planning and intrigue with strategic marriages and breakups. She seems to retain her position though despite these calculated moves. In Domina (Livia Drusilla) she is the daughter of a general who was in support of the Republic and who must flee with her conniving and opportunistic husband from rival generals who wish to purge the empire of Julius Ceaser’s supporters. In the first season there is a conversation long before things go sideways where Domina meets two young ladies (one of whom was Scribonia) and tells them how she is richer and more beautiful that them. This rivalry will go on to dominate the encounters between this trio culminating in a nasty divorce and consequent marriage to Octavian which seals Livia Drusilla’s position in power. 

You need to watch the story of ilythiya’s revenge mid series when the revolt takes place after the trap that was set by Lucretia fails or is undone by events. It represents one of the best comebacks that I have seen in any series. 

Those about to die also manages to tap into similar subject matter by focusing on the underbelly of Roman life through the eyes of an up and comer who sues his contacts to set himself up as an influencer in the gambling dens of the day and his knowledge of the dark streets to forge a place for himself in high society. As this happens another layer of the show explores succession and sibling rivalry as a politician and a general seek to replace their father. 

Rebel Ridge

I am quite a fan of the Jack Reacher Series first done in the movies with Tom Cruise. I expressed some of my concerns with the new reacher primarily because of the fact that a smaller character tends to draw much more interest especially attracting those who underestimate him. Read more about my review here https://intersectionawards.blogspot.com/2023/12/reacher-series.html

This one is dfferent though. And it is not really a series but my comparison comes from the fact that Aaron Pierre is really like the black version of Allan Ritchson. Both are unusually large and with military backgrounds and both definately kick ass. My favorite part about this movie is the escalation that takes place from the first scene and the protagonist’s attempt to deescalate the situation. But more that than the creator and writer insert a scene that is usually the standard in these types of film. While you are certain that the hero has some sort of military background, in this case while trying to explore and learn more about what they are up against the team at the station cannot seem to get their internet line running as such we are drawn into a suspensful back and forth as viewers wondering about the source of this man’s confidence. We know ofcourse after watching many different versions of these types of movies that he or she is often no joke, but it is fun to be out of the loop with the station chief and his staff. 

There is less humor in this piece but a lot to learn about the possibilities that exist in a corrupt system and how quickly a lack funding can propel even those with good intentions into a downward spiral of violence. 

Another interesting perspective in this film is the price that peole otften pay when they tell the truth to people they hope will change things and the extremes to which those in power will go through to maintain the ststus quo. 

A thumbs up from me! 

House of Cards

The U.S. flag code states: “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.” But Americans have long had their own interpretation of “dire distress.” An inverted flag was used to protest slavery at a July 4, 1854, rally held ...6 Jun 2024

Of names and history 

In my world names mean everything. I am told that the majority of historians have a basis upon which their relationship to the past interpretation of it falls. Mine is names. Not civilizations, not cycles, not religions, not instruments of warfare just names. 

Reinveting ourselves

In this you might come to appreciate the quick transition that many make from acting to getting into producer roles a thing that came to my attention through the 24 Series as well as Prison Break. I mean you can only be an actor for a few episodes before you tire from being told what to do and maybe even chosing to play the role of director.

Give credit where credit is due

With this in mind therefore watch House of Cards not so much the content as much as the credits and see if you can identify some of the names that make up the line up and that feature in the show. 

I find it hard to idenify an episode that stands out, but i think i really like Episode 4. 

On Transitions

This is a transitory episode and one amplified with quite a lot of decision making. A wife having to chose between a former lover and a boring but calculating husband. A father having to select between more manipulation and the loss of a constituency he loves. A story juxtaposing one NGO building wells and marking them out in colors verses a two man team of strategists making choices for democratic votes and republican votes as it seeks to change the top four positions in the country, a son and daughter chosing between mother and girl friend in light of the need for pop tarts or better looking breakfast meals cooked by dad, an office romance who must chose between her seemingly negligent husband and his family in a decision she might end up regreting for being to harsh or a young lady drawn to the mystery of an older man who has made her career and an old firm whose toxic office politics threatens to ruin her.

Can this type of dialogue be matched by A.I? 

