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viva la sparrington!
Dec. 5th, 2003 12:54 amI was discussing this with the ever fabulous ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
latxcvi, who indulges me with hourrrrrs of talking about the joy of sparrington, but I thought I'd post it here too.
it's amusing to me to note that everyone realizes that there is A Thing between Jack and Norrington. Even Will.
'cause sure, there's the popular reading of:
Norrington: "You forget your place, Turner."
Will: "It's right here. Between you and Jack."
which goes mostly, "Hahahaha! manwich!" and trips merrily off into the land of strange threesomes or whatnot, but if you just shift the emphasis away from "between" and onto "you and Jack", boom! new reading. They are enough of a thing that Will feels compelled to break it up. And sure, it's all contentious and adversarial, because Jack and Norrington mostly seem to engage on a level of hairpulling cheersex and brattiness, but it's also interesting because they are such mirrors of each other. And also, I personally find it kind of interesting that Will feels the need to interfere with Norrington's life only as it regards two people: Elizabeth and Jack.
Plus, I would like to state that Norrington has a touch of Jack's flamboyance[1], while Jack (especially with the deleted scenes) has a touch of Norrington's absolute and utter refusal to buy into the romanticism of piracy.
Anyway. I kind of also wanted to touch on a few other things, so let's get right into that, shall we?
1) Jack could not be *less* interested in Will's life story. Watch his face while he's got his back to Will.
2) That scene on the Dauntless is fascinating to watch because I really think that what happens there is a realignment of how Jack sees Norrington. 'cause he tries to convince Norrington to go after the Black Pearl by saying that it was a chance to take out the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, and Norrington looks *insulted*. this is key, because he follows it up with that wonderful wonderful line about serving others. And Jack looks *away*. Down and away, and very much like he's thinking hard about something.
What makes this even more interesting is that it resonates with two scenes later in the film. The first is Jack's very obvious distress at Barbossa's change of Jack's plans. Sure, Jack's not a bad guy and I'm sure he doesn't want the crew of the Dauntless all horribly killed, but I think the distress mostly comes from the idea that Norrington will believe he *lied*. And Jack doesn't really lie to anyone (I'm not counting the stories he tells over the course of the movie, 'cause stories are stories and truths are truths, and Jack's line about honest men is so good *because* he's honest). Jack realizes what Elizabeth and Will don't: that Norrington is a decent, honest (and *honorable*) man. Elizabeth gives lip service to the idea when she says, "It is a very smart match," but her tone of voice is not one of, "He's a nice guy but I love Will la la la". it's one of, "Uh huh. Whatever." Like she doesn't believe it at all.
The second resonance that springs out of the scene on the Dauntless revolves around Jack saying, "I was rooting for you. Know that." to Norrington. 'cause I think he's being totally sincere. He *was* rooting for Norrington to get the girl, because unlike Will or Elizabeth, Jack's head isn't stuffed full of romantic crap. More, I think he respects Norrington as a person in a way that he does not respect Will (and I think that Jack does *like* Will. But Will is a kid, with a kid's passions and priorities. Ditto Elizabeth. And they *lie*. Like, outright lie and do things that are not cool with Jack and Norrington doesn't.)
3. All other things aside, Jack and Norrington is a pairing (slashy or not) of absolute equals.
4. Personal space. When it comes to each other, Jack and Norrington do not believe it exists. Jack is all touchy feely with Norrington, and gets to standing really really close. Norrington doesn't have a problem touching Jack, manhandling him, or, more interestingly, fondling his personal belongings. It's also interesting that Jack demands that Norrington give him his stuff back. And as for that scene on the dock in Port Royal, please note that the rest of the people could have completely fucked off and neither of them would have noticed, because they're all caught up in needling each other.
And now I shall go to bed.
