posted
Why, as a culture, do we romanticize pirates? What's so great about being a theiving, murduring SOB?
Of course, when we romanticize them in film, we don't show them doing such things on screen. Capt. Sparrow spent his time dealing with Ghosts. The captain in Cutthroat Island spent her time trying to get the family gold from her evil(er) uncle. And in the Princess Bride, Westley was just saving his girl and humiliating the prince. The fact that he has been murduring and stealing for the last 10 or so years doesn't seem to have heavied his heart at all.
Why do we love pirate heros? I just don't get it.
This only seems to apply to the treasure-island type pirates. If there is ever a movie with, say, space pirates, they are usually portrayed as evil and base.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
I am right with you,mph. Every bit of attention lavished on pirates rightfully belongs to ninjas.
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
It’s the clothes. There’s just something sexy about full-sleeved shirts on men. And then there’s the long, curly, dark hair that kind of falls into your face when they kiss you and the short, dark beard sprinkled with gray that’s so incredibly . . . *ahem* . . . what was I saying? Oh yeah, pirates. It’s the clothes.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
What's all this kissing stuff? You forgot that pirates mostly drool. And they never miss airline flights!
Posts: 2655 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Hmmmm.... Bob is short for Robert. And, of course, the most famous of all pirates is the Dread Pirate Roberts which does have an 's' at the end of it. I knew it! Bob_S is a pirate. The secret is out. Okay... another secret is out.
Incidently, pirates are sexy because of their swashbuckling swords. Ninjas are sexy because of their katanas. Enough said. Posts: 822 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Ninjas aren't cool; they wait under outhouse seats to skewer folks when they are most vulnerable.
Posts: 2655 | Registered: Feb 2004
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Yeah, stories with good-guy criminals are awesome. I love heist movies. Great Train Robbery? Awesome book. Ocean's Eleven? What a great bunch. Catch Me If You Can? I wish I could be so cunning. And that one was based off of truth!
I'd like to say it's like girls liking "bad boys" but I think it's different. The stereotype for bad boys is that you want to reform them, "turn them around." But for the criminals who get away with it all, I just want them to teach me what they know Posts: 1892 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
Cuz at least they allowed SOBs to be as equal as sons of aristocrats.
As you pointed out, pirates-as-heroes come from a specific milieu: the time framed between Columbus (who began the democide and colonialist looting) and the War of 1812 (which had more to do with the British enforcing their anti-slavetrade laws upon the high seas than impressment of American sailors.)
Pirates never killed as many innocents as the conquisquedores, slavertraders, colonialists, etc that they preyed upon. On the whole, pirates were never as nasty as the governments of the time. Most often they began their careers as privateers working to further their governments' political objectives. Naturally the layabout nobility had problems with the enoblement of those born less-than-peers.
Pirates were egalitarian and democratic in an age when only born-aristocrats were entitled to rights. Shares were split equally, with only one or two bonus shares being awarded to the leadership (unlike today when CEOs and top executives often receive hundreds of times the compensation of the crew). Projects were decided upon by vote. They operated under the laws&protections of their Charters. Which wasn't the case for citizens of nations until the AmericanRevolution and the subsequent drafting of the USConstitution (which may have been as influenced by the pirate Charters as by the governance of the nativeAmerican IroquoisConfederation).
posted
Pirates are sexy! I think it's the idea of freedom - traveling anywhere, not being held back by social expectations, and being honest with yourself when it comes to your carnality. Perhaps pirates become popular in times when society is trying to be more proper and hold it all in?
Posts: 3141 | Registered: Apr 2000
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dkw - You have me fanning myself. I think it really is the clothes.
Johnny Depp in pirate clothes. Cary Elwes in pirate clothes. *pant, pant* Can you imagine them in any costumes that were sexier than their pirate clothes?
Ewan McGregor groupies - wouldn't he look so hot in pirate clothes?
Posts: 3141 | Registered: Apr 2000
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posted
I agree with Skillery and Jenny, that it has a lot to do with freedom, and general lack of inhibition. I am sure they had a lot more rules than we think, in fact I know they did, but it is the IDEA of freedom that they embody.
Is it an American thing? Do other cultures have this romanticized view of pirates?
