Originally published at crisis magazine
As soon as he saw the blood, he drank savagery in with it, and he did not turn away, but fixed his gaze on it, and poured the furies down his throat unawares, and delighted in the wickedness of the contest, and got drunk with bloodthirsty lust. He was not the same man who had come there.
—St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions, Book VI
A few months ago, the first trailer for the long-anticipated sequel to the 2000 film Gladiator was released. Gladiator was the first R-rated film that I ever watched from start to finish, and I remember it vividly. The film, a standard revenge story, boasts fantastic set pieces, an epic score, and plenty of battle and fight scenes drenched in blood and testosterone. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. To say that there has been great excitement and anticipation for the sequel would be an understatement. But I wonder how healthy, spiritually speaking, watching so much violence is for the soul of a person.
A viewing of the first trailer for Gladiator II made me recall young Alypius in book VI of St. Augustine’s Confessions. Alypius protests as his friends
