mimesere: (Default)
[personal profile] mimesere
*snerk* So, Keith Richards has agreed to play Daddy Sparrow?  I guess that tips odds in favor of Bootstrap. Interesting.


*sneakily does picspam instead of writing*



I am just gonna quote [livejournal.com profile] latxcvi here 'cause she says it better than I can: "What Jack *wants* is his freedom.  Piracy and the consequences that flow from engaging in it is the price he pays to get that freedom.  In other words, Jack isn't a pirate because he's all 'Whoo hoo, piracy rocks!' His head isn't stuffed full of romantic notions of what piracy is the way Elizabeth's head is.  Jack is a pirate because that's the way he's able to be 'free.'  And the price he pays he pays for not having to follow anyone's rules but his own is the consequences that flow from being caught while engaging in acts of piracy.  Like, Elizabeth and Will are all 'It's wrong Jack should have to hang,' but I don't think *Jack* thinks that.  I mean, Jack doesn't want to die, but unlike Elizabeth and Will, Jack understands that *that was the risk he took* when he decided to be a pirate so he wouldn't have to abide by anyone's rules but his own.  'Cause an orderly society actually doesn't tolerate those who *won't* abide by its rules.  And Jack is smart enough about how the world works to understand that."

And you know, I have to agree with part of what [livejournal.com profile] ladyjaida said a while back, that Jack is a bloodless pirate.  'cause outright murder is not listed among his crimes and among the stories we hear about Jack, the most notable is that he sacked the Port of Nassau without firing a single shot.  So, you know.  Jack? Is not a *normal* pirate.  Normal pirates being, of course, the um, uncursed version of the Pearl's crew.  There's a *reason* Norrington calls them "vile and dissolute creatures" and why he's all gung ho to hang them.  Oh, go me! Brought it back to El Norrington.







This ladies and gentlemen, is the Dauntless.  Judging by the number of her gunports and her size, I'd say she's a 2nd or 3rd rate ship of the line which means...um.  *consults the page I made*  her complement is somewhere between 500 and 750 people (marines and seamen combined). 

*pervs on the ship*


Dude, note?  Jack's not tied up or imprisoned.  I'm sure he hasn't been given the right to wander the ship at will, but neither has Norrington *locked him up*.  (Which, you know, I would have.  But that's 'cause I'm a suspicious, cynical bitch).

Also, um, take a gander at Elizabeth's little outfit there.  Now, just for a second I'd like to poke large vicious holes in the theory that Norrington would, somehow, *stifle* Elizabeth.  Because you know what?  He's letting her run around a ship full of men in breeches in the 18th century.  That's really really not the action of a man who is gonna be all, "Stay home and have babies!"  Now, I'm sure someone can say, "Well, maybe Norrington didn't give her the clothes!"

And then I point and mock and laugh.  'Cause A) It's in the script that she asks *him* and he aquiesces to her request, B) It was actually *filmed* (see the gag reel), and C) It's also in the script that her headstrong and willful ways are WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT HER.  Norrington doesn't want to marry her because she's the only game in town, or the only suitable woman in Port Royal, or whatever other crack people come up with for that.  She's really not.  Go back and look at the promotion ceremony.  There are lots of women there he could marry.  Plus, unlike Elizabeth, his status as, well, a *man* means he can elevate a woman up to *his* class rather than being brought down to hers.  It sucks, but yo, that's how the world worked then. 

Anyway.  I'm digressing.  The point is that Norrington's well aware of who Elizabeth is and of her behavior and apparently? Is *fine* with it.  So, yeah.  Bite me stifle-y people.  Prove your point using the movie as your source.







Okay.  Let me quote here, because my *god* do I have issues.
Elizabeth: You didn't tell him about the curse.

Jack: I notice neither did you. Same reason, I imagine.

Elizabeth: He wouldn't have risked it.

Jack: (with a troublemaking smile) Could've gotten him drunk. Don't get me wrong, love. I admire a person who's willing to do whatever is necessary.

