Speaking of pirates
Apr. 24th, 2005 03:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkatMy mum doesn't know who Johnny Depp is. Not her fault, considering that she rarely watches movies, and has an appallingly bad memory when it comes to remembering actors – but it did lead to some rather amusing discussions today while watching Pirates.
Mother:(After Jack saves Elizabeth from drowning) So, you're saying that this filthy-looking man is the hero?
Swatkat: That's right.
Mother: He's really… filthy.
Mother: How can this filthy-looking man be the hero?
Swatkat: He doesn't end up with the girl, if that's what you're worried about.
Mother:(after a while) Who is he, anyway?
Swatkat: His name is Johnny Depp. He's a famous actor.
Mother:(as Jack makes a very ridiculous face) He isn't very handsome, is he?
Swatkat: *splutter*
She loved the movie, though.
Disclaimer: It is three and I should be in bed, so none of the ramblings below might make sense. Forgive me?
While watching the movie, I also realised a very odd thing – Elizabeth Swann is not, in fact, my favourite character in the movie. I do like her – she's quite likeable – but she's not one of those characters who make me grin like and idiot and say, "That's my girl". And it is odd, because she had seemed *just* the type of character I could root for. She's smart, she's brave (that too in a very Gryffindor way), she knows what she wants, she's got great lines, she has moments that made me want to stand up and clap ("But why is the rum gone?")… but when we come down to the main thing, I *like* Elizabeth Swann, but I am not particularly interested in her as a character.
When I was young, I *adored* adventure stories. Starting from The Adventures of Tin-tin (he even went to the moon), to Enid Blyton's adventure stories, and R.L. Stevenson, and Jules Verne and Mark Twaine – this was my childhood staple reading. I loved the adventures. I loved that they traveled all over the world, went to strange and beautiful places, did strange and beautiful things, *all by themselves*, without having anyone to restrict them or instruct them. And what I loved the most was that they were so free. I was insanely jealous of Famous Five's George… not only did she have all those wonderful adventures and that fabulous dog, but she actually owned an uninhabited island! And Tom Sawyer? He actually ran away from home and lived in an island for days! You will not believe how many times I planned running away from home… somewhere… to live all by myself (I saved money, I stocked food – I remember my mother puzzling over a stack of rotten biscuits inside a box one day; I never did tell her about it *g*), not because my parents were mean to me, but because it would be so much *fun*. And then there was that boy in Treasure Island - Jim. How come he got to have so much fun (goes in search of treasure, confronts *actual* pirates, finds treasure) while I got nothing? I imagined how wonderful it would be to be one of the boys in The Prince and the Pauper, or one of those characters in Jules Verne's stories (M. Aronnax did not deserve that trip in the Nautilaus). This list, really, could go on and on. POTC, in a way, appeals to these same longings in me – the adventure, the strange and beautiful things that they do and the people that they meet, the freedom that they have - *that* is incredible. And in this aspect, I understand Elizabeth Swann when she sings "A pirate's life for me". I wanted that too. Perhaps I still do. It's not very practical, but there you go. And so – how come I don't particularly care for Elizabeth, the way I do for Hermione and Buffy and Faith and Nikita and all the other characters that I love so?
I've been thinking about this for a while, because it really bothered me. What went wrong? And I've realised that it's not Elizabeth's fault that I couldn't grow to love her character. It's me. Somewhere down that line, I changed. I met the Jo Marches and Anne Shirleys of the world, the girls who craved for freedom and adventure, but had to settle with what they got in the real world, even though settling down didn't mean they stopped wanting. And here you have Elizabeth – who *got* it, got everything. She got to be a pirate. She got to have adventures with pirates who became skeletons and cursed medallions and the like. She got to marry the man she loved by breaking all conventions of the world she lives in, without having to face any repercussions of it (it sure seemed that way; if her father and Norrington approve, everyone else probably will too). She didn't have to be responsible, because things fell in place. That's what her world is like. A fairy tale world. That's the kind of world that I wanted when I was young. And I suspect that if I'd met her a few years earlier, she would've been my heroine. But I'm not the same person anymore – I know things don't happen that way, I *know* you don't get what you want (none of my favourite characters get what they want) - and I can't relate to her anymore. And when I read fic (watch movies etc), I need to relate. I loved the way things happened on-screen, I loved the way the movie played out, but in the end? Elizabeth Swann will be the character I'll always be jealous of, but never quite get.*
Also, I want to marry Commodore Norrington. So. Pretty. *dies*
*Well, unless of course they do something very interesting with her character in the next movie. But that seems unlikely, considering the genre.
