Rome

Well for starters, it was much more entertaining to watch what we read about in Plutarch, especially on such a grand scale. Watching the same moments on a low budget production would not have the same effect. When we think of this era of Rome, we think about lavishness and extravagance and the show did not disappoint when it came to this. For example, the celebration of Caesar being appointed dictator was very grand in scale and fun to watch. However, the scene where that poor guy was hung in front of everyone was a little difficult to watch.

Another scene that was difficult to watch was Caesar’s assassination. Though it was quite brutal, it is what actually happened and as a viewer, we were able to capture the emotion experienced by the murders, particularly Brutus, that was not captured in our reading. The emotion of the character’s made them seem like real people as opposed to just someone we are reading about in a historical text.

This just brings it back to our discussion of how we interact with different types of media. Reading Plutarch was challenging, but watching the same stories unfold in Rome was entertaining and engaged my interest. Additionally, I saw these “lives” we read about actually become lives! Watching the characters we get a much better sense of their attitudes and their emotions, which make them much more real than reading about them.

Another aspect of the show that I found really interesting was the focus on the women, Servilia and Atia. There is not an in depth mention of them in Plutarch, but they did, at least according to the show, played a large in role in how a lot of the events played out, like Servilia’s subtle urging for Brutus to kill Caesar. I think this added an interesting dynamic to the show, as well as to the history of the events. Too bad Plutarch did not write a Lives about the women of ancient Rome. Those would have been great stories to tell!

What is Going on with Caesar?

First of all, I would like to say that it is very obvious that this show has a large budget.  Based on the costuming, the sets, the extras, and the large cast of main actors; this show needed and used a lot of money.  But did all of this extravagance help with the plot of the show? In a way, yes, it did. It allowed the show to set up multiple plot points for each character, which will carry out through the season and keep people's interest.  But for our sake, it didn't. I don't know about you but I watched this thinking that the main focus would be on Caesar, with maybe a side focus on Brutus and Antony. But I was wrong, which left me very confused.

If any of you were like me and only watched the two episodes we were assigned, Caesar really is not mentioned.  We see him get elected, give a speech, be crowned, and then stabbed to death. The focus of both episodes were more on Brutus and his mother, with the occasional side plot of Titus and the Caesar siblings (Octavian and Octavia). But just with our knowledge of Caesar's life and how he is portrayed in the show, I really do not see why they were so threatened by him.  These people just elected him into power, and then they realized they goofed and changed their minds, resulting in Caesar's impalement.

Brutus's character is also all over the place. Plutarch made Brutus seem brave and noble, whereas Rome made Brutus seem indecisive and dependent on other people to make decisions for him. Brutus went from being enemies with Caesar, to wanting to be his best friend, to wanting to stay his friend but still run against him, deciding to kill him, second guessing killing him as Caesar is waiting to be stabbed, choosing to kill him, and then felling horrible about it. This guy cannot make up his mind!

I guess if I watched from the beginning, these plot points might make more sense, but a lot of it seems extra to me. And props to whoever can give a summary of the entire season justice.