Latin in Pop Culture

This hub explores the use of the Latin language and Rome’s mythology and anecdotal history in pop culture as a means of increasing interest in the Classics. Some sources are correct in their representation of the classics, rendering their English into grammatically correct Latin and presenting historical and mythological stories genuinely. However, other sources misrepresent Latin or alter it from its original form. Interest in Latin and the Classics is both furthered and hindered by such usages as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter, Gladiator, Dead Poet’s Society, The Matrix, Winnie Ille Pu, and Cattus Petasatus. These television shows, movies, and books are real world representations. These perpetuate the public opinion regarding the classics and how they should be treated.

Pop culture commonly regards Latin as a dead language. It is not spoken colloquially in any country in the world, yet it continues to fascinate the mob. Something in the glory and honor of Rome speaks to people today. The sacrifices of heroes and the decadency of the Golden Age fascinated classic authors such as Cicero equally as much as they fascinate the uneducated plebeians of the modern world. Using Latin adds a sense of the archaic, of old world charm. The stories of Ancient Rome and the mythology of Ancient Greece suggest a lost connection to the world and a feeling of one person being able to shape all of history. Latin is often shown as difficult or boring, as in Dead Poet’s Society. There is a scene in this movie where the boys at a preparatory school learn Latin by reciting lists of conjugated forms. The students lethargically and mindlessly list the forms as though Latin were boring and mindless. However, it is clear in the film that Latin is regarded as important for the education of the schoolboys. In addition, famous quotations like “Carpe Diem” are common in media representations though rarely translated. The stories entice and entertain, even when they are not historically or literarily correct. Former generations relied upon philosophical works, Shakespeare, and law courts to facilitate and further classics. This generation is bombarded by these unattributed phrases, Hollywood renditions of classic stories, and Latin with connection to witchcraft and old proverbs.

Gladiator

Movies like Gladiator display for its audiences the glory of Rome in a way which increases knowledge and interest in the classics even for those which no academic interest in Rome or in Latin. Primarily, it is difficult to look past the obvious flaw that the story in the movie did not happen. There was no general who became a slave who then defied an emperor. Some minor details were correct, but the overall arc of the story is nowhere to be seen. The real story is even somewhat more sensational, though not as uplifting. In reality, Emperor Commodus was co-emperor with his father for a time before Marcus Aurelius’ death. He also helped in the battles, despite the movie’s implication that Commodus was absent from the fighting. After his ascent to the throne, Commodus proceeded to give many lavish games at the expense of his treasury and his senators’ own pockets, which helps explain the tension between the two sides. He himself fought in the arena against gladiators, much to the cynicism of nearly everyone. His personification of Hercules to the extent of wearing skins and carrying a club is absent from the film, despite its entertaining qualities. The film hints that Commodus is a bad man, but does not show the depths to which he was a bad Emperor. The actual story is even more sensational and entertaining than the one the film presents, but less motivational because modern audiences want the same thing the ancient arena audience did: blood, guts, and glory. Maximus gives all of these things, as well as the message of personal perseverance and the American idea of pulling one’s self up by the bootstraps. American audiences love a good underdog, and the idea of a slave overthrowing the oppressive ruler is the epitome of this ideal.

Within the construct of the story, there are some things to be commended, despite the plethora of inaccuracies. For instance, the film’s creators captured the essence of the Coliseum (though it would have been called the Flavian Amphitheater at this time). The raw brutality and swooning crowds are depicted faithfully. The plot against the life of Commodus by his sister did actually occur (though in history it failed rather than succeeding and his sister Lucilla was executed). Commodus was accused of incestuous relationships (though oddly with every sister but Lucilla). The movie did show Commodus fighting in one-to-one gladiatorial combat, which is historically accurate. Marcus Aurelius was a good emperor and the last beacon of hope in the empire. He is considered the last of the five “good emperors” and was as studious and philosophizing as he is depicted. Commodus was as well loved by the mob as he was hated by the senate. The creators illustrated how fickle the mob was, that they loved the blood and horror of the arena and adored those who distracted them with brutal games. Thus, the movie can be used to present to Latin students how the plebs and aristocrats interacted and the opulence of the Roman arena.

