- The Guardian
- Issue #2181
Although made in 1960, Spartacus is seen as a classic, a cut above the ‘men in togas’ movies of the sword-and-sandals boom of the ’50s and ’60s.
The film uses political symbolism to reflect Cold War anxieties, McCarthyism, class struggle, and the fragility of republican institutions. In 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joe McCarthy claimed he had “a list of 205” communists working in the US State Department. Although the claim was later shown to be nonsense, it began the purge of members of the Communist Party, left-wing writers and actors from Hollywood. Those placed on the blacklist were unable to get work in Hollywood for decades.
The connection between Spartacus and McCarthyism is a powerful example of how history is reframed through the political lens of the time. The film is deeply resonant of the United States in 1960, with its fears of authoritarianism and the collapse of the state through corruption, oligarchy, and the manipulation of crises. The ancient slave rebellion becomes a potent allegory for the anti-communist witch hunts of the 1950s.
The film is a cinematic rejection of McCarthy-era fear politics. Although the director, Stanley Kubrick, was not blacklisted it directly affected the production of Spartacus. Lead actor Kirk Douglas insisting on openly crediting blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Trumbo was one of the Hollywood Ten, who had been blacklisted in 1947 during the HUAC (House Unamerican Activities Committee) hearings. Individuals were pressured to name others to save themselves. In a key moment, Spartacus reverses this with everyone standing up to protect the protagonist. The cries of “I am Spartacus” becomes a metaphor for refusing to inform on others; a collective resistance against political persecution, with the weak standing in solidarity against state intimidation.
The film critiques economic systems that depend on the dehumanisation of labour. Rome is a slave-based economy with aristocratic decadence funded by the exploitation of slaves, the permanent underclass. They revolt under extreme inequality, turning their economic exploitation into political resistance. The slave revolt represents the class struggle and the rebellion symbolises labour rising up against entrenched wealth. The mass crucifixions along the Appian Way is political repression as public theatre. State terror is designed to prevent future uprisings and dissent. Authoritarianism relies on visible brutality making the crucified a warning and an indictment.
The film’s core warning is timeless. The symbolic power of Spartacus continues to invoke modern contexts to resistance against injustice. In 2023, the Australian journalist John Pilger wrote in his essay “We Are Spartacus,” that the film’s message can be used for contemporary figures, such as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Australian whistleblower David McBride, who stood up against state power and oppression. The slaves cry of “I am Spartacus” is a timeless symbol of solidarity and resistance against “a homegrown fascism in America” and other political persecutions.
Spartacus serves as a reminder that the messages of the past are deeply intertwined with our present-day struggles. Spartacus continues as a rallying cry for resistance by the downtrodden. Rome does not fall by a coup, but shifts gradually towards centralised power under the pretext of a crisis, the slave revolt.
Today the Trump administration can be compared to the tactics of the McCarthy era, targeting political opposition and specific demographic groups, making it explicitly authoritarian. Trump uses highly publicised investigations, aggressive rhetoric towards the media and institutions, and polarising “law and order” to reframe modern politics, building political legitimacy and to solidify his identity. We wait for the slave revolt.
