The director uses a wide camera shot from behind bars which connotes that they are trapped and in an impossible situation. They are prisoners and therefore at the bottom of society. The camera shots continue to show the gladiators as being lower class such as when in battle-there is often a high angle shot looking down on them. Another camera shot the director uses is a low angle shot looking up at the emperor and rich which connotes that they are of higher status and importance that the gladiators. In one specific shot the camera shot shows all the characters in this clip. When the door of the small hit opens it shows the gladiators in the dark hut at the bottom of the screen, above them are the soldiers and guards and at the top the rich. This shot connotes that the gladiators have the lowest status, the soldiers are in the middle and the rich have the highest status and class. The soldiers have command over the gladiators but the emperor has command over the soldiers and this shot connotes this.
At the end of the clip the trident gladiator attempts to kill the emperor. He climbs up the wall which connotes him climbing up through society to get to the upper class when he is killed he falls which connotes that the upper class have power and that he has been put back in his place.
When the upper class are sown the camera shot is a wide angle which shows space and connotes power and wealth. The shot from within the hut is used to compare the the upper class way of life to the lower class. The voices appear to be relaxed even though two men are about to fight for their lives which connotes they don't care about the lower classes. This contrasts to the gladiators who are silent. The amount of dialogue the characters say connotes their status. For example the gladiators are the lowest and say nothing, the soldiers only bark order while the upper class have conversation and hold all the language.
The mise-en-scene used also shows representations of class and status. The gladiators are dressed in simple, colourless rags which connotes low status. This contrasts with the bright blues, yellows and reds that the people on the balcony wear which show wealth and status. In one shot the man is shown showing off his jewels which shows his status but also that he wants people to know that he is of a high class. The soldiers are shown carrying big swords and this is phallic symbolism connoting power, masculinity and power over the gladiators that only have small swords. The exception to this is the gladiator that has the trident. He wins the battle which shows he has power over the other gladiators. He uses this power to attempt to destroy the upper class but fails. This connotes that the upper class have ultimate power over everyone-the emperor stabbing the gladiator to finish him of exaggerates this point. The gladiators are forced into the hut which connotes that the gladiators are animals and therefore lower class. Another use of mise-en-scene to connote status are the objects that the rich have. Their jewelry, clothes, chairs and a vase all connote status. This contrasts to the gladiators that have nothing therefore the rich are portrayed as far superior.This also adheres to the stereotype that the upper class care more for possessions than they do people. The gesture of thumbs down connotes power and status because it is an instruction that they expect he gladiator to follow.
The music used when the gladiators are fighting has a fast tempo and connotes danger. When the camera shows the upper class it is more mellow. This connotes that the upper class aren't interested in the fight and don't care about the gladiators. This adheres to the stereotype that the rich don't care for the lower classes but only themselves.
Throughout this scene the director contrasts the different classes. For example the intense battle shot then cuts to the wide shot of the upper class to show that they aren't interested in the fight and shows that they are self-centred and depicts them as the antagonists.
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