# "Do you like gladiator movies?" Huh? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2013, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368 "2013-01-16T09:21:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/1 "2013-01-16T09:21:58Z")
The famous exchange with the captain and the kid on Airplane!, what exactly is he asking? If the kid is gay? Or he is a pedo and feeling the kid out? Another question is have you ever seen a grown man naked, which I imagine most boys have at some point. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/2 "2013-01-16T09:29:56Z")
I think the implication is that [Captain Oveur](http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0006136/) is a homosexual pedophile, testing the waters – it says nothing about Joey, who seems like an average boy. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/3 "2013-01-16T09:57:10Z")
Also, please remember that it’s a _joke_. The film is a comedy. Don’t take it all so seriously… ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/4 "2013-01-16T09:59:32Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Also, please remember that it’s a _joke_. The film is a comedy. Don’t take it all so seriously… Yea I know, but I hear it quoted a lot but no one can ever really articulate what they mean by it, or what it meant in the original movie. I’m leaning toward the Captain is a pedo myself:) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/5 "2013-01-16T11:38:24Z")
> [@grude](#): > > …but no one can ever really articulate what they mean by it, or what it meant in the original movie. 🙂 Really!? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/6 "2013-01-16T14:04:44Z")
The point being that gladiator movies (this was before **Gladiator** ) usually showed buff men shirtless. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/7 "2013-01-16T14:19:08Z")
Shirley you can’t be serious! How would you not get that Captain Oveur is a homosexual pedophile and he’s feeling the kid out? It was probably a bit funnier before the whole Joe Patterno thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/8 "2013-01-16T14:29:34Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > It was probably a bit funnier before the whole Joe Patterno thing. Now that you mention it yes. If only because the famous actor that looks most like Sandusky is probably Nielsen. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/9 "2013-01-16T14:50:12Z")
There was a whole progression of questions. Have you ever seen a grown man naked. . . Have you ever been in a Turkish prison. . . Do you like gladiator movies? It’s clear he was testing the kid. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/10 "2013-01-16T14:59:18Z")
Think of Frank N. Furter in _Rocky Horror_: “We could take in an old Steve Reeves movie!” It’s the same reference, to the campy [sword and sandal epics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_and_sandal), usually featuring a muscleman like Reeves, which proliferated in the 1960’s. You can see from the poster in the wiki article why this might appeal to gays. The trashy movies from that era are mostly forgotten, and _Gladiator_ has one might say restored the genre to respectability. I can see why the line in _Airplane_ might seem odd to young people. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/11 "2013-01-16T17:03:25Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Now that you mention it yes. If only because the famous actor that looks most like Sandusky is probably Nielsen. Actually, it is [Peter Graves](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0336335/). ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/12 "2013-01-16T17:19:53Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Actually, it is [Peter Graves](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0336335/). Not what he meant. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/13 "2013-01-16T17:42:25Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Not what he meant. If only I would learn to read for comprehension… You’re right, I missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/14 "2013-01-16T17:52:28Z")
He’s talking about an entirely different actor, altogether. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/15 "2013-01-16T17:55:56Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > He’s talking about an entirely different actor, altogether. He’s talking about an entirely different actor ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/16 "2013-01-16T17:59:09Z")
He’s talking about an entirely different actor ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/17 "2013-01-16T18:03:21Z")
He’s talking about an entirely different actor ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/18 "2013-01-16T18:14:09Z")
I remember listening to the DVD commentary from the directors, where they talked about initially having the line of dialogue “Joey, have you ever been in a cockpit before?” followed by “Joey, have you ever sucked a grown man’s cock?” They rejected it for being a bit too on the nose. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/19 "2013-01-16T18:18:01Z")
Yeah, that would have been too much; the way it ended up is just subtle enough. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/20 "2013-01-16T18:20:36Z")
> [@grude](#): > > The famous exchange with the captain and the kid on Airplane!, what exactly is he asking? > > If the kid is gay? > > Or he is a pedo and feeling the kid out? > > Another question is have you ever seen a grown man naked, which I imagine most boys have at some point. :dubious: Yes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368.md?page=2)