Mother:(After Jack saves Elizabeth from drowning) So, you're saying that this filthy-looking man is the hero?
Swatkat: That's right.
Mother: He's really… filthy.
Mother: How can this filthy-looking man be the hero?
Swatkat: He doesn't end up with the girl, if that's what you're worried about.
Mother:(after a while) Who is he, anyway?
Swatkat: His name is Johnny Depp. He's a famous actor.
Mother:(as Jack makes a very ridiculous face) He isn't very handsome, is he?
Swatkat: *splutter*
She loved the movie, though.
Disclaimer: It is three and I should be in bed, so none of the ramblings below might make sense. Forgive me?
While watching the movie, I also realised a very odd thing – Elizabeth Swann is not, in fact, my favourite character in the movie. I do like her – she's quite likeable – but she's not one of those characters who make me grin like and idiot and say, "That's my girl". And it is odd, because she had seemed *just* the type of character I could root for. She's smart, she's brave (that too in a very Gryffindor way), she knows what she wants, she's got great lines, she has moments that made me want to stand up and clap ("But why is the rum gone?")… but when we come down to the main thing, I *like* Elizabeth Swann, but I am not particularly interested in her as a character.
When I was young, I *adored* adventure stories. Starting from The Adventures of Tin-tin (he even went to the moon), to Enid Blyton's adventure stories, and R.L. Stevenson, and Jules Verne and Mark Twaine – this was my childhood staple reading. I loved the adventures. I loved that they traveled all over the world, went to strange and beautiful places, did strange and beautiful things, *all by themselves*, without having anyone to restrict them or instruct them. And what I loved the most was that they were so free. I was insanely jealous of Famous Five's George… not only did she have all those wonderful adventures and that fabulous dog, but she actually owned an uninhabited island! And Tom Sawyer? He actually ran away from home and lived in an island for days! You will not believe how many times I planned running away from home… somewhere… to live all by myself (I saved money, I stocked food – I remember my mother puzzling over a stack of rotten biscuits inside a box one day; I never did tell her about it *g*), not because my parents were mean to me, but because it would be so much *fun*. And then there was that boy in Treasure Island - Jim. How come he got to have so much fun (goes in search of treasure, confronts *actual* pirates, finds treasure) while I got nothing? I imagined how wonderful it would be to be one of the boys in The Prince and the Pauper, or one of those characters in Jules Verne's stories (M. Aronnax did not deserve that trip in the Nautilaus). This list, really, could go on and on. POTC, in a way, appeals to these same longings in me – the adventure, the strange and beautiful things that they do and the people that they meet, the freedom that they have - *that* is incredible. And in this aspect, I understand Elizabeth Swann when she sings "A pirate's life for me". I wanted that too. Perhaps I still do. It's not very practical, but there you go. And so – how come I don't particularly care for Elizabeth, the way I do for Hermione and Buffy and Faith and Nikita and all the other characters that I love so?
I've been thinking about this for a while, because it really bothered me. What went wrong? And I've realised that it's not Elizabeth's fault that I couldn't grow to love her character. It's me. Somewhere down that line, I changed. I met the Jo Marches and Anne Shirleys of the world, the girls who craved for freedom and adventure, but had to settle with what they got in the real world, even though settling down didn't mean they stopped wanting. And here you have Elizabeth – who *got* it, got everything. She got to be a pirate. She got to have adventures with pirates who became skeletons and cursed medallions and the like. She got to marry the man she loved by breaking all conventions of the world she lives in, without having to face any repercussions of it (it sure seemed that way; if her father and Norrington approve, everyone else probably will too). She didn't have to be responsible, because things fell in place. That's what her world is like. A fairy tale world. That's the kind of world that I wanted when I was young. And I suspect that if I'd met her a few years earlier, she would've been my heroine. But I'm not the same person anymore – I know things don't happen that way, I *know* you don't get what you want (none of my favourite characters get what they want) - and I can't relate to her anymore. And when I read fic (watch movies etc), I need to relate. I loved the way things happened on-screen, I loved the way the movie played out, but in the end? Elizabeth Swann will be the character I'll always be jealous of, but never quite get.*
Also, I want to marry Commodore Norrington. So. Pretty. *dies*
*Well, unless of course they do something very interesting with her character in the next movie. But that seems unlikely, considering the genre.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-23 10:11 pm (UTC)Johnny Depp
Date: 2005-04-23 10:34 pm (UTC)As far as Elizabeth is concerned -- I'm glad she got the chance to have her adventures when she did, but I didn't feel too connected to her. I'm not necessarily looking for characters who show me exactly what I could be doing in my life (very few films about middle aged mothers and dance critics lately...) but I do like seeing how people grapple with real challenges (and yes, there are real challenges in supernatural pirate movies). I just didn't think there was anything in her for me.
