Violence and Voyeurism in the Arena
This chapter explores the different forms of violence portrayed in the series—principally the gladiatorial violence in the arena; violence in the streets, including beatings and murders; and sexual violence perpetrated on slaves but also on Roman citizens. It points out that through scenes of graphic bodily dismemberments and eviscerations, the series asks its audience to contemplate the difficult distinction between morally justified bloodshed and the fetishized conventions of gore, conventions popularized in various subgenres of the horror film, in particular the “splatter film” and the “meat flick.” Despite its slippery tendency to celebrate violence both attached and unattached to a moral perspective, the chapter maintains that the series offers a unique window on the embodiment of violence in the ancient world.