Holyalmondsportsturtle - Anxious Turtle

The Use of Colour in Gladiator II: Brown

So once again before I get into it, here's my copy and paste from previous iterations of this: I referred quite a bit to some of my favourite books, The World According to Colour: A Cultural History by James Fox, The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair, and Emperor of Rome and SPQR by Mary Beard while working on this. I highly recommend all of them! These are definitely not mind blowing ideas here, just stuff that came to me because this movie has given me a severe case of brain rot. If you disagree, that’s cool. If you’ve mentioned any of this before, I love that we’re on the same wavelength. If you think this is ridiculous and I’ve gone off the deep end, you are correct.

Here are past colour posts: White Yellow Purple

This one seems extremely obvious to me and I almost didn't want to do it, but I'm going through all the colours I can and mama didn't raise a quitter. So without further ado: brown can be used to represent humility.

The character we see most often in shades of brown is Lucius. This makes sense, considering his story line. He's been raised outside of the luxury of the palace and the imperial rights he was entitled to, and is risking his neck every time he has to step into the colosseum.

As Kassia St. Clair states, "In an echo of what happened in art, bright, colourfast dyes for cloth, such as scarlet, were difficult and expensive to come by, and therefore remained the preserve of the wealthy and powerful. This left brown for the poor." (The Secret Lives of Colour, Kassia St. Clair, pg. 239).

And so it makes sense for Lucius to don brown hues throughout the film. But it also provides a full circle moment. Lucius is the representation of the hope for Rome. Marcus Aurelius dreamed of a Rome free for her people, and what better way to reflect the people than through the drab clothing of the humble gladiator?

But there are different types of brown. For example:

Before the party scene, Lucius is wearing a sort of olive-ish/khaki brown. "For thousands of years prior to this, warriors had decked themselves out in eye-catching styles to intimidate opponents. Bright colours, such as the red cloaks of Roman legions [...] could make individuals and forces look larger than they really were, and served as easy identification of friend or foe on smoke-filled battlefields." (The Secret Lives of Colour, Kassia St. Clair, pg. pg 241).

Take a look at the colour his opponent is wearing for the fight:

Thraex has dressed his fighter in yellow. And while this is only a fight between two men and not legions, the idea remains the same. Lucius, wearing his khaki colour, comes out on top.

His brown coloured clothing also proves advantageous in the arena.

Now, obviously the way he throws the sand is a call back to Maximus. But, it wouldn't have worked nearly as well as it did if he was wearing a bright colour.

I could continue on for just about every scene with Lucius, as he's wearing some sort of shade of brown, but you get the point. He's the humble, poor, chained gladiator. He's the hope for the Roman people (even if they don't know it), and he's the salt of the earth kind of person that should be in charge of Rome.

There's one more person that uses the colour brown to represent humility.

Ravi is the "good" character in the entire film. He's a former gladiator that freed himself, and offers his medical talent to help others. He offers Lucius a shoulder to lean on, advice, and is the one that sends for troops to be mobilized for Lucius. He's loyal, generous, and kind. It's no surprise he's dressed in brown too.

If you are feeling good about yourself or situation and then your mood suddenly shifts leaving you feeling insecure, unsure, etc. try to remind yourself that nothing has truly changed but your perception. Your cute outfit did not suddenly become horrid. Your delicious meal did not tranform into a terrible one. Your peers perception of you has not radically transformed over a social misstep. Everything we experience is put through it through our mental filter, and that can convince us that everyone else sees us with the judgement we have for ourselves. Be kind to yourself.

#paul mescal #his profile - oh my!

#I like how he collects festival merchandise, so he can look back on his fond memories.

#This post has got me wanting to watch The Hunger Games films again.

#Woody Harrelson was outstanding as Haymitch Abernathy.

#I just finished reading Sunrise on the Reaping. Haymitch truly is one of the most tragic characters in the history of literature.

#The film adaptation of Sunrise will leave me wrecked on the floor.

#Suzanne Collins remains a queen.

#scenes i can never watch the same way again after reading sunrise on the reaping

#I just watched Gladiator II for a third time.

#Paul is unbelievably sexy in this film.

#I would volunteer to be his slave, and to worship his muscles, not necessarily in that order.

PAUL MESCAL Gladiator II (2024)

Sunrise on the Reaping

I just finished reading 'Sunrise on the Reaping' by Suzanne Collins, which is the fifth book in The Hunger Games series. Suzanne Collins really knows how to break her readers' hearts.

This book is told from the point of view of 16 year old Haymitch Abernathy, who competes in the 50th Hunger Games. This book answers many questions as to why Haymitch is the way that he is, when we first meet him the first Hunger Games book, barely functioning as a mentor for Katniss and Peeta for the 74th Hunger Games. Once again, Collins has crafted another excellent novel, which expands on the lore of Panem.

I am mentally preparing my tears for the upcoming film adaptation. I wonder if Kiefer Sutherland will be cast as President Snow. It would be perfect, as he is the same age as Snow in this novel (58 years old), and Kiefer's late father, Donald, played Snow in the first four films of the series.

Added: I just read that Ralph Fiennes has been cast as President Snow, an excellent choice!

I still get chills when I think about the masterpiece that is Gladiator. 💯

Gladiator (2000) + quotes

#paul mescal

#It's no wonder Paul stopped running shirtless in the park. 🥵

#He said that it's because he didn't want to cause cyclists to have accidents.

#What a considerate man!

#paul mescal #he's so photogenic #biceps