As the high streets filled with chain stores offering the sort of goods that were as much symbols of meaning as objects of utility, a ghastly social experiment was inaugurated. How long can you sustain a population of millions of people—unemployed, semi-employed, untrained—on the bare means of life offered by benefits, while around them a privileged class enacts the idea that consumption is life? They looted them, then they burnt them down, a double-whammy whose significance would be hard to miss.
Pundits of both Left and Right struggled to assimilate the rioters into a framework. But the actions had no recognisable political content—even the vestigial one of smashing up a McDonalds. Essentially it was the other of the autonomous processes by which the Western economy was run—any sense of property or propriety had been abolished at the highest levels of the Western economy, well before In a world where money, production and opportunity are mysterious, inexplicable flows, bearing no relation to work, worth or effort, the looting of one branch of a strong chain store, the removal of goods from China—they may as well be from space—seems a mere continuation of a process.
A glass window, in that respect, becomes not a mark of ownership, but a barrier of no reason or right, like the invisible impediments encountered in dreams.
Smashing it, in that respect, is a sudden return to the real, a bringing of the impossibly immaterial, skyward trending economy back to earth. Such an act resonates. The riots combined protest, criminality and amorality in equal measure, but at their core was the desire to interrupt, to record a dissent from a totalising system, even if those carrying away plasma TVs did not present it to themselves in such a way. From the Tea Party, through the riots, to The Tree of Life , there was a common sense—that this could not go on.
China has gathered the twin forces of modernity—the Will of Communism and the Prometheanism of the market—and put itself at the head of humanity in seeking to refute this idea. Did the times produce it now, this meditation Malick has struggled with for decades?
Or is it the world speaking through the artist, opening both creator and audience to a more radical vision than they could otherwise conceive, with all the possibilities that that suggests? Categorised: Arena Magazine Feature.
Tagged: China , culture , Guy Rundle. Independent publications and critical thought are more important than ever. Arena has never relied on or received government funding. It has sustained its activities largely through the voluntary work and funding provided by editors and supporters. If Arena is to continue and to expand its readership, we need your support to do it.
Living in the Sky Arena Magazine Oct Support Arena Independent publications and critical thought are more important than ever. View previous newsletters. Skip to main content. Search form Search. Railing against the railways: Richard Wilson confronts the horrors of not travelling First Class. After Naevia returns to the rebels with news of Crixus ' defeat, the rebels choose to honor their fallen comrades with a pale shadow of the old arena, where the Rebels would take on captured Romans.
After Spartacus. He tells her that this is merely a dim reflection of the actual games. She asks him if his heart still yearns for old days. He replies that he does not yearn for slavery but for the glory that calls to all of his kind. After Spartacus defeats his opponents, Gannicus comes in and requests to fight three at once.
Sibyl shows concern while Gannicus fights but is soon relieved to see his superior skill and ease. Gannicus proves himself still the God of the Arena as he easily defeats his opponents.
As the games continue, Gannicus is informed that Julius Caesar has arrived to broker a deal with the rebels. Gannicus and Spartacus meet with Caesar with Gannicus desiring Caesar's life. However, Caesar offers a trade of surviving rebels for Crassus' son, Tiberius , who was among the Romans captured. The two ponder about this and eventually, with Naevia 's approval, agree. As the rebels see Tiberius off to Caesar, he is killed by Kore , who Tiberius had raped.
Gannicus holds Caesar back, desiring his life now that he is of no longer use, but the deal is. That evening, the rebels put Crixus' head upon his shield on a pyre.
Gannicus is seen standing with Sibyl, holding hands. There, the rebels begin to chant the names of their fallen comrades. Gannicus cries out Oenomaus ' name before they all begin to chant Crixus' name. Soon, the warrior rebels would stand against Rome for a final battle so that the ones who cannot fight would be able to escape and live free.
Gannicus is seen kissing and making love to Sibyl as they say their final farewell. He tells her that she must leave with the rest and he must stay and fight for her freedom.
She remarks that freedom would mean nothing without him by her side. He smiles and caresses her face. He tells her that she had once told him that the gods had sent him to save her and that she had been mistaken.
The gods had guided him to her so that she would save him. They kiss and he tells her that he will join her when the battle is over, if he survives. And if he does not survive, he would wait for her upon the shores of the after life, Oenamaus and Melitta to keep him company, until he holds her again. She takes her idol and gives it to him, praying that the gods protect him and see Marcus Crassus and his legions fall to better men.
