Gary Nuila

 26 February 2018 Some people today look at past conceptions of manhood, see flaws such as violence and aggression, and cry out for a need to replace it altogether. While aspects of manhood should be updated to meet the realities of the times, our stories teach us that many of the traditional ideals of manhood haven’t gotten old or less useful.   Many men and a surprising amount of women love the movie Gladiator. They love it because it tells a compelling story about the kind of man men want to be, and women want to be with—the ideal man. Gladiator is about how the ideal man acts and grounds himself in a chaotic and complex world.   The name of the ideal man in Gladiator is Maximus. That’s a fitting name because he’s man at the maximum. He’s not just one of the classical archetypes of manhood—such as the king, the warrior, the magician or the lover—he is a very satisfying combination of all the manly archetypes. In the opening act of the movie, we’re presented with what happens to a man who lives life