Elizabeth: You're a smart man, Jack. But I don't entirely trust you.

Jack waits a beat, then slowly walks over to her. Leans in, gesturing back and forth between them. We can see Norrington coming up in the background.

Jack: Peas in a pod, darling.


Now, look.  I really want to like Elizabeth.  I do.  She's all, you know, riotgrrl and take charge and intelligent.  So the part of me that generally goes, "You must like the girl character because she's a girl!" wants to be all, "Yay Elizabeth!"  But I'm not.  And I'm going to lay out in excruciating detail why this scene makes me, as I said, want to stab her in the eye with a rusty nail. 

Point 1:
Elizabeth: You didn't tell him about the curse.

Jack: I notice neither did you. Same reason, I imagine.

Elizabeth: He wouldn't have risked it.


I've said before that I understand full well that Elizabeth loves Will.  I also understand that love makes you do the wacky.  But you know what? I DON'T CARE.  I don't.  I absolutely do not give a flying rat's *ass* about True Love when it affects anyone besides the two (or more) people in question.  And Elizabeth's big shiny True Love for Will is affecting not only Norrington, but through him, every last person on the Dauntless.  Now, even assuming that the Dauntless doesn't sail out of Port Royal with a full complement, I'm still gonna say that there's *at least* 100 people on that ship including Elizabeth, Elizabeth's father, and a bunch of people who don't give a crap about Will Turner. 

And you know what else?  The curse is a GODDAMN VITAL BIT OF INFORMATION.  It's not like the thing they're not telling Norrington is, "Oh, they've really got 200 men, and not the 100 you're thinking."  The thing Norrington's not being told is that the pirates cannot die.  That's not a trifle. That's not an annoyance.  That's something that he needs to know.  Because then he can plan accordingly. 

"He wouldn't have risked it."  Well, okay, A) She doesn't know that because she didn't tell him and B) SO FUCKING WHAT?  Norrington would have been entirely within his rights to say, "Wait, you want me to take my ship in and fight pirates who cannot die to save one person?  And how, exactly, am I supposed to win against people who *can't die*?  So sorry, darling, but that's INSANE.  We're going home."

I grant you, she's young.  She's in love.  She's going to make stupid decisions.  And I'm sure she's not even thinking about what not telling Norrington means for him and his men. 

You know what though?  I don't care.  Self interest and ignorance doesn't make that choice better.  'cause seriously, what was she expecting Norrington to do? 

*breathing deeply*  Okay.  calm. 
Basically, my point is the question: Is Will Turner's life worth more than anyone else's?

And for Elizabeth, the answer is apparently yes.  She loves him.  That's totally understandable.

But dude.  The (at least) ten people who die on the Dauntless because they can't kill the unkillable pirates?  I betcha someone thought *their* life was worth more than some random apprentice blacksmith who had the gall to steal a ship of His Majesty's Navy.

But Sheila, you can say, why aren't you pissed off about Jack not telling Norrington the same thing?  That's kind of a double standard, yo.

actually?  It's not.  'cause Jack is a *pirate*.  Also, Jack has not JUST AGREED TO MARRY NORRINGTON.

*seethes*

Jack doesn't have an obligation to tell Norrington anything.  Also?  Jack is a pirate.  There's not a single reason Norrington would trust anything he said *anyway*.  This point comes up again in a bit.  Elizabeth OTOH?  Kind of has an obligation to not get Norrington *killed*.  And also?  Norrington is not doing Jack a *favor*.  He is doing one for Elizabeth.

*seethes some more*

Point Two:
Jack: (with a troublemaking smile) Could've gotten him drunk. Don't get me wrong, love. I admire a person who's willing to do whatever is necessary.

Elizabeth: You're a smart man, Jack. But I don't entirely trust you.


Okay, Elizabeth?  WHAT THE FUCK?!?  Seriously.  What. The. Fuck? 