[1]don't believe me? Watch the promotion ceremony after Norrington is presented with his sword. It cuts to Elizabeth looking bored, but in the background, you've got Norrington indulging in a stupid sword trick that puts Will's little toss to shame.
latxcvi, who indulges me with hourrrrrs of talking about the joy of sparrington, but I thought I'd post it here too.it's amusing to me to note that everyone realizes that there is A Thing between Jack and Norrington. Even Will.
'cause sure, there's the popular reading of:
Norrington: "You forget your place, Turner."
Will: "It's right here. Between you and Jack."
which goes mostly, "Hahahaha! manwich!" and trips merrily off into the land of strange threesomes or whatnot, but if you just shift the emphasis away from "between" and onto "you and Jack", boom! new reading. They are enough of a thing that Will feels compelled to break it up. And sure, it's all contentious and adversarial, because Jack and Norrington mostly seem to engage on a level of hairpulling cheersex and brattiness, but it's also interesting because they are such mirrors of each other. And also, I personally find it kind of interesting that Will feels the need to interfere with Norrington's life only as it regards two people: Elizabeth and Jack.
Plus, I would like to state that Norrington has a touch of Jack's flamboyance[1], while Jack (especially with the deleted scenes) has a touch of Norrington's absolute and utter refusal to buy into the romanticism of piracy.
Anyway. I kind of also wanted to touch on a few other things, so let's get right into that, shall we?
1) Jack could not be *less* interested in Will's life story. Watch his face while he's got his back to Will.
2) That scene on the Dauntless is fascinating to watch because I really think that what happens there is a realignment of how Jack sees Norrington. 'cause he tries to convince Norrington to go after the Black Pearl by saying that it was a chance to take out the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, and Norrington looks *insulted*. this is key, because he follows it up with that wonderful wonderful line about serving others. And Jack looks *away*. Down and away, and very much like he's thinking hard about something.
What makes this even more interesting is that it resonates with two scenes later in the film. The first is Jack's very obvious distress at Barbossa's change of Jack's plans. Sure, Jack's not a bad guy and I'm sure he doesn't want the crew of the Dauntless all horribly killed, but I think the distress mostly comes from the idea that Norrington will believe he *lied*. And Jack doesn't really lie to anyone (I'm not counting the stories he tells over the course of the movie, 'cause stories are stories and truths are truths, and Jack's line about honest men is so good *because* he's honest). Jack realizes what Elizabeth and Will don't: that Norrington is a decent, honest (and *honorable*) man. Elizabeth gives lip service to the idea when she says, "It is a very smart match," but her tone of voice is not one of, "He's a nice guy but I love Will la la la". it's one of, "Uh huh. Whatever." Like she doesn't believe it at all.
The second resonance that springs out of the scene on the Dauntless revolves around Jack saying, "I was rooting for you. Know that." to Norrington. 'cause I think he's being totally sincere. He *was* rooting for Norrington to get the girl, because unlike Will or Elizabeth, Jack's head isn't stuffed full of romantic crap. More, I think he respects Norrington as a person in a way that he does not respect Will (and I think that Jack does *like* Will. But Will is a kid, with a kid's passions and priorities. Ditto Elizabeth. And they *lie*. Like, outright lie and do things that are not cool with Jack and Norrington doesn't.)
3. All other things aside, Jack and Norrington is a pairing (slashy or not) of absolute equals.
4. Personal space. When it comes to each other, Jack and Norrington do not believe it exists. Jack is all touchy feely with Norrington, and gets to standing really really close. Norrington doesn't have a problem touching Jack, manhandling him, or, more interestingly, fondling his personal belongings. It's also interesting that Jack demands that Norrington give him his stuff back. And as for that scene on the dock in Port Royal, please note that the rest of the people could have completely fucked off and neither of them would have noticed, because they're all caught up in needling each other.
And now I shall go to bed.
[1]don't believe me? Watch the promotion ceremony after Norrington is presented with his sword. It cuts to Elizabeth looking bored, but in the background, you've got Norrington indulging in a stupid sword trick that puts Will's little toss to shame.