Many of the mistakes in the movie seem quite purposeful. For instance, it is clearly a mistake that the wooden sword of Proximo says “MARCUS AURELIUS FECIT” instead of “MARCVSAVRELIVSFECIT” as it should. However, a modern audience would not understand that there was no “u” in the Roman alphabet at this time, nor would they be able to understand that all the words would be crammed together. To this point, however, the average audience member would not be able to read the Latin and would therefore be unlikely to care whether or not it was depicted accurately. There is very little Latin in the film, so the placement of these few words stands out. Perhaps what was most important was that the audience see the name of Marcus Aurelius on the wooden sword. Despite its many flaws, though, Gladiator captured audiences and directed their attention to the glory of Rome. The belief that Ancient Rome was somehow the best of times endures and the film does emphasize this adage. This is important for the continuation of the classics by illustrating the grandness of Rome for the enjoyment of both the Latin educated and the uneducated.

       Latin is somewhat popularly demonized as a language for witchcraft and wickedness. This is seen clearly in Harry Potter. The magical spells are often in or derived from Latin. One example of this is expecto patronum, which J.K Rowling uses as a magic spell to will into existence a protecting guardian against agents of evil. This is a very literal translation from English into Latin and is therefore easy to retranslate. The conjugations are correct and the format, though slightly altered from Roman Latin, is acceptable. Rowling uses Latin to hint at the personalities of the characters with “Severus” as a sharp and serious man and “Lupin” as a man who turns into werewolf. There are less direct translations such as “Voldemort”. While the meaning is clear, Rowling has taken liberties with the language to create the effect intended. Harry Potter is the hero of the novels and follows the classic Hero’s Journey, as outlined by Joseph Campbell. In each novel, Harry Potter “ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons” (Campbell). Harry follows in the footsteps of Hercules and Achilles, Aeneas and Jason. The popularity of the Harry Potter series furthers Latin by injecting it into the modern world in a forum that is both enticing and non-academic.

Another example of the connections which modern media makes between Latin and witchcraft is evident in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. In episode 137, Get It Done, when one character is using Latin for witchcraft, she says, “Via temporis, iam clamo ad te, via spatii te iubeo aperire. Aperi!” This translation is obviously flawed in grammar and structure. It does convey the meaning that is desired, yet it sacrifices the integrity of the language needlessly. This is furthered later in the same episode when the spell has still not had the intended effect. The character says, “Via, concursus, tempus, spatium, audi me ut imperio. Screw it! Mighty forces, I suck at Latin, OK? But that's not the issue. I'm the one in charge, and I'm telling you open up, portal, now!” It is interesting to note that this set is more grammatically correct than the one before it, yet this is eradicated by the dismissal of Latin. The character obtains the spell’s effect by switching out of Latin and into English. This does nothing to help the cause of Latin, as it negates any good that the previous use of Latin has furthered. This television show uses Latin frequently, yet the quality of the rendered language is spotty at best.

Buffy Summers, heroine of Joss Whedon’s cult classic television show, also follows the Hero’s Journey. Laurel Bowman analyzes the show from this perspective in her work, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the Greek Hero Revisited. The author’s analysis of the work comes during the sixth of seven seasons. All of the stages of Campbell’s theory are present in the show. The final season goes to a place where even the story of Hercules fails to go. Buffy has died at the end of season five, and season six begins with the supporting cast working to bring her back. Unknown to her friends, Buffy has been “rewarded with an "apotheosis" - she's allowed to rest at last, and spend her time in heaven, rewarded, like Herakles, for her labours for the world” (Bowman). She is returned to Earth by her friends’ invocation of Osiris, who permits the return of Buffy.