They embrace and later Sibyl's idol is seen securely tied to Gannicus' belt as he goes into battle. When the rebels split up in two groups, Gannicus holds Sibyl till the last moment and shares one last tearful moment, eventually parting ways. Sibyl goes with Laeta , Belesa , the rebel mother, and the others and as he watches Sibyl leave, Gannicus tells Spartacus that he now desires to see the blood of their enemy. Preparations for the final battle commence.
Spartacus and Gannicus discuss the coming battle with Gannicus noting that the odds are against them. He mentions that he would offer drink to lift spirits but lately, he has turned from it. Spartacus acknowledges that he has noticed the change in Gannicus and mentions that he himself also turned from wild pursuits when he fell in love. He tells Gannicus that their victory in this battle will be not be defined by the number of Roman lives they take but by the lives their fight will help save, including Sibyl's life, Laeta's, the mother and the child, and others.
Gannicus finally accepts that this has now become a cause he can embrace. Spartacus then asks for Gannicus to take rightful place as a leader. At Spartacus' insistence, Gannicus eventually agrees to do as asked and Spartacus then gives him a vital task. When the final battle commences, Gannicus is not present. As catapult and ballista fire from Crassus' rear position, Gannicus arrives leading an entire cavalry and infantry unit against the Romans.
Gannicus takes off of the horse and commands the rebels whilst fighting off many Roman soldiers. As time goes on, however, the rebels begin to be overrun. Gannicus first sees Saxa mortally wounded, dying in his arms. He then sees Naevia die at the hands of Caesar but is unable to help her because he is surrounded on all sides by the Roman legion. Gannicus continues to press through and then meets Caesar once more.
The two enter their final contest, with Gannicus holding the upper hand. The Roman soldiers, however, surround Gannicus, rotating fresh soldiers to the forefront to fight Gannicus. Eventually, he lashes out, exhausting himself, suffering several wounds before his sword is literally knocked from his hand. Now that Gannicus is unarmed, he is approached by a grinning Caesar who knocks him out with the back of his sword. Gannicus is captured and crucified along with the other captured rebels.
His last moments are joyous, however, as he is hanging by the cross, he sees Oenomaus smiling at him and then envisions himself standing in the arena with the crowd cheering his name. He smiles at the familiar sight and lets out one final battle cry. Melitta was a close friend of Gannicus as she was the wife of Oenomaus, they got along fine.
When they were forced to have sex to pleasure Quintilius Varus , the two were hesitant but obeyed the commands of their masters. Gannicus apologized before the encounter and the two had sex with both showing visible joy, which showed hidden feelings for one another. Gannicus begins falling in love with Melitta, and is wracked with guilt over having betrayed his friend.
Melitta turns him away but also begins to reluctantly reciprocate, although they do not consummate their love due to respect for Oenomaus. When Titus arranges a contest to determine who is worthy to remain a gladiator and become champion. Gannicus is told he will be sold to Tullius if he loses in his fights which causes him to try and prove himself though is distracted with gazes of Melitta. In his final match with Crixus, he purposely loses though many, including Crixus himself, note that Gannicus threw the fight and could have actually won.
That night, Melitta visits him and questions his reason as he explains is because his constant sight of her which makes it hard for him as he knew he couldn't have her.
Melitta tells Gannicus that despite her words she also has feelings for him and they begin to kiss and nearly had sex but then she begins to cough up blood and Melitta swiftly dies in agony while in Gannicus' arms. As Lucretia blamed the poisoning on Tullius since it was his gift, Gannicus wanted revenge on him for it. During Batiatus' plot, Gannicus took part in it and join in the stabbing of the Roman and as he slowly bleeds to death they brick him into a wall, as Gannicus smiled pleasurably at Tullius' suffering.
Marcia is a slave girl Gannicus met in a brothel when he returned to Capua. They had sex and shared a drink before she realized who he was and expressed admiration of him being a freed slave. She asked to see his Rudis and was amazed by his feats in the arena as he told her it was a burden but he must carry it to show he is no longer a slave.
He left her but said he would enjoy the memories of their encounter, as she was flattered and smiled at him which he returned. They meet again after the fall of the Arena and talk with a little flirting in it Gannicus asks her to come with him when he leaves the city. Marcia says that she has been thinking of leaving to join Spartacus ' rebellion, and that she is not alone in these thoughts.
