Know:
Do all of the following:
- Watch the 1960 movie “Spartacus”
Understand:
- Ponder on the following while you’re watching and be prepared to discuss:
- In a society where cruelty is normal, how does Spartacus’s attitude challenge what others believe is “just the way things are”?
- What does this suggest about the power of one person’s mindset in changing a culture?
- Which characters believe power gives them freedom, and which believe character gives them freedom?
- How does the film show the difference between these two ideas through their choices and outcomes?
- Spartacus often loses control of his circumstances but never fully loses himself.
- What does the film teach about maintaining a good attitude when the cost of doing so is high—or even fatal?
- In a society where cruelty is normal, how does Spartacus’s attitude challenge what others believe is “just the way things are”?
