Table of Contents

Introduction

This is an introductory section, providing an overview of the topic.

Audience

The Caribbean Society

Represented Readings

In conclusion

An opening statement

Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) is the debut film of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise. It tells the story of Jack Sparrow trying to regain control over the Black Pearl. Captain Barbosa takes command of the Pearl following a mutiny led by Jack Sparrow. Barbosa’s crew is turned into walking corpses after they steal a cursed relic. Presently, they’re trying to recover Will Turner’s last medallion which Elizabeth Swan (a Barbosa captive) is holding. Will Sparrow and Jack Sparrow have formed a tentative alliance to help Elizabeth Swan retrieve the Black Pearl and save Barbosa. Barbosa’s mission is to break Barbosa’s curse. The paper discusses the Caribbean society and the Caribbean audience in the class’s readings of Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl.

The Curse of the Black Pearl is aimed at a male and female audience above the age of 13 years. The audience is also interested in pirate legends and folklore, as well as stories of voyages around the ocean. The audience will have probably read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island tells the story of pirates who mutiny to find gold. This story fits in well with the Curse of the Black Pearl theme of pirates and mutiny.

On Stranger Tides was also the inspiration for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides film. The story is told by a pirate going on a mission to save an English girl, and also to recover his lost estate. Curse of the Black Pearl featured a theme in which Will Turner sought Jack Sparrow out to help save Elizabeth Swan. He also recovers the golden medallion that his father left him. The Curse of Monkey Island fans would be another target audience. The main characters is on an adventure to lift a curse from his love interest, and his rivalry between Captain LeChuck and a French brigand who are intent on capture him.

Slavery is one of the most important characteristics of Caribbean culture that the film does not include. Europeans began exploiting the mineral resources of the Caribbean in the late 15th-early 16th centuries. They also started farming the area (the “Caribbean”). Forcing forced labor was necessary to sustain these labor intensive industries. They used indigenous labor at first, but eventually replaced it with slaves captured from Africa.

The movie The Curse of the Black Pearl shows white servants taking care of Governor Weatherby’s household. In contrast, white families of the era were not like this. Slavery was on the rise, especially in Caribbean. The slave trade was a cheaper option that lasted until a slave died. Even governors used this form of labor to remain in good standing with their European colonial citizens.

Aspects Represented in the ReadingsIn Michael Rolph Trouillot’s The Caribbean Region : An Open Frontier of Anthropological Theory, the author explains why this region is undisciplined. Caribbean changes constantly, except for the genocide that occurred against certain indigenous tribes. Slavery was abolished and Africans were forced into slavery. The Caribbean region was not indigenous or white enough. Curse of the Black Pearl is a representation of the same. Tortuga Island’s pirates are drunk and fighting on Tortuga Island. The Black Pearl’s leader is constantly changing, as are the powers that control the seas.

Trouillot adds that the Caribbean is a region with a high degree of heterogeneity. Multiracial is also a part of the Caribbean. The Curse of the Black Pearl does not reflect this diversity. The only spoken language is English. England, as a country, is also described. A majority of white people with a small number of blacks make up the cast. One local pagan religion only is shown. The book Race and Color in the Caribbean has similar depictions of class to the movie. The social class of residents in Jamaica is clearly different from the film. Governor Swan is a wealthy man with servants. Locals like Will Turner, however, live in a small wooden house. Even when Commodore Norrington promoted a few of his upper-class friends, the rest were not invited. The party was held in the fort of the port away from locals. Hoetink notes that there was less white population in the areas, so the locals did not feel the pressure of the land shortage. There was a clear difference between blacks, and whites. Whites were clearly the majority and held power.

There are huge differences between them. In reality, the Caribbean had a huge black population. This is completely ignored in this movie. In the Caribbean, there were many languages spoken by natives of the region as well Europeans and African Slave. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation represented English as the language of one film. In the Caribbean, various economic activities like agriculture and mining were carried out. Smuggling and other illegal activities were also common. Piratery is presented as an alternative way to make money, other than becoming a soldier, statesman, or serviceman.

Jesse Cromwell, in his Trans-imperial Caribbean Sinew Populations, explores Caribbean life beyond plantations and slavery. In his paper The Curse of the Black Pearl he discusses soldiers and militiamen. Spanish, English and French militaries used to conquest land, control regions, protect citizens, and to protect vast sugar cane plantations. In the film, on the other hand the British army defends its Jamaican territory. The British navy used its forces to fight pirates and control the ocean.

Cromwell goes on to mention other players, like the smugglers. The smuggling trade was illegal but it was a big one. Some businessmen tried to smuggle goods around colonial governments so they wouldn’t have to pay taxes. Due to its high profitability, colonial agents were drawn into this trade. Cromwell says that not every European in the area was British, Spanish, French. Some Europeans included Jews, Scotsmen, and Irishmen. They were attracted by the Caribbean’s economic potential and decided to move there. This is a further indication of the lack of historical accuracy of the movie.

The Curse of the Black Pearl has a strong fictionalization that centers around piracy. Notable is that it heavily relies upon fictionalized legends and folklore such as the cursed gold and Jack Sparrow’s compass, which points only to the things that the owner most wants. In addition to being set in Caribbean, the film ignores the cultures, beliefs, and people of that era. It weaves together its culture, society, and people.