(apparently, no, I can't do this without swearing)

SHE doesn't trust JACK?  What the fucking fuck?  Where the *hell* does she get off with that when she's DOING THE SAME THING?  Like, what kind of fucking self-righteous bullshit is *that*?  (the same thing, in this case, is that they're both "willing to do whatever is necessary")  And if anyone brings up True Love...I will just.  Go ballistic.

Dude, I'm way not reasonable on this point.  Like, at all.  I know and admit this.  That doesn't change the fact that I see it as essentially FUCKTARDED and WRONG.

Also?  Jack *has a plan*.  Elizabeth?  Not so much.

*stab stab stab stab*

Point three:

Jack: Peas in a pod, darling.

Now, I've always, *always* taken this line to be that Jack was saying, "I think you're a smart woman, but I don't entirely trust you."  And subtextually saying, "We are both willing to do whatever it takes to get what we want" and therefore explicitly linking them the way that Norrington and Will are linked.  Which, you know, big YAY! for sparrington.  'cause if Will and Elizabeth are all True Love-y, then so are their doubles.  YAY! 

*grumbles crankily at Elizabeth*

I mean, it basically comes down to the idea that I think Elizabeth has an obligation toward Norrington that Jack does not.  And the fact that they behave exactly the same WRT that frosts my *ass*.

Let me put it this way: for those of you that watched BtVS in the day?  I've had a passionate hate on for Willow since she kissed Xander and got off on it.  This was in season 3.  Four years later?  It *still* pisses me off, and NO ONE DIED BECAUSE OF IT.  So, really?  I'm not gonna get past this one any time soon.






Every time I see this cap, I think of [livejournal.com profile] monkeycrackmary's icon of it that had the text, "I'm in the market, as it were."  And then I giggle and the *entire scene* is redeemed.


Pretty!

*adjusts tinhat*  Ahem.  *suggestively* Jack's compass doesn't point north.  Nudge nudge, wink wink. 



But wait! Who's that holding the compass?



Just sayin'.


AHAHAHA  Will in a cage!


No personal space bubble for Jack and Norrington!  Woo!


Still no bubble!


Look! Jack got Norrington to smile!  Now, I grant you, it's kind of a scoff-y smile, 'cause the line he smiles on is Jack saying, "Now, to be honest..." but still! It's a smile!


I just like this one.  And his little smirk!  *chortle*


That one's just pretty, yo.

Though, okay.  NOW she's all, "They can't die! You have to tell them!" ?  WTF?  They're already *gone* sweetheart.  That's way too little, *way* too late.

Still.  She tried.  I suppose that counts for something.

...Nope.  Still mad.


Awww! lobsters!


AHAHAHAHA.  I *love* snarkybitch!Norrington.  looooooove him.

This is, I suppose, as good a place as any to get into one of the things that's been um, pissing me off for months now.  And this thing is the idea that if Norrington had just done what Jack said, everything would be okay.

I grant the point.  Yes.  If Norrington had done as Jack said, then things would probably have turned out okay.  And I give Jack the mad props for coming up with a plan that wouldn't get the sailors and soldiers on the Dauntless killed.

The tiny, inconsequential, itty bitty problem with this?  Norrington has no reason *at all* to trust *anything* that comes out of Jack Sparrow's mouth. In fact? Norrington has a really, really, really good reason to not trust Jack.  Because, you know, Jack STOLE HIS SHIP.

And what reason does Norrington give for his actions here?  "Because it was Mr. Sparrow who said it."

Let's also not forget that Norrington does not have the same information that the audience has, thanks to both his erstwhile fiancee and Jack.  So please, tell me, why on earth Norrington should have just blithely done what it was that Mr. Sparrow said?  'cause me?  I'm kind of applauding Norrington for using his brain.  And gee, maybe if he'd known that the pirates *couldn't die* he would have gone with Jack's plan.  But we'll never know, will we?

