Steenberg moves deftly across time, space, media and story type, interrogating the gladiator as a powerful archetype of joyous nostalgic violence. This definitive study maps cinema, genre histories and masculinity in new and thought-provoking ways: a truly spectacular achievement.

Yvonne Tasker, Professor of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, UK

Are You Not Entertained offers a comprehensive and meticulously researched account of the figure of the gladiator across visual media. From Ancient Rome to The Hunger Games and The Bachelor, the volume carefully traces the contested place of the gladiator.

Frances Smith, Lecturer in Film Studies, University of Sussex, UK

Are You Not Entertained is a brilliant, engaging, and innovative examination of the archetypal gladiator character, from its origins in Ancient Rome to its depictions in movies and other popular media, and brings timely attention to the complex intersections between gladiatorial masculinity, violence, nostalgia, and eroticism.

Cynthia Felando, Lecturer, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA