In 2016, NETFLIX filmed this six-episode half-documentary and half-series "Roman Empire: Reign of Blood" (official translation), about Commodus, the tragic emperor who was "famous" with his father Ole.
Describing him in this way shows a somewhat sympathetic position. In fact, when he was chosen by the well-known Gibbon as the beginning emperor of the "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" to start the story of the long end, Commodus seems to have a hard time turning over. In addition to that, in the most famous film in the past, "Gladiator", the young man who was destined to be the villain was interpreted by Joaquin Phoenix, an actor who seemed to me to be a little evil. , which seems to be a little tragic (the scene where he cried and hugged after getting the bust of his father cut off is very classic). Undoubtedly, the success of this film has deepened people's negative perception of Commodus. However, in fact, he did not intend to reverse the verdict for Commodus, after all, the final result of his thirteen-year rule was indeed a failure. At least we look back at this history more than a thousand years later, and maybe we can comment from more angles, and NETFLIX is trying to do this in this show.
Among the successive Roman emperors, Commodus was actually not alone. Nero and Caracalla had similar situations and endings to him.
This is the tragedy of this golden laurel crown.
To say the most dangerous profession in the world, the Roman emperor must be one of them.
Unlike many hereditary kingships, the early empires were more similar to today's dictators. Perhaps we can compare Commodus with Kim Jong-un as a reference. In Chinese history, there was a guy named Ming Wuzong Zhu Houzhao. I personally think that he is somewhat similar to Kang Maode in some respects, but the fate of the two is very different. This is a matter of system and environment. But don't get too far here. From this play, the audience can feel that the first point it wants to express is that his father, Aurelius, actually did not have enough of Commodus's imperial education. This doesn't seem like a novel idea, but it's a little unfair. After all, to be honest, to be the emperor of this great empire, the ability required is too high. Among the past dynasties, there are several people who can die well, and you will be afraid. Obviously Commodus is not the material. He got lost on the way to find a way to govern, couldn't find a credible person in the face of the palace conspiracy, and finally wanted to use his own method to govern the country, but unfortunately, he was too young and too ill-trained to understand the political What it takes to really stand your ground. Nero wanted to use Greek art to rule the country, and Commodus thought that he could be stabilized by winning the cheers of the people in the gladiatorial arena, but they were all wrong.
American scholar Bruce Bueno de Mesquita stated a truth in his famous political science book "The Dictator's Handbook": a dictator does not really rule by one person, he is only at the top of the triangle, and there must be three layers of people at the bottom. Stand firm. The first layer is the core supporters, preferably the wealthiest and most powerful people in the society, the second group is useful but can be replaced at any time, and the third layer is dispensable. In the Roman Empire, it was clear that the legions were larger than the senate, but by no means the people, who supported the emperor's rule. They're just a mob, and they're easy to pass up. Commodus has no military exploits, it is difficult for him to win the sincere support of the legion, and he is obviously too immature to deal with the ambitious senate, and as a result he turns to the people who are most unhelpful to him. Of course, the most failure is that he offended the people around him is the cause of death. If we read the memoirs written by people close to the successful dictator, we must find that most of them are mostly good words, usually praising him for his approachable nature. That's right, only a fool would offend those who had the best chance of killing him. When Commodus lost even the people who could support him in the end, it would be strange not to die.
It must be emphasized again that being a Roman emperor is the same as walking on a tightrope. The dark side of it is often unimaginable to us today, but it is actually not difficult (the recent Gongdou drama has been really successful), anyway, in In the face of interests, any ugliness of human nature can be brought into full play. The misfortune of Commodus is also the misfortune of the Empire. Many people commented that Aurelius was selfish, but they never thought that the inheritance of the Five Sages was just a kind of historical luck, and it was impossible to make a rule that the emperor could not have sons, right? The reason why Diocletian's co-governance of four emperors failed later was that he misestimated human nature. Blood ties always trump everything.
The NETFLIX show is a low-budget production. It uses a lot of pictures cut from other places, but there are also a few special effects that are not bad. The content I want to express is also quite interesting. As for whether the plot is true or not, I don't know, at least it is a bit different from the story Ji Peng told. It is a pity that making six episodes seems to be a bit too much, not compact enough, and may be impatient for some audiences. But overall, I really like this work.
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