[livejournal.com profile] latxcvi says: "And if Norrington *had* blithely trusted a pirate who then turned around and *double-crossed* him at the expense of his ship and crew, you better believe the *Royal Navy* wouldn't have been all, 'Oh, well the *pirate* told you to.  Right-o, then.'"

Moving on!




One of the best visuals in the movie.  *hearts*


WTF? face #1


WTF? face #2


Norrington will FUCK YOUR SHIT UP.  booyah!
(and his calves and thighs are really nice, too!)


"...oh *shit*!"

Seriously, though, this is where some intrepid (and ultimately dead) person on the Dauntless rang the watch bell to get the boats to come back.  Now, by this point?  At *least* 3 people have died on the Dauntless.  3 people! Dead 'cause of Will.  At least two more die, and I counted something like 12-15 deaths and/or serious injuries during the entirety of what we're shown of the battle.  So, you know? There's collateral damage.


He's a man of action.  He's a man of danger.


I...somehow don't think this is in sequence.  But whatever.  Pretty!


Awwww! Governor Swann!


And this is why Ted&Terry were all, "Um, the Dauntless would reduce pretty much any pirate ship to toothpicks on the water.


Woo!  Kick some ass boys!


I never did understand where the idea that Norrington's a big weenie comes from either.  Asshats, I suppose.  'Cause you know?  He's going to go fuck some shit up! 

Also, I didn't upload this cap, but the Best! Thing! Ever! about the beginning of the Dauntless battle?  Norrington hops over the railing, doesn't hesitate a *second* at the walking skeletons, shoots Koehler in the *heart*, drops his pistol, yanks out his sword and then...


Is all, "Break me off a switch, son, there's gonna be an ass whuppin'!"

I'd also like to point out that Koehler?  Badass enough to *sass Barbossa*.  *That's* whose ass Norrington is kicking. 


Awwww! Lobsters!






*giggle*


Pretty.  I really wish he did it for me.  But he doesn't.


He, OTOH, does it for me a *lot*.


Pretty.

I'm sorry.  I'd comment, but...I don't really care.

*hides*


Heee.  Hehehehehehe.

*chortle*

Hand!


*chortling more*


I have neglected the Geoffrey Rush love! Bad me!

Geoffrey Rush is a *god*.

That is all.


Poor Jack.  Barbossa's making a liar of him. 


AHAHAHAHA.  *hearts Geoffrey Rush*  "Yeah?  Wanna make something of it poncey boy?"


Pretty! Plus it reminds me of the caves on the ride.  I heart the ride.  I wanna go on the ride right *now*.


AHAHAHAHAHA. 

Yeah.  They're *pirates*, honey.  What were *you* expecting?


Pirates!


Seriously, though.  Did she think they'd give a shit about Will?  'cause you know...they're *pirates*.  And Will was demonstrably a dumbass.  And also left their captain to die.  And lied about it.

Elizabeth, darling, in the movie, no one but you thinks that Will's life is worth a sack of hammers. 


Gibbs! Anamaria!


Jack will fuck your shit up!


So will Barbossa!


Preeeeetty.  Sorta.








Explain to me how Norrington's a weenie again?  Or unable to hold his own against Jack?

Yeah.  S'what I thought.

(also, everytime I look at that cap of Norrington, I think of [livejournal.com profile] monkeycrackmary, and "I will cutchoo!"

*snickering*

God, I love Norrington and Jack.  So much.


Preeeeeetty.






Now I kind of wish that I had capped a few more things, but I want y'all to note the blood on Norrington's sword. 

In a movie that involves blood sacrifices and piracy and battles and has lots of swords, I think it's really interesting that we only see actual blood four times (or at least, that our attention is deliberately called to the blood four times).  Once on Elizabeth's hand, once on the coin itself, once on Barbossa's chest, and this last time on Norrington's sword.

Bear with me a sec while I try to suss out where I'm going with this...

Okay.  Hm.

