New Movie Release Mutilates North African History Update: The film, “The Gladiator” does not note until the last line following the credits that it is not historically accurate (which will not be seen by most people). At the beginning of the film, there are a couple of lines talking about Rome’s empire and the current emperor in the story.

Thus, it gives a sense that the story that is to take place is historical. Hollywood’s depiction of Arabs in a stereotypical negative light, whether in action films, where they are favorite enemy #1, or in comedies, where they are portrayed as conniving, promiscuous money-grabbers, has managed this time to disregard anything approaching historical reality in its new release, The Gladiators, subsequently maligning and misrepresenting Arabs by insinuation and Imazighen (Berbers) in reality.

This despite the high cost of the film-some $100 million-and the care taken in correctly depicting the Roman soldiers, the coliseum, and the architecture of Rome at the time. The story takes place during the Roman empire in 180 A.D., between Rome and North Africa. The area mentioned is Zucchabar, which is described as a Roman province. Zucchabar is present day Miliana in Algeria and was never a Roman province but in the province, which was called Afrikiya (north Africa today).

Dreamworks and Universal Studios presents this town as an Arab slave-market center (the term “arab” is never used, but the clothes, the language, the presentation is completely alien to 2nd century north Africa). They also seem to have confused “Numidian” and “Nubian.” The friend of Maximus, the main character, and fellow slave-turned-gladiator is a character named “Juba” (a definitely Amazigh name, which had belonged to two of the great Numidian kings), played by west African (Nigerian) Djimon Hounsou. While Nubian was a term for the black-skinned people, Numidians were Imazighen and light-skinned, fair-eyed Africans, who are documented by archaeologists as having lived in the area since at least 3,000 B.C. The principal character in the play is Russel Crowe, a Roman general-turned-slave-turned gladiator. He finds himself in a marketplace surrounded by people wearing long, flowing robes and turbans, Middle Eastern music playing in the background. Oliver Reed plays Proximo, a local slave-trader, supposingly a Bedouin. Bedouins do not make their way to the area until the 11th century, some 900 years after the time represented in this film. Middle Eastern music was unknown. If Hollywood wanted exotica, native music would have done as effectively. The people of the area wore short tunics and did not cover their heads. It would be at least 500 years before the Arabs would appear in the area and probably much longer before turbans would be known since this was protective wear for the desert.

The area of north Africa under the Roman empire was the fertile lands of the coastal north, which included thriving cities and cultural centers. The existence of slave trading is highly questionable. There is no documentation that slavery even existed in the area at the time. Most slaves were obtained as a result of wars (booty) or from conquored peoples. While Rome had slaves, there is no record of slavery in Numidia at this time. The slave trade is believed by historians to have started with the Arab traders, hundreds of years later. While movies are presented as “entertainment,” and “The Gladiator” does not present itself as historical reality, the fact is that movies do influence an audience’s thinking. Most Americans do not read history once they are out of school. They know next to nothing about north Africa, much less the Amazigh.

This film reaffirms stereotypes and obliterates Amazigh history and identity, playing into the hands of today’s north African governments, which have legally, through their constitutions, and de facto, been waging a war of cultural, historical, and linguistic extermination against the Amazigh in their own homeland. An industry that can spend millions to create an authentic-looking coliseum, can certainly take care in representing human beings, in respecting their history and their identity.

http://www.amazighworld.org/news/editorials/index_show.php?article=40