They were interrupted by Ashur, who tells him that Glaber wishes to speak with him. Gannicus finds Marcia later, strung up and crucified among other slaves in the marketplace because she was a slave who spoke Spartacus' name which was forbidden by Glaber. He was visibly saddened by her death, which was a major factor in him deciding to become a rebel. There was no direct interaction between them in Vengeance but Saxa was amazed by his former status as a champion.
Gannicus later agreed with a question that Saxa made after Spartacus released Ilithyia and got nothing in return. She later smiled at him for understanding Spartacus' grief about Mira's death which was in contrast to Nemetes.
Sometime after Glaber's defeat, they became lovers with Saxa even learning the common tongue to communicate with him. Due to their similar carefree and thrill seeking personalities, they were compatible and had sex on a frequent basis. Gannicus met her when her master Laurus tried to kill her and her fellow slaves.
His rescue caused her to become immediately infatuated with him. Following the rescue, Sibyl timidly shadows Gannicus, careful never to come too close, but her appearance is noticed by Saxa who later confronts her - she takes her to a Roman home and dresses her up in a beautiful white gown befitting a Roman lady, before bringing Gannicus in to see her.
They later meet when she tells him that she wanted to thank him for her rescue but he shrugs, uninterested in the story many have told him before, but she stays firm in her belief insisting he is as a hero sent by the gods.
When she discovers Laeta's secret, she tries to tell him but he almost brushes it aside though stops after hearing her urgency. He sees her discovery and through it learns the truth of another incident and goes to confront his fellows of it. During Crassus' attack on the city, Gannicus finds Sibyl who was trapped there and she ran to hug him out of relief although annoyed at the delay she will cause, he nevertheless orders her to stay close to his side. When she believes they will die, she tells him "If I am to die it lifts heart to share final moment with you".
Gannicus says that despite all the deaths that night, she won't be among them he grabs her hand and takes her to hide somewhere safe. She tended to his wounds as they hid from the romans who submitted the city under their control. Gannicus develops a fondness for her and when forced out of hiding, hands Sibyl a knife and tells her if he doesn't return to kill herself saying it would be a kindness compared to what the romans will do.
He open the hatch and goes to fight the Romans in the stables Sibyl hears the sounds and becomes scared especially when bloodied sword goes through the floor. She hears footsteps coming towards her and slowly moves her knife to her neck the door opens but is relieved as it turns to be Gannicus who tells her he begins to believe in her gods and tells her "Let us see how far they will take us".
Gannicus was worried when Heracleo attempted to kill her but she was saved by Laeta. The three soon escaped the city and reunited with the other rebels. After entering the mountains, he is awkward with Saxa as he notices Sibyl watching them in the distance. When he finds her praying before an altar out in the snow, he is angry to see that she is offering her own blood as a sacrifice to the gods.
He tells the others to seek shelter and carries the bleeding Sibyl away from the altar. He struggles through the storm, lost, trying to reach the camp. When he sees a large, overturned cart he seeks shelter there instead. She explains that it was meant as a sacrifice for Spartacus. Oenomaus and Gannicus were close friends in their time at the ludus.
Even though, Gannicus took Oenomaus' spot as champion of the house while he recovered from his fight with Theokoles , they got along quite well in spite of their contrasting personalities. While talking with Oenomaus and his wife, Gannicus joked if they were to fight he'd give him an honorable death. When Gannicus was forced to have sex with Melitta, he was hesitant for Oenomaus was one of his closest friends.
Five years later, they meet again when Oenomaus is condemned to die in the arena. Gannicus awkwardly greeted him by saying they at last face each other upon the sands as Melitta had always feared. Oenomaus then questions Gannicus, asking if it was true that he had an affair with Melitta the night she had died. Upon hesitation, Oenomaus is enraged and begins to deal heavy blows against him.
Gannicus soon overpowered Oenomaus and prepared to kill him when the Arena came down and the two were hit by debris. After the destruction, Gannicus implored Crixus and Spartacus to help him get the unconscious Oenomaus to safety. At the time of his arrival, Crixus was seen as a another recruit and Gannicus hardly took note of him but did not take part in bullying him like Barca and Auctus.