Well, first of all, I'm gonna quote something [livejournal.com profile] monkeycrackmary said back when I posted the Hallelujah vid, 'cause her brain is shiny and I heart it.

"...the attack on the Dauntless really really is horrible and inside the cave there's the big swashbuckling revenge-fight with the wisecracking and the one-liners and the sassiness and meanwhile pirates are slaughtering the navy. And so Jack gets his moment of triumph, but that same moment is something else up on the ship and Norrington's sword is all bloody and there's no gloating or victory in his eyes, just fear and sadness"

'cause, you know, it's true.  There *is* a difference between what happens in the cave and what happens on the ship, and a lot of it is that the entire movie spends its time getting the audience to invest in Jack, Will, and Elizabeth and they're all in the cave.  Governor Swann's fight against the undead arm is played for laughs, and so we're left with The Navy vs The Undead and despite the actual *human cost* of that battle, it's not played for actual importance.  And yet, it's there and it's emphasized with the blood on Norrington's sword.  At the very least, it's important for *Norrington*.

But back to the 4 instances thing.  I can try to tie it up under the thematic heading of sacrifice.  One in which nothing of value is actually lost (Elizabeth), the demand for it (the blood on the coin), appeasement of the gods (Barbossa), and an actual sacrifice of life/lives (Norrington).  And some of that, I think, is actually there.  Like.  The cut on Elizabeth's hand is trivial enough to get her to say, "That's it?"

I don't know.  My head aches.  I've been doing this for like, seriously now, 5 hours in between writing stuff.  So much with the head pain.





Awww! Lobsters!

Dude, I heart Murtogg and Mullroy. They're all cute!  and non-separable!


Yes.  Yes.  Will/Elizabeth 4evah omg.  I'm sorry.  It's just...I'm still stuck on how many people had to die to save Will.


Poor Jack.  His ship's made off without him.  And now he has to hang! Or, you know, go hide on the island or something. 



The next, and last, post is much less ranty.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-05-08 05:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bathsweaver.livejournal.com
Loving these, so, SO much.

Elizabeth and Will are all 'It's wrong Jack should have to hang,' but I don't think *Jack* thinks that. I mean, Jack doesn't want to die, but unlike Elizabeth and Will, Jack understands that *that was the risk he took* when he decided to be a pirate so he wouldn't have to abide by anyone's rules but his own...Jack is smart enough about how the world works to understand that."

One of the things I love about the scene where they're reading Jack's sentence is the look of absolute *boredom* on his face. Which is done for the funny, I think; but it also is a part of what you're saying here. Jack's not outraged, or afraid, repentant, or even scared--he accepted that this was one of the consequences if he ever got caught a long time ago, and typically, you can imagine him pleading whatever dieties he acknowledges that they'd just *get the pomp over with* so that the party can start.

That's all I have to say--wish it could have been deep. After work I'm going to have to come back and reread what everyone else has said. All your commenters are so smart has such interesting things to say. Thank you so much for doing these, again.

(no subject)

Date: 2004-05-09 01:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mimesere.livejournal.com
One of the things I love about the scene where they're reading Jack's sentence is the look of absolute *boredom* on his face. Which is done for the funny, I think; but it also is a part of what you're saying here. Jack's not outraged, or afraid, repentant, or even scared--he accepted that this was one of the consequences if he ever got caught a long time ago, and typically, you can imagine him pleading whatever dieties he acknowledges that they'd just *get the pomp over with* so that the party can start.

Heeee. Yes. I get to that in the next part. Which um. Might be tonight or might be...not tonight.

Like...yes. I think Jack wants to be not dead. And to that end, he has no problem with taking advantage of whatever to escape or talk his way out of things. But once caught? I don't think he's going to be all, "I don't deserve this! Aaaah! I am innocent!" 'cause well. That'd be a big honking lie.

Profile

mimesere: (Default)
mimesere

April 2010

S M T W T F S
     123
4 5 678 9 10
1112 13 14 15 1617
18 1920 21 222324
252627282930 

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags