It's a Disneyland/Disneyworld ride that became a movie. It's Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and it brings to life many theories of popular culture. If we consider popular culture as a homogeneous and standardized product, created by capitalism to appeal to a mass audience, then Pirates of the Caribbean surely is it. Here is a film that is not terribly good--Citizen Kane would blush to be mentioned in the same breath--yet it has incredible crowd appeal. As a consumer, my only role in the industry of pop culture is to buy it or not. And I bought it.

Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow, surely the campest pirate in all of the Caribbean. He has all the trappings--the hat, the earring, the gold teeth, and the black kohl eye pencil. And he looks good. He's your average romanticized pirate--Errol Flynn would be proud--except he's a little more tongue-in-cheek. He's cute, exotic, and appealing. He has a wonderfully affected way of speaking that is immediately endearing. It's as if he's playing at being a pirate so we all can too.

Then there's Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly, both young and beautiful, who provide the obligatory love story. Geoffrey Rush rounds out the picture as the hiss the villain pirate who is ugly enough to dislike, but not really horrid. The real villains, of course, are the British upper-crust, those, indeed, who would frown upon popular culture and its consumers.

The story didn't keep me terribly engaged. But the acting was all wnderfully over-the-top. The sword fights were obviously choreographed, one dual in particular was even perfectly in time to the music, which piqued my interest, and likely ensures I will purchase the soundtrack. The music includes more than one reference to Yo ho ho ho a pirate's life for me, the mono-thematic ditty of the Disney ride. The scenery, also, is lifted from the Disney ride and it's all good.

I'd happily see Pirates again and again thanks mostly to the fun value. But I fear future experiences would pale compared to the first one. What cannot be overlooked is the crowd appeal of this movie. The house was packed when I saw it and even though we hadn't lined up for an hour or two to get in, there was still a Disneyland-like attitude in the cinema. But the faceless group in the dark was not without voice. When the movie first began--it starts without titles--one young man let loose a pirate-like "Arrrr" which got us all laughing and quite in the mood for the silliness that was to come. He repeated it twice more throughout the film, which only added a communal fun to the experience.

Since I enjoyed my cinematic piratical experience, I am very relieved to know that I can extend my pleasure by visiting McDonald's to buy the drink, meal, or toy earmarked as most pirate-like. Pirates of the Caribbean is but a cog in the wheel of popular culture. One this mouse enjoyed.


Home || Complete list of reviews