Selfish, but there it is.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 06:32 am (UTC)OT - Have you heard the Bunty aur Babli(sp?) soundtrack? It's something of a letdown.
Swatkat
Re: Johnny Depp
Date: 2005-04-25 06:39 am (UTC)The teeth, the hair, the clothing, the ridiculous moves... she *was* in the end quite charmed by Jack. *g*
I'm not necessarily looking for characters who show me exactly what I could be doing in my life
Heh, neither am I. But Elizabeth reminds me what I wanted to be for a large part of my childhood, and it's something I know I'm past now... but sometimes it all comes back, and I'm insanely jealous of these girls that got to have this fairytale life that *I* wanted too, but could never have in the real world. Somewhat childish and impractical, but I can't help feeling that way. *g*
Swatkat
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 03:54 am (UTC)And it isn't because she doesn't have strength or courage or intelligence and wit - because she's got all that in spades.
It's because it all comes without any price.
Not that it's easy, mind you, to rush off and be a pirate and face down skeletons and what have you - but Will has to let go a cherished dream about who is dad is, and who he is (and I can't believe this makes it sound like I think Orlando Bloom is some kind of awesomely talented actor! *eg*), Jack has to face down critics and enemies wherever he goes, but Elizabeth gets nothing but admiration. Exasperated and bewildered admiration, it's true, from her father and Norrington, even Will sometimes, but admiration and love all the same.
I don't think Elizabeth will be truly interesting as a woman and as a character until she has to struggle against - and for - something more meaningful than stupid (and quite dead already) pirates and a cute guy that everybody else likes anyway.
Hmh. That was interesting!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 05:52 am (UTC)Swatkat
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 06:03 am (UTC)Yes, exactly. In a realistic world, leaving Norrington and marrying a blacksmith would be equivalent to shooting oneself on the foot. But because this is a fairytale, and Will/Elizabeth is a typical fairytale-ish romance where the characters get their true love by overcoming all obstacles (tm), things fall in place for Elizabeth. Which is fine - but I can't relate. Give me my fucked up girls anyday. *g*
Swatkat
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 07:08 pm (UTC)I've never thought about it before, but I didn't feel strongly for Elizabeth, either, even though I feel as though I should have. I think this is because there was nothing left to fulfil? All her wishes were granted in the end; there was no tension left. I used to love adventure novels as a kid, too, and I visited all those exotic places (in best Mary-Sue manner, um...), but I've never been interested in the story beyond the happy ending. As soon as the story was completed, the girl married and settled, I lost interest.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 10:18 am (UTC)It was fanfiction that made me appreciate the character of Jack Sparrow. Maybe you should make your mother read PotC fics?
*choke*
I think this is because there was nothing left to fulfil? All her wishes were granted in the end; there was no tension left.
Yes, exactly. Everything falls in place, there's no hardship, no repurcussions, no paying for what she has done. And I know I would've loved it as a child - this only goes on to show how much *I've* grown and changed.
in best Mary-Sue manner, um...
Hee. I had both Mary Sues and Gary Stus. I would go through these phases of intense hatred of being a girl, because the boys seemed to have all the fun... *cringes* (I don't hate being a girl anymore. Honestly)
Swatkat
no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 06:19 pm (UTC)I solved this problem elegantly by being the SpunkyTomboyish!Sue. I would still get the boys, mind.