I flew home to Southern California 3 days ago, and when looking for movies to watch on the long plane flight home, I came across Ben Hur, the perfect movie to kill a whopping 4 hours of flight time, all while doing something productive (writing this summary/reaction!).  

This movie kicks off with the “Overture”, in which a narrator explains the Judean pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After this explanation, the birth of a baby is seen, in a scene oddly similar to nativity scenes at Christmas-time, with the narrator promising this baby would bring them salvation. 

The movie then cuts to the time period where the rest of this movie is set in, where Ben0Hur meets with an old friend, Messala. Messala is now a powerful man in Rome, and Ben Hur sees rather quickly that he is no longer the man he became friends with, and refuses to work with him, leading to them becoming enemies. A parade is held in the city, during which tiles fall from Ben Hur’s roof, injuring a man. This is all Messala needs, and he condemns Ben Hur to prison. In prison, Ben Hur collapses one day, and is given water by a man who is presumably Jesus.

Ben Hur toils away, imprisoned for a long period of time, where he eventually ends up being one of many men rowing a battleship. A large battle ensues, and the ship is sunk. Ben Hur is unshackled due to him proving his trust previously, and manages to swim free in a scene with surprisingly good practical effects for the late 50’s. Hur survives with his captain/commander, and the two are eventually rescued, leading to Hur being a hero once again in the eyes of the people. He is freed by his commander, and adopted.

Ben Hur travels back to seek revenge on Messala, and along his travels is taught how to chariot race by a wise old man. He arrives back in Judea, and ends up facing Messala in a chariot race, the ultimate battle between two foes. This race is full of action, with Messala piloting a chariot equipped with bladed wheels. Ben Hur wins, as one would expect, and Messala is left in tatters. Before he passed away, he reveals to Hur that his mom and sister are in fact still alive, and have leprosy. Hur goes through a slew of emotions with familial issues, and eventually walks through the city, which is eerily empty. He eventually finds the trial of Jesus, and aids him much as Jesus helped him in the desert. Jesus is crucified on the cross, and miraculously his mother and sister are healed.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, but it was far too long. If I wasn’t on an airplane with not much else to do, I probably wouldn’t have lasted through the entire movie. The depictions of Roman life were surprisingly good given the film’s age, but not enough to override the immense length and unsatisfying plot.

Last evening I sat down to watch the 2000 film Gladiator with Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe. I was encapsulated by this film from the get go, with the amazing cinematography in the opening scenes really cementing my interest. The sword is dragging slowly along the wheat (?) plants in the field, setting quite a dramatic tone to the film. I personally loved all aspects of the movie, and felt it provided a good contrast to my perceptions of Rome (especially while acting as a Roman senator). It showed the grit of conflict in Rome, different from the glorious leaders that many know off the top of their heads.

The plot kicked off in an enormous battle scene between the Roman Empire and their fierce opponents (presumably the Gauls). This battle is striking both in scale and appearance, particularly the gore. After the Romans reign victorious, Marcus Aurelius informs Maximus that he wishes Maximus be his successor, clearly saying how his son Commudus is unfit to rule. Word travels quickly, and Commodus soon finds out of this wish, and murders his father Marcus Aurelius in a fit of rage. Commudus seizes control, and quickly has Maximus arrested. Maximus escapes his captivity, and goes to find his family, who are dead before he can get there. He passes out, and is taken to the far reaches of the Roman Empire. 

While Maximus is gone, he slowly but impressively builds a strong career as a gladiator (hence the name of the movie). He utters the iconic line (which I didn’t realize came from this movie) “Are you not entertained?” In coherence with his growing fame, Commudus decides to host games in Rome, which as one would expect, fate finds Maximus competing in. After Maximus’s side proves themselves victorious unexpectedly, Commudus comes down to meet Maximus. Upon discovering who he is, Maximus promises to seek vengeance against Commudus. Maximus is then staged to fight Tigris, along with several actual tigers. Yet again, against the odds, Maximus is victorious. Amidst all of this, the crowd’s love for Maximus is swelling, making it harder for Commodus to get rid of him. Many behind-the-scenes political conversations and plans ensue on either side of the conflict, with the end result being a duel between Maximus and Commudus to settle things once and for all. In order to better his chances, Commudus stabs Maximus before the duel to weaken him. Despite all this, Maximus kills Commudus in the duel, but dies from his wounds shortly after the fight ends. He reinstates Gracchus before he dies, and expresses the will for Rome to be a Republic once again.

This week I participated in the Stoic Week of Living Philosophically in order to complete an Actum. I had previously gone through the Epicurean Week of Living Philosophically, and this week was equally (if not more) impactful and valuable for me, and without a doubt easier to adjust to.

The Stoic Week of Living Philosophically fit my life-views closely, and aided me in being deliberate in my thoughts and actions throughout the week. Everything I did felt planned out and under control, something that is extremely important, especially in college. Every day when I woke up 10 minutes early to do the “Early-Morning Meditation”, I left my room to go to class feeling more confident, and much more directly motivated towards a certain goal or attitude for the day. Evening meditations allowed me to go to sleep with a clear image of what I was proud of from that day, and what I can improve on tomorrow. Stoicism was much closer to my real-life virtues and thought-processes then I would have imagined. I am always very intentional about my goals and mindsets, and the guidelines provided for this week showed me how to be even more pragmatic with my mindset. The activities also allowed me to create spaces for healthy reflection and calm in my day-to-day life, something I have not actively done before this week.

The Stoic Maxims presented in the handbook stuck with me, particularly the one that reads ““Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” (Seneca). Each Maxim presents a point-of-view on daily life, and helps to create more stability, taking away any overly volatile emotional responses. This particular one from Seneca helped remind me to live each day to its fullest, regardless of what tomorrow may bring, or what happened yesterday. I found myself thinking of this quote several times throughout the week, when I was dreading an event later in the week, or dwelling over an event from the previous day. This maxim helped me remain calm, and refocus my energy in a positive manner.

Sunday’s activity (which was Wednesday for me since I started then) was particularly impactful. It helped me detach from problems that are not mine, and ones which I cannot control whatsoever. This activity being placed on the very first evening helped me to “lock in” to the Stoic mentality for the rest of the week, checking in with every emotion on whether it was under my control, or whether it was something I should let go and live my life.

Overall, I am appreciative of the opportunity to take part in the week of living like a Stoic, and I sincerely hope to continue some of the Stoic practices throughout the rest of the semester. Compared to the Epicurean week, the Stoic week was a lot more structured (much like the philosophies), and I enjoyed that significantly more. Everything that I did throughout the week positively impacted my mentality and daily life, something that was surprising to me.