Ridley Scott is a most accomplished filmmaker and there's no more telling needed of his mastering of the visual entertainment on the screen - settings, effects, scenes composition. Watching the latest Gladiator, an attempt that I could only make for the first 30 minutes of the film, prompted me to write this extended review which, admittedly, could apply to many others in the industry.

Somewhere along the way, Mr. Scott's aspirations began to gravitate toward another position, one too often seen in the circles, a position of ideological self-gratification and infatuation with his role of influencer of the masses. Mr. Scott wants the gullible souls out there to see him as sensible and good by all the DEI standards du jour. Like any mortal, and in great secrecy (and so denied) he wants to pave his way to that eternal after-place of recognition of the supposedly good things you did in your earthy life, according to one book. Nothing wrong with that, except for when you do it at the terminal expense of nearly a billion people - an entire race - in which case, by an arguably more objective morality, of nature, you would end up in an opposite such after-place.

Mr. Scott will tell you to just vanish into that "melting pot", literally, and go have interracial sex in the most offensive possible way, black on blonde; in fact he would jeopardize an entire, expensive production (Prometeus) to tell you that. He will tell you how morally compromised the Templar knights were compared to their Arab opponents (Kingdom of Heaven). He will make up history to tell you that Sub-Saharan Africans have made it out in masses and were a large presence in the Roman Empire (Gladiator). He will even cast them with rapper dreadlocks in his contempt for your intelligence. He will shift mountains to show you his higher grounds, with blatant disregard for your ancestors who lived there, fought the battles, built those civilizations, disregard for lives in the past, present, and future, if any.

From his influential position, this activism is not only irresponsible, it is destructive toward the race on earth who, perhaps in less than perfect ways, civilized the planet. It goes against life and alongside those "melting pot" (except for them) sloganeers, who also happen to be the industry's financiers. Again, this applies to many, and I like a lot about Ridley Scott, but I can only suggest Raye-Shows removes the name from the ratings or flags it appropriately.

Antony S. 1/25

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