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The film that I watched was an investigation of Ancient Roman art and its purpose in commemorating the lives of the artist who created it. The narrator of the film was particularly interested in uncovering the art, and therefore the lives, of common Roman citizens. Often times, through media and displays in museums, when we see Roman art and sculptures, we see depictions of conquests or scenes from gladiator battles. This film suggests that the city of Rome is not only filled with art representing those individuals, but the lives of Roman slaves, people who had traveled to Rome, and millions of others. One of the most notable types of artwork uncovered in the film is the tombstone. It was customary in Ancient Rome that a tombstone would include not only the name of the diseased, but their cause of death, city of birth, occupation, or sometimes even a synopsis of their life story. The film uncovers numerous graves of slave girls, some who had come from Africa and others who were born more locally. Their tombs held stories of children left behind and slave owners who had freed them and fallen in love with them. All of this information simply uncovered from their burial site. One of the most interesting things to me, as I watched the film's narrator uncover these tales, was how useful a rich understanding of the Latin language was.  On one of the graves she analyzed, she was able to decipher a relationship between a slave and her owner simply by the nickname the girl was given. She was also able to connect several other tablets owned by the family to the burial site, unfolding a tragic tale of a romance interrupted by early death. On another grave, she was able to pick out three names as traditionally Jewish monikers. Their names combined with their time of death made it almost certain that they were part of a specific Jewish rebellion in the first century AD. All of this was able to be unveiled simply due to an understanding of the language and its history, knowing how to pick apart words and associate names with their cultures. One the key historical moments touched on in the film that reminded me of American culture was the grain ration. In Ancient Rome, each month, the government provided to its people enough corn to make bread for two to three people. Historians believe this luxury had less to do with the emperor's charitable side and more to do with his desire to keep his people from forming an uprising. However, no matter the motive, this ration was seen as a true benefit of being a Roman citizen, especially to outsiders. This sense of luxury was depicted over and over again in Roman artwork, especially works created by common people. They showed feasts among all people and a sense of joy and pride in Rome's evolution into a consumer city, a receiver of Italy's imports of rich grains. This sort of image of "land of opportunity" that Rome had fashioned itself into reminded me a lot of America. Whether we recall images of early American settlements or post-war suburbia, media brings to mind an image of wealth, prosperity, and safety. We see the freedoms we have as ultimate freedoms and consider ourselves to be a completely free people, able to access whatever we please. I think, overall, the film did a great job bringing art of the common Roman to light. Before watching the film, I never would have really considered tomb stones as art, but having truly seen the rich stories they can tell, I've realized my mistake. I think their definitely may have been bias in the film, seeing as how there was no mention of slaves having ill feelings towards their owners or common Roman people living in distress, but it's also possible this kind of art work may not have been allowed. After having watched my previous documentary on the Roman religion, it was also interesting to hear another side of the story and see Roman culture from another angle.

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