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
I am siding with Her Most Excellent Wenchiness of the Boots here. It's the freedom, and the clothes.
They have no responsibilities to tie them down. And the sea is romantic, when it isn't trying to kill you. And we all long for a little danger and excitement.
Why did Leia fall for Han, not Luke (before she knew he was her brother?) Because, as Han said, she liked him because he wasn't nice. And his clothes. Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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A few main reason almost everyamerican guywants to be a pirate, privateer, buccaneer, dread pirate whatever. But above all, american guys want to be mentaly disabled pirates, (Jack Sparrow, savvy?)
They embody freedom They fight all the time They have great clothes They live in a floating fortress They have lots of guys to watch their back when they whup up on some French dudes They get to whup up on some french dudes They have lots of weapons They have lots of girls They get to impersonate and quote Jack Sparrow, Dread PIrate Roberts, Captain Blood, Sea Hawks, and no one in their workplace will make fun of them They have lots of fun words and phrases They get to beat up Frenchman, English, Spanish, Portugesse, etc
Posts: 1900 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Then again, there is all the literature about loving the romantic, dangerous weasel, like Don Juan. Lancelot. Others. Hmm. Maybe a Western theme? Or is it just a human theme, one of those Jungian archetypish things?
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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It should be noted that, often, men fighting for a cause, like America's first Naval Hero, John Paul Jones, were often branded "Pirates" by their enemies.
... and I don't have a boot *fetish* I just *really* like them... Posts: 2112 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
It seems to me I'm going to have to get a boat and tighter pants if I want to make it with ze ladies.
Posts: 3243 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Original Question: Why do we romanticize pirates?
Question Being Answered: Why do we love romanticized pirates?
MPH, you must give up control.
I think we romanticize pirates because each of us wishes to do something exciting and free in our lives. The types of existence that seem free from society's restrictions are all romanticized:
- join the circus - live among the natives - be a pirate - spy - bank robber - Methodist clergywoman.
It's all the same thing, really. A way to rebel without actually taking the risks.
And those people who achieve it in reality or in fiction are romantic characters because we want to be that way.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Yeah, I see your point. I really see it with those others (except for the minister ).
I just find it bizarre that we romantizice murudring, raping, theiving sacs of scum.
But it still doesn't answer the question -- Why PIRATES? I guess there's no good answer. Somebody did it one day, and people loved it. It caught on, and has been with us ever since. In fact, last evening I saw an episode of Jag dealing with somebody that bought into the romaticized pirate a little too much.
Bob -- I don't understand what you mean when you say I need to give up control. Do you mean of this thread? Were you serious, or was it a joke?
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
We romanticize pirates partly because they're far enough away that we can forget about the fact that they raped and pillaged. Since we weren't terrorized by them, we are able to forget about that and think about the cool parts... and the sexay parts...
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I don't think that's true. People were writing and selling pirate stories back when there was a real chance of being murdered by pirates. [murdured by pirates is good!]
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Ryuko, that's a pretty good theory. I heard someone talking about dinosaurs in a similar vein. In reality they were pretty frightening creatures that had tiny brains and were mostly geared towards eating. If they existed today, they'd be monsters right out of a nightmare. But since they've been gone millions of years, they aren't a threat. The remoteness allows for romanticized notions.
posted
Ninjas are far cooler than pirates because ninjas are mammals and the purpose of a ninja is to flip out and kill people. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this ninja who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a spoon the ninja killed the whole town.
Posts: 4534 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:He has been called "The Corsair," "The Buccaneer," "The King of Barataria," "The Terror of the Gulf," "The Hero of New Orleans". At three separate times, U.S. presidents have condemned, exonerated and again condemned his actions. He is known for his piracy in the Gulf of Mexico, and lauded for his heroism in the Battle of New Orleans. Each personae seems to balance the other. He hated being called "pirate," for, as he saw it, he was a "privateer" serving an economic purpose in an economically frugal time in a new country that needed to economize. When he at last sailed away from American shores, he felt betrayed by a country that didn’t understand the difference.
He was Jean Lafitte.
Reading the bio is fascinating. I remember first seeing something on Lafitte when I was a kid.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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