Gladiator and the Momonyth: How it Compares to Others

Gladiator follows the Monomyth very well. While it is a very simple, straight-forward movie, you can clearly see it follow almost all the parts of the Monomyth closely. It establishes Maximus, a Roman general, as a hero early in the film, by depicting his great win over the barbaric German tribes. It becomes clear that he will follow the Monomyth when Marcus Aurelius, the great emperor of Rome asks him to succeed him, and he declines, thus marking off the first things in the Monomyth, "The Call to Adventure" and "Refusal of the Call."

Gladiator definitely follows more closely to the Monomyth than some other movies. It is definitely easier to apply the Monomyth to a movie that is not in a series, rather than one that is. A movie like "Batman: The Dark Night" is going to be more difficult to hold to the Monomyth closely. Whereas, the entire series might hold to the Monomyth, a singular movie in a series is only helping you understand the parts necessary for you to get the greater story out of it. While you could certainly find pieces in any movie that closely correlate to Joseph Campbell's The Monomyth, not every movie is going to follow along with it.