“Empires fall. So do emperors.” That line from the new film Gladiator II feels particularly poignant after the latest U.S. election; it may be ominous for some and reassuring for others — time passes, and so does power. Denzel Washington, who plays Macrinus in Ridley Scott’s new film, was recently asked about the election in relation to his movie by Jonathan Dean of The Sunday Times.
“Listen, it’s all politics. All promises unkept,” explained Washington. “And now with the information age the way it is — if anything — left, right, whatever had better learn how to use those tools to manipulate the people. There was a great line in the first movie I did, Carbon Copy: ‘Power to the people? Yeah, they had it once — it was called the Stone Age.’” Washington continued:
We’re all slaves to information now. We really are. We’re all slaves. So, whatever you feel about the leaders, like this guy’s crazy or the other one is sane, you’d better realize you’re being manipulated by both sides. Period.
And it isn’t just America that’s f*cked — elections across the world have resulted in some disturbing far-right and fascist trends. “You know, it’s so easy to stand outside America and say this and that. Turn around,” said Washington. “Pick a country, any one.” The interviewer then noted how depressing that answer was, to which Washington replied, “Yeah. So go to the movies.”
Denzel Washington After the Election
Eight years ago, Washington was in the middle of another press tour in the period between election day and the inauguration, promoting his film Fences in Dec. 2016 after Donald Trump won the election (the first time). At the time, the actor was frequently being asked about the end of Barack Obama’s administration, his expectations for the Trump years, and what the election meant for race relations. In an eventually contentious red carpet interview with Nicholas Ballasy, Washington said:
You can’t legislate love. The President of the United States can’t legislate us into liking each other. We have to step forward and ask questions of each other and engage. There’s no law that says, ‘I’m President of America, you all have to get along now.’ So it’s up to us.
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Eight years later, America is arguably even more divided, though it’s less along racial lines than ideological ones. The left and the right live in completely different bubbles and have separate sets of facts and definitions. Meanwhile, politicians, corporations, and the media continue to profit more and more from that division. While the Republicans and the Democrats are obviously very different, they’re both representatives of an elite power structure that is controlled by lobbyists, donors, and corporate interests, not their actual constituents. They are devoted to capital, not to labor; they are interested in politics, not people. Depressing? Go see Gladiator II.
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Cast
- Paul Mescal , Pedro Pascal , Denzel Washington , Connie Nielsen , Joseph Quinn , Fred Hechinger , Derek Jacobi , May Calamawy , Peter Mensah , Matt Lucas , Alexander Karim , Tim McInnerny , Lee Charles , Chidi Ajufo , Alfie Tempest , Riana Duce , Chi Lewis Parry , Paul Candelent , Hadrian Howard , Alexander Simkin , Mikhail Basmadjian , Matthew Charlery-Smith , Maxime Durand , Lior Raz
- Studio(s)
- Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , Scott Free Productions , Red Wagon Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Paramount Pictures