User:Sroc/Spartacus

I am Spartacus!

In the climactic scene, recaptured slaves are asked to identify Spartacus in exchange for leniency; instead they proclaim themselves to be Spartacus and thus share his fate. The documentary Trumbo suggests that this scene was meant to dramatize the solidarity of those accused of being Communist sympathizers during the McCarthy Era who refused to implicate others, and thus were blacklisted.

This scene and the repeated line, "I am Spartacus!", are amongst the most memorable in cinema and have been widely referenced and parodied in a range of different media:

• In several subsequent films, including:
  • The 1964 Soviet-Cuban film I Am Cuba has a scene in which three captured Cuban guerrillas claim one after another "I am Fidel!".
  • The 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian reverses the scene by depicting an entire group undergoing crucifixion all claiming to be Brian who it has just been announced is eligible for release ("I'm Brian" "No, I'm Brian" "I'm Brian and so's my wife.").
  • The 1992 film Malcolm X ends with an "I am Malcolm X!" montage.
  • In the 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, several people declare themselves drag queens to prevent one from being arrested.
  • The 1998 film The Mask of Zorro has a scene in which the prison guards, directed by the antagonist Don Rafael Montero, demand that Zorro reveal himself. Diego De La Vega (the original Zorro) stays silent as many of the prisoners proclaim themselves to be Zorro, to the point of arguing and fighting amongst themselves.
  • The 1999 film Life, starring Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy, includes a scene where the warden of a prison asks the prisoners who is the father of his daughter's baby one at a time, most of the prisoners claim to be his father.
  • The 2005 film Color Me Kubrick, inspired by the impersonation in real-life of Spartacus director Stanley Kubrick, pays reference to the 'Spartacus moment' with con man Alan Conway finally frustrated in his impersonation by fellow inmates of a mental asylum all declaring "I'm Stanley Kubrick".
• In several TV shows, including:
  • The South Park episode "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow", in which Stan confesses to accidentally breaking a dam, but the people of the town think he means that everybody's responsible and they all begin to admit "I broke the dam."
  • The Power Rangers in Space series finale, "Countdown to Destruction", in which the people of the fictional city of Angel Grove each declare themselves to be Power Rangers.
  • The Futurama episode "A Tale of Two Santas", in which several characters claim to be Robot Santa in order to save Bender from death.
  • The Undergrads episode "Traditions".
  • The Radio Free Roscoe episode "I Am Question Mark".
  • The Fairly OddParents episode "Microphony", in which Timmy is accused of being clandestine radio broadcaster "Double T", and all his friends say "I am Double T!".
  • The Teen Nick show Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide episode "Embarassment", in which a full class declares "I am Farticus".
  • In Moving Wallpaper, episode 5 of season 2, after producer Jonathon Pope admits to having deleted a press teaser, members of the production staff individually stand up to claim that they deleted it.
  • In Whose Line is it Anyway?, the line "I'm Spartacus" was parodied on numerous occasions (for example, as recited by Carol Channing).
  • In the Monk episode "Mr. Monk and the Red-Headed Stranger", a group of Willie Nelson's assistant singers say, "I'm Willie Nelson" in order to prevent him from being arrested by the SFPD.
• In an animated clip from web comic Cyanide and Happiness.
• In 2005, Pepsi aired a commercial where a Roman general announced that a package (a 12oz can of Pepsi) had arrived for Spartacus, and asked if he was there to claim it. Using the original footage from the Kubrick film, everyone immediately claimed to be Spartacus in an attempt to get the beverage for himself, resulting in the general drinking it himself. The commercial contains licensed footage from the original film.
• In May 2007, British soldiers in Iraq were reported to be wearing t-shirts bearing the statement "I'm Harry!" in reference to the debate over whether Prince Harry should serve a tour of duty there.