They formally met when Crixus later approaches Gannicus and touches him, prompting the latter to throw him against the wall and warn him never to come behind his back. Upon hearing Crixus ask for advice to become Champion, Gannicus says never to lose.
The two later fought as entertainment for Quintilius Varus and Gaia. In their fight, Crixus showed great skill which impressed Gannicus before Gannicus gains the upper hand and eventually Crixus does down him, but Gannicus regains strength and bests Crixus in the fight. Gaia, granted the choice to decide the match's end, commands that Crixus lives. Gannicus is impressed with Crixus' new skill. When Crixus struggles in training against Barca, Gannicus later gives Crixus advice to overcome the spear.
After Crixus killed Auctus and became a member of the Brotherhood, Gannicus congratulated him. After earning his freedom, Gannicus kept up with the gladiatorial games and got word of the Undefeated Gaul and realized this was Crixus and was proud of him for achieving such prowess. They first met during the games of Publius Varinius. While Spartacus was under the guise of a Roman soldier, he noticed Gannicus' mark, that of the House of Batiatus. Questioning his morals in killing his brothers, Gannicus responded saying he is the only one who deserves to give them an honorable death.
After the fall of the arena Gannicus accompanies, the Rebels to the temple for the sole purpose of having words with Oenomaus. Gannicus originally thought little of Spartacus even thinking his cause would lead his group to certain death. The two later came to blows when some of the rebels possessions vanished and Gannicus was accused, they are shown equal in combat though the fight was broken up by Mira who catches the culprit and Spartacus apologized for accusing him after Gannicus' innocence is made.
Gannicus later joins the rebellion after kidnapping Ilithyia and over time he develops respect for Spartacus. Before the battle with Glaber, Gannicus admitted his respect to Spartacus before acknowledging him as a brother and the two shook hands as a way of symbolizing a friendship between them. They fought together as comrades and Gannicus came to further respect Spartacus for his leadership after he defeats his foe.
After Glaber's defeat, Gannicus and Spartacus have become very close and often joke and trade barbs with one another, even providing each other counsel. Gannicus, however, still does not truly believe in the cause and instead does it to honor Oenomaus, however, he occasionally acts as a moral advisor to Spartacus, steering him in the right direction, and does embrace him as a brother. Initially, they had a bad view of one another with Agron considering Gannicus to be as worse as the Gauls of the rebels while Gannicus viewed him as a lumbering oaf.
Agron was willing to attack Gannicus when the rebel's possessions went missing but watched as he and Spartacus fought. A roman blacksmith who Gannicus in his days after his freedom. The two became acquainted and friends with Gannicus coming to see Attius had small loyalty to his people. They met again after six years, where Gannicus is now in the rebellion and were happy to see one another.
Originally, Gannicus had no interaction with Ashur but he did not play any role in tormenting the recruits like Barca and Auctus. He even halted them from trying to start unnecessary fights with them after the hazing went too far. Years later, the two meet again where Gannicus is hostile to him though does accompany him to his new master Gaius Claudius Glaber. Unknown to Gannicus, Ashur had previously told Oenomaus of his and Melitta's affair.
Ashur later had a slave named Marcia crucified to spite Gannicus as well as because she stated Spartacus' name which was made illegal by the Praetor. Gannicus paid Ashur back by killing Abrax before he joined the rebels becoming an enemy of Ashur.
The two met again in Glaber's attack on Spartacus' in Atella, but no interaction took place. For established Spartacus fans, there are the expected nods to many of the recognizable character's humble beginnings: in particular, future "Champion of Capua" Crixus Manu Bennett is a belittled new recruit hungry to prove his worth and join the brotherhood of gladiators; and the fearsome whip-cracking Doctore is a gladiator known as Oenomaus Peter Mensah , who's jealous of the fact Gannicus has stolen his limelight.
Also, Batiatus's wife Lucretia Lucy Lawless is once again in a close girly relationship with a posh socialite called Gaia Jaime Murray , who may be able to grease the wheels of her husband's ambition, and is aghast at the very suggestion she use her privileged position to sleep with her slaves.
However, while "Past Transgessions" was undoubtedly familiar and occasionally felt like a different approach to last year's material, it's still a huge amount of fun. The dialogue alone best described as very articulate profanity is often mesmerizing to listen to, although it can take awhile for your ear to get attuned to the vulgarity.
0コメント