Alexandra Sills | University of Leicester (original) (raw)

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Papers by Alexandra Sills

Research paper thumbnail of The Colosseum on the Silver Screen: The Allure of Hollywood Gladiators for the Alt-Right

Melita Classica, 2024

Tracking alt-right receptions and misappropriations of gladiators and gladiatorial imagery, inspi... more Tracking alt-right receptions and misappropriations of gladiators and gladiatorial imagery, inspired not by historical fighters but by gladiators in Hollywood

Research paper thumbnail of The Tropification of Hollywood Heroes Thrown Into the Arena

Melita Classica, 2023

A survey of Hollywood gladiators in cinema and television, this paper notes the commonalities in ... more A survey of Hollywood gladiators in cinema and television, this paper notes the commonalities in each of these narratives that has led to the story arc of protagonist-as-gladiator becoming a trope.

Examples include: Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, The Hunger Games, The Simpsons and more, as well as traditional examples from the swords and sandals genre such as Spartacus, Gladiator and Pompeii.

This paper demonstrates that the ideology of the Colosseum in Hollywood is a direct inversion of the ideology of ancient Roman spectacle, a change developed against the backdrop of the political landscape of America over the last seven decades.

Research paper thumbnail of The Colosseum on the Silver Screen: The Allure of Hollywood Gladiators for the Alt-Right

Melita Classica, 2024

Tracking alt-right receptions and misappropriations of gladiators and gladiatorial imagery, inspi... more Tracking alt-right receptions and misappropriations of gladiators and gladiatorial imagery, inspired not by historical fighters but by gladiators in Hollywood

Research paper thumbnail of The Tropification of Hollywood Heroes Thrown Into the Arena

Melita Classica, 2023

A survey of Hollywood gladiators in cinema and television, this paper notes the commonalities in ... more A survey of Hollywood gladiators in cinema and television, this paper notes the commonalities in each of these narratives that has led to the story arc of protagonist-as-gladiator becoming a trope.

Examples include: Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, The Hunger Games, The Simpsons and more, as well as traditional examples from the swords and sandals genre such as Spartacus, Gladiator and Pompeii.

This paper demonstrates that the ideology of the Colosseum in Hollywood is a direct inversion of the ideology of ancient Roman spectacle, a change developed against the backdrop of the political landscape of America over the last seven decades.

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