Bowman summarizes the last two seasons of Buffy by noting, “The last three stages of the "Return" - "Crossing the Return Threshold", "Mastering the Two Worlds", and the "Freedom to Live" - are the stages in which the hero comes to accept the 'normal' world again, and learns to live both as a hero AND as a human being in the daily round of life”. Buffy returns to Earth unwillingly and spends a year relearning how to live in this world. She is constantly looking over her shoulder, like Eurydice, and is therefore unable to fully rejoin the living. She finds readjustment to life difficult to accomplish. As the series progresses, Buffy Summers learns to accept her re-entry and moves on to the next stage of the Hero Journey. She literally masters two worlds by going into the underworld and vanquishing the evil that lurks there. As a boon, she grants all the other potential slayers with her own superpowers and is granted the “freedom to live”. The series ends with Buffy’s sister asking, “What are we going to do now?” This is the expression of Buffy’s freedom. She is free from a seven year set of labors and can go on to do whatever she wishes. Thus, the entire Hero’s journey is completed and Buffy is no longer the hero. However, through the continuation of the show in comic book form, it is clear that Buffy, like Odysseus, is unable to stay away and must continue to be a hero. The depiction of Buffy as a Greek Hero perpetuates the tradition and furthers Campbell’s theory.

Star Wars

Another pop culture icon which follows the hero tradition is the of the Star Wars saga. George Lucas corresponded with Campbell while writing his epic saga. His hero, Luke Skywalker, is a modern rendition of the ancient story hero. He follows the path of Achilles and Hercules. This modern myth is a representation of the old monomyth. Luke Skywalker follows the same basic hero structure as outlined by Campbell. To this point, the story of Star Wars could be written down and the name of Luke Skywalker changed to many of the modern heroes such as Buffy Summers, Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Neo. This makes the stories somewhat predictable, yet the resonance of the stories continue to touch upon the human condition.

The Matrix

There are many films which include only a snippet of Latin in the background. An example of this is in The Matrix. The Oracle tells Neo to look at the inscription, temet nosce, on her wall. She says, "You know what that means? It's Latin. Means know thyself." It is interesting to note that the Greek Oracle at Delphi also had “know thyself” inscribed, yet it was in the original Greek, Gnõthi seautón. The translation of this into Latin from the original text makes little sense. The Oracle must translate the text for the main character and the audience, the phrase could just as easily have been left in its original format. However, while Latin has retained the idea of usefulness, Ancient Greek is not nearly as popular for use in modern media.

New Texts

From English-to -Latin translations of popular bestselling books like Winnie Ille Pu and Cattus Petasatus, new texts are available for students and scholars. The inclusion of these texts into the modern education system creates new and fun methods for keeping the interest of the students. Every year the Salutatory Address at Harvard University’s commencement is in Latin. This past year the speaker, Charles Joseph McNamara, gave a speech on the Jedi Knights of Star Wars and how the students themselves are like young padawans. It is these steps outside the boundaries of normal teaching criteria which keep alive the fascination with a culture long gone. Teachers who create songs to learn declensions and fuse pop culture with Roman culture are those whose teaching truly informs and excites. A student learning Latin conjugations by rote memorization might be able to tell the professor the third person active indicative form of a verb, but that knowledge is baseless. Instead, an interest in the language and life must be cultivated. While translating Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis may not teach a student about the philosophical inclinations of Cicero, it impacts the retained understanding of the language. These new texts infuse the study with new material for translation and offer a new outlet for classics.

Even poorly organized or rendered anecdotes increase general knowledge, which in turn suggests to public opinion that Latin, while mostly only useful for lawyers and doctors, should be studied for increasing standardized test scores. Latin has long been seen as the mark of an educated person, despite a decline in student numbers since World War II. The popularity of such media representations as those listed may be the cause of the recent increase in Latin programs. From stories like 300 and Gladiator, the honor and brutality of ancient warfare is glorified. New texts increase interest which furthers the continuation of classics. The future of Latin education remains unclear. Yet, with the continuation of Hollywood and learned bestselling authors, the classics also will continue to entertain, amuse, impress, and entice.