Whether it be the Roman Empire or a piece of pop culture, people everywhere are defining their “Roman Empire.” This recent trend was introduced on TikTok by Artur Hulu (@gaiusflavius), a Roman reenactor, when he explained how women would be surprised by how often men think about the Roman Empire. Following this, women across social media posted videos asking their significant others how often they thought about the Roman Empire.
SHS junior Allie Ryan commented how she “genuinely couldn’t care less about the Roman Empire.” Regarding the trend, she does believe men think about the Roman Empire often, as she asked a few of her guy friends before the trend became very popular, and they all had consistent results, stating how they think about it 3-5 times a week. Although these numbers may be somewhat exaggerated, many people on social media have proven that men think about the Roman Empire more than expected.
Continuing the trend, women have decided to discuss their “Roman Empire,” mainly focusing on the pop culture scheme. Ryan explained how she has three major pop culture “Roman Empires,” which she thinks about regularly. The first is when makeup artist and influencer James Charles fell in a mall in a “Sister Squad” video. Secondly, a significant moment in Ryan’s pop culture history was when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s speech after winning Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs). (She thinks about both these moments about five times a week.)
Ryan’s final pop culture “Roman Empire” is a scene from Abby Lee Miller’s Dance Moms, when she yells at a bus driver on the way to a dance competition, saying, “Bus driver, we’re doing eye makeup back here–steady on the road.” Ryan said she thinks about this scene every morning as she applies her mascara in the car on the way to school. Ryan enjoys this trend, speaking about how it is one of her favorite trends that has been created, as many pop culture references are being brought back.
SHS junior Lydon O’Brien explained how he occasionally thinks about the Roman Empire but thinks the trend is strange and unnecessary. SHS sophomore Mason Alvarez said he thinks about the Roman Empire once a week, as historical events can influence people’s everyday lives. He reminisced about studying the Roman Empire in sixth grade with social studies teacher Matthew Poirier. As a middle school student, he enjoyed learning about ancient civilizations.
People everywhere, especially females, embrace this trend and find moments from movies, TV shows, books, historical events, and real-life experiences to share on social media. This trend has gained popularity quickly, and even after a few months, people still use the phrase “Roman Empire.” The question is: What’s your “Roman Empire?”