# "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:** 2
**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, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/21 "2013-01-16T18:22:16Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > He’s talking about an entirely different actor, altogether. He’s talking about an entirely different actor. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/22 "2013-01-16T18:24:33Z")
What else might he have asked? “Do you like hanging out at the YMCA?” “Do you like wrestling with your friends?” “Do you like to go skinny dipping?” ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/23 "2013-01-16T18:27:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Yeah, that would have been too much; the way it ended up is just subtle enough. Apparently too subtle for some, it would seem. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/24 "2013-01-16T18:27:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Yeah, that would have been too much; the way it ended up is just subtle enough. Oh I don’t know. I mean in Airport '75 nun Helen Reddy cheered up Linda Blair with that “Dopey fucked a penguin” joke, so… Wait, maybe I just dreamed that part. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/25 "2013-01-16T18:40:50Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > What else might he have asked? > > “Do you like hanging out at the YMCA?” > > “Do you like wrestling with your friends?” > > “Do you like to go skinny dipping?” Do you eat snalis? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/26 "2013-01-16T18:49:29Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Shirley you can’t be serious! > > … Isn’t the good Captain perusing a copy of _Modern Sperm_ before boarding the plane? And don’t call me Surely. ---
**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, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/27 "2013-01-16T18:51:36Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Do you eat snalis? :::hijack::: I never understood the difference between snails and oysters in that context. Unless of course the clam is a [geoduck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jrb_20081127_Mirugai_tsukiji_tokyo_japan_001.JPG). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/28 "2013-01-16T19:13:50Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > :::hijack::: I never understood the difference between snails and oysters in that context. Unless of course the clam is a [geoduck](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jrb_20081127_Mirugai_tsukiji_tokyo_japan_001.JPG). Hey, don’t be dissing my college mascot. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/29 "2013-01-16T19:27:18Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > He’s talking about an entirely different actor Surely he’s talking about an entirely different actor? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/30 "2013-01-16T19:31:12Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > 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. I’ve always assumed that _Airplane!_, which came out in the early 80’s, was referencing the ugly but then-common meme about regular homosexuals grooming young boys to become future homosexuals. The type of questions Capt. Oveur asks (Turkish prisons, hanging out at the gymnasium, etc.) make it sound that way, at least. I’ve never met any pedophiles in real life (at least, none that I _know_ about…) but presumably, a genuine pedophile would ask different questions, such as asking Joey’s if he’s a fan of Spongebob Squarepants or something like that. Also, the joke’s not funny because Peter Graves is portraying a creepy pedophile. It’s funny because he’s portraying a fucking AIRLINE PILOT, one of the most respected professions in the world, who happens to be a creepy pedophile. It’s completely unexpected, and that’s what makes it so hilarious. If he were a schoolteacher or a soccer coach, the joke would be far too disturbing to work. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/31 "2013-01-16T19:31:36Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Surely he’s talking about an entirely different actor? He is but that’s not important right now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/32 "2013-01-16T19:35:50Z")
I don’t think the joke was supposed to be that Oveur was sounding out Joey. The joke was supposed to be that Oveur was making what he thought was normal conversation and we, as the audience, could see he was sexually obsessed with men. The joke was that Oveur wasn’t aware of the subtext of what he was saying. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/33 "2013-01-16T19:45:14Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > 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. Yeah but it didn’t take long for 300 to turn it back into gleaming, sweaty be-sandaled hunks loved by both gay men and old housewives. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/34 "2013-01-16T19:50:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think the joke was supposed to be that Oveur was sounding out Joey. The joke was supposed to be that Oveur was making what he thought was normal conversation and we, as the audience, could see he was sexually obsessed with men. The joke was that Oveur wasn’t aware of the subtext of what he was saying. Agreed, I don’t think there’s a paedo vibe at all - it’s just that the super-macho pilot’s awkward small talk tended towards mentioning the manly soaping scene in _Spartacus_ and his recent viewing of _Midnight Express_. ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/35 "2013-01-16T20:09:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think the joke was supposed to be that Oveur was sounding out Joey. The joke was supposed to be that Oveur was making what he thought was normal conversation and we, as the audience, could see he was sexually obsessed with men. The joke was that Oveur wasn’t aware of the subtext of what he was saying. I have to agree. I never thought the humour was in Oveur being creepy, but that he’s just really bad a small talk. Except for the content of his questions, there is nothing that indicates any pedophilic interest in Joey: No eye contact, no nervous glances, no tongue kissing… ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/36 "2013-01-16T20:44:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t think the joke was supposed to be that Oveur was sounding out Joey. The joke was supposed to be that Oveur was making what he thought was normal conversation and we, as the audience, could see he was sexually obsessed with men. The joke was that Oveur wasn’t aware of the subtext of what he was saying. I disagree, he’s clearly hitting on the little kid. There’s a scene where the stewardess is trying to get him back to his seat and the pilot is trying to get him up on his lap while saying “oh, he’s fine up here.” ---
**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, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/37 "2013-01-16T20:48:18Z")
I don’t think the captain was trying to get the boy on his lap – the boy just stood next to the captain throughout the whole conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/38 "2013-01-16T20:56:15Z")
Do not psychoanalyze the funny! ---
**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, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/39 "2013-01-16T21:08:40Z")
Judge for yourself: [Have you ever seen a grown man naked?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2A194yTWoQ) ---
**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, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368/40 "2013-01-16T21:25:01Z")
Basically, the ambiguity with regard to the captain’s questions (Is he trying to come onto the boy? Is he just incredibly awkward or uncomfortable?) is precisely what makes it funny. Had the question been the completely inappropriate one from the DVD commentary, it wouldn’t have been at all funny; it would have just disgusted the audience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-like-gladiator-movies-huh/647368.md?page=3)