It is difficult to see this type of masterly work with dialoge and narration being replicated by a non human. Large Language Models (LLM) build off of systems that already exist. The generative AI tool writes based on a library that you and i have created of our works whose knowldege it then utioizes to create something similar in style to your work. So no. If i can rent some of powerful resources that are available with these supercomputers and use those services to store my works and maybe fish out ideas for future projects then i might succeed but at this point, most of the works thst writers have published exist in some form or another in digitized form. 

Tragedy Strikes 

The style utilized by the show of narrative and direct conversations with the soon to be VP makes it almost feel like a documentary or a journey into the life of a heroic man who is keen to teach us his trade. But this quickly changes when we watch him pounce on his enemies in later episodes with utmost ruthlessness. He is calculating, funny, witty but also quite cruel. After costing up to him as your guide into the complex world of American politics, you are drawn away in disgust that your leader and mentor is after all a man whose ambitions will drive him to a path where no obstacle will survive his rage. But it’s too late you have already taken notes and laughed at his jokes and taken a front row seat in his life and are now an accessory to his acts. While his more laid back wife shows more restraint, she too will stop at nothing to make a point to an appointee who decides to go back on a promise and sue her. Her calculating moves to corner her foe are legendary. But she is quick to calm down unlike her husband. That they make a great team is a fact we are left appreciating and the tolerance for each other’s infidelity is noteworthy. 

 

Billions

I am no where far into the series to develop an in-depth opinion of the shoe but I think that I like what I see so far. 

I did a search a few months ago on some must watch shows for those who want to understand 2008, 1989 and the 1930s Great Depression. The shows below made an appearance. 

Most of my thinking about movies and learning comes from a time I spent as part of the comms team for a mental health NGO in Uganda and part of our assignment was to review films that explored the subject of mental health and offered some insights into the same. I supposed as a result of that experience I have consequently developed a love for film and its capacity to shed light on different complex subjects. 

Billions therefore falls in this category of must watch series. It is a story about a wealthy young man who is and has made a healthy chunk of change from the. Markets and who is as things seem likely to continue making a lot more at least as long as he can wiggle his way around an attorney who is bent on bringing him down. 

The attorney has a story of his own and does his smart and kinky wife. This reminds me of another show that deals with the incredibly valuable and talented people in our lives who have strange sexual habits but who on the surface function at a rather effective level. 

Just two episodes into the show and there are a few scenes worth mentioning. The first is a relationship with the past. The show makes great effort to help us understand just how Important and sentimental wealthy people are and how these old relationships inform how they invest. There is a pizza shop that is about to close but the protagonist will have nothing of it. It has the best pizza in his city. Besides the owner of the shop was nice to him when he was a nosy kid struggling to find a safe place in the city. 

The second is an experience he had with a man and family for which he was a caddy during a rough patch in his life. The family for which he served fires him in an unfair incident and this experience stays with him. As fate would have it, he comes into a part of the city where a building bears the name of the infamous man that fired him from his low paying golf job. He decides to change the name replacing it with his own. It will cost the desperate family but instead of offering the full amount he offers them the same figure that he was paid…except of course a much lower offer than initially agreed. Then there is a lesson about why you should not mess with the wives of influential men. I think this part mirrors an episode of House of Cards in which the Vice President’s Wife, herself a tour de force takes on a staff member who decides to take her to court. In Billions though, it is an issue of respect and a threat that the Billionaire’s wife makes quite publicly to the hitherto clueless former friend. She find herself expelled from all her clubs and humiliated and her son barred from getting into an Ivy League university. 

The rest of the show is a conversation or a back and forth between the two major players as they eat away at their enemies one close friend at a time, often getting personal and involving unfaithful fathers. 

The Acolyte

This in my eyes is another banger. What would you prefer? Do have an evil twin or to have split personality where one part of you has a crime filled life while the other is gentle and noble. This is the story at the heart of this installment that has made me particularly intetested in the star wars. There are hints back and forth of terms and expressions that draw me in msking me want to learn more. The series makes you want to know a lot more about some of the older characters weaving an intinate tapestry which causes you to thirst for a lot more. 

We begin with a story of two young grils who are split up after an invasion of their previously hidden existance. They havwgrown up under secretive circumstances nursed and nurtured by a mystery mother who leads a cult of other practitioners of the magic arts-witches really! 

