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Location: Sitting on a bar stool. Guinness in hand.
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Originally Posted by wehotex
Movies often have black actors who depict characters in biblical stories and Roman Empire settings. If it's about giving jobs yo black actors, I'm ALL FOR IT. But, is it revisionism or did blacks truly exist in those settings?
You mean...Did black africans live within and/or had contact ( trading, etc.) with rome empire during "biblical times"?
I do not know about Biblical times, but definitely in the Roman empire. Blacks were 'recruited' as gladiators because they were thought to be exotic and also thought to be fierce and more animal than human. The more successful ones often won not only their freedom but sometimes considerable wealth as well. Contrary to Hollywood, gladiators only sometimes got killed in the arena. It was those who did not put up a good fight who got the thumbs down.
BTW the term 'gladiator' means swordsman. A gladiator was often pitted against a retiarius (weighted net and long trident). The retiarius almost always won but the gladiator only died if he failed to make a good showing.
*nods* Gladiators were the Roman equivalent of modern sports celebrities. It's very rare that a gladiator was actually put to death at the end of a fight -- a skilled fighter could make his owner a very wealthy man. In fact, if a particularly valuable fighter died in the arena, his owner would usually be compensated for the loss.
Interestingly, the Hunger Games series encapsulates Ancient Roman gladiators (as well as many aspects of the typical Roman citizen's life) quite accurately:
Katniss and the other Tributes are essentially the 'gladiators' of Panem, right down to the arena and the Tributes' sponsorship deals -- popular gladiators in Roman times also attracted wealthy patrons that gave their chosen gladiator gifts for good fights.
The Tributes' training teams and media presence is another Roman practice -- gladiators ate, trained and lived apart from the general citizenry, and rarely saw anyone beyond their own trainers and fellow fighters.
Like citizens of the Capitol, Roman citizens loved ostentatious and overblown banquets; it was customary in both societies to give out emetic beverages with the huge meals, so that people would be able to sample everything that was offered.
(Historical note: at least one Roman emperor was famous for flooding the Colosseum and floating ships in it for marine battles).
You mean...Did black africans live within and/or had contact ( trading, etc.) with rome empire during "biblical times"?
The answer is.....yes.
I'm going to give the OP credit and HOPE that's what he/she meant. Because the original question was hysterical if not. Yes, black people existed (LOL) and if you ever look at a map, Africa and Europe are located only across a small part of sea.
*nods* Gladiators were the Roman equivalent of modern sports celebrities. It's very rare that a gladiator was actually put to death at the end of a fight -- a skilled fighter could make his owner a very wealthy man. In fact, if a particularly valuable fighter died in the arena, his owner would usually be compensated for the loss.
Interestingly, the Hunger Games series encapsulates Ancient Roman gladiators (as well as many aspects of the typical Roman citizen's life) quite accurately:
Katniss and the other Tributes are essentially the 'gladiators' of Panem, right down to the arena and the Tributes' sponsorship deals -- popular gladiators in Roman times also attracted wealthy patrons that gave their chosen gladiator gifts for good fights.
The Tributes' training teams and media presence is another Roman practice -- gladiators ate, trained and lived apart from the general citizenry, and rarely saw anyone beyond their own trainers and fellow fighters.
Like citizens of the Capitol, Roman citizens loved ostentatious and overblown banquets; it was customary in both societies to give out emetic beverages with the huge meals, so that people would be able to sample everything that was offered.
(Historical note: at least one Roman emperor was famous for flooding the Colosseum and floating ships in it for marine battles).
My copy of Those About To Die turned to scrap paper long ago. I read that when the President was bald.
There was an editorial making the rounds recently (came off my Twitter feed, don't remember who published it) questioning why Hollywood Biblical epics (including the recent Noah and forthcoming Exodus: Gods and Kings) are always populated mostly with white actors when most peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean in that era, as now, were dark-skinned. Ridley Scott was asked about this with respect to Exodus: Gods and Kings and he basically gave a flippant answer that he could never sell / finance a film thusly cast. This is the Hollywood attitude toward the matter, even here in the 21st century! Although I suspect it reflects more a desire to go with a sure bet / known popular actors than it does with an aversion to accurate depiction, the fact that the "sure bets" who are top billing are still overwhelmingly white, is itself a diversity issue.
On the other hand even in the 1950s, which was something of a high watermark for Biblical epics, it wasn't all as laughable as Anne Baxter playing Queen Nefertari in The Ten Commandmants. Haya Harareet, an actual Israeli, was cast as Ester, Ben-Hur's love interest, for instance. Of course her role was still a minor supporting role, and her main job was to sound and look exotic -- which she did a good job of.
"Can a leopard change its spots, or the Ethiopian his skin?"
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as gladiators because they were thought to be exotic and also thought to be fierce and more animal than human. 
The more successful ones often won not only their freedom but sometimes considerable wealth as well. Contrary to Hollywood, gladiators only sometimes got killed in the arena. It was those who did not put up a good fight who got the thumbs down.