Their origin is just as mysterious which is why the Jedi feel like they must be stopped. The confrontation between Jediandthis cult results in chaos that drives a wedge between the sisters and forces one to seek revenge. We meet them at later stage in life where one is hell bent on vengence while the other just wants to be more than she is and reclaim the glory of days long gone. 

The story thus revolves around these two trying to make sense of each other’s grievances and heal while embracing the darkness and light that is before them and a future that seems to be causing them to further come into conflict. 

Amandla Sendberg does an amazing job in the show. You can tell she was destined for great things after her performance as the young Colombina a young daughter of a Colombina drug enforcer who dies but before he does manages to pass on some intek to his daughter sendibg her to the US with this info to save her life. 

Amandla also makes an appearance in The Things Hate U give. THUG which is a play on a set of words or letters that are dominant in poor neighborhoods. My most telling scene in acolyte comes from a rescue or confrontation between the powers of darkenss and those of light when the Jedi have an encounter with the witches. One of the Jedi less protected finds himself attacked by one of the witches as the others are chanting. The curse is broken and those who are fighting against the weaker Jedi also end up dying after which tragedy strikes. So much to glean from this one situation. 

Ashoka

What is it about these spin offs or about the whole of star wars that we find so attractive. Maybe it is the master servant relationship that we see between some if the main characters. 

The possibility of rising and finally making it to the top after training and serving and working diligently. Perhaps its the one liners that come from a Jedi Master as he trains the troubled and unwilling apprentice (is that what they call them in the series). 

Maybe it is the relationships between father and son that are revealed in the latter episodes of the first series and the fight between father and son for identity on the passing of a baton, accepted or rejected. Maybe it’s the unending wars, the creatures, the galaxies, the planets, the travel between each of those the spaceships and the multitudes of languages. 

I remember (if memory serves me right) in the empire strikes back hearing Kikuyu as one of the languages spoken by the aliens! Ashoka is no different. A Jedi master, a Padawan, a captive, a senate made up of rulers, a conflict, an invasion and ofcourse a variety of characters. 

There are heroes who are stuck in the past with relationships shattered by acts of sacrifice. There is a jedi master who us struggling with generational issues or mentorship issues with an apprentice she does not quite know how to rasie or nurture. You have journies back and forth from other dimensions and the struggle to deal with past failures. 

The return of an old and long gone master and the possible survival of an older one. Whats not there to like. Then there are the robots who are in charge of all sorts of tasks and the creatures whether from other planets or the result of experiments gone bad. Creatures tasked healing wounded humans, ferrying casualties of war from battlefields to places of relief. Bots designed to repair space vessels and a lot more. 

Succession-S1

Season 1 Ep. 1-4 Characters Introduced, Plot begins to develop, Plot starts to thicken. 

I am barely getting introduced to the main characters of this series. The seemingly insensitive father. The son who makes quite a number of gaffs with his varied interests, the second son who aims at nothing more that leasing his father and stepping into his shoes, the sister who enjoys her position as her favorite and the last born son who is in it for the thrills and has a tendency to throw all caution to the wind. Then there is another level of relationships. Here is where the trusted second wife stands. Then there are members of staff at the office all very professional and in a way closer to the Rich father than the children. Members of the board and several others including a lawyer who has secrets and a close friend whose relationship with the nasty head of the firm. 

There is the son of the founder’s brother who whose insignificance is the key to his important role in the series. The listless errand boy makes his path in this complex story by creating alliances of his own and manipulating his way to the top but we are too early in the story to decide what role he will play. He is keen to please and we are not sure if he has a heart of his own. In the meantime, he goes back and forth with the funny condescending husband to Mr. Roy’s daughter who takes unfettered pleasure in playing with his emotions. There is a poignant scene at the start of season 1 when he is shown in full gear portraying a fox-like creature as children in a fair chase him down both to cuddle and beat him up. 

He manages to have you in a hold of both disgust and concern as he navigates his way through the show. At several key moments you are left with no doubt that he will play a pivotal role as he seems to appear and catch some of the major players in strange situations. 

The show in my view struggles with a little too many profanities but these seem to relay the emotions of the show and the subject it wishes to tackle. While stating the obvious about the use of ‘French’ I must admit that if you catch be at a bad time you will hear a word or two in a ‘foreign’ language.