The PotC Effect

[dwgm]

Jo of Black Pearl Sails, best known around here for keeping us informed of PotC2 updates at various websites, has started a spin-off Yahoo Group, POTCFreedom, which is devoted to meta discussion. There are some marvelously chatty and intelligent members, and Jo herself is not only a PotC devotee but is well-versed in mythology and folklore and how these effect individuals and the community. As she said in one of her first posts, A story can be "just a story" and it can also be much more and it can be something very different to different people and it can have a universal theme.

So it is with Pirates of the Caribbean. This movie has effected the lives of nearly everyone on my flist to varying degrees. I, myself, saw it the night it came into theaters in July '03, and it captured my attention to such an extent that it was no less than a saving grace, helping me get through one of the darkest periods of my life with my sanity (such as it is) intact. When things settled down a little, in October or November of that year, I was inspired to look on the internet for links and, possibly, stories, and, well, the rest is history. I've read countless stories, communicated with authors and other fandom members all over the world that seem to be true soulmates, and taken up writing again, after a thirty year hiatus, in an effort to give shape to my own piratical thoughts, dreams, and fantasies. It's been an amazing experience, and it seems to just get better and better.

In a post this morning, a new member of PotCFreedom who is recently come to the fandom, said she doesn't understand how a movie like PotC has had such an impact on so many people. She proceeded to delineate experiences somewhat similar to mine, and mentioned that she was about my age, and that she sometimes wondered if she was quite sane, having such an obsession. Jo replied, I think that in many ways, POTC is a very mythic movie that touches people at a level they don't really see but they feel...It has allowed you to meet great people and much more...[You] speak of things that I would categorize as mythic living, community, and reality issues.

You asked why is Jack so hypnotizing? Why would you and other older women (and others) be so fascinated with Jack? I think it has to do with mythic living. Our culture, as I mentioned in another post, is craving for myth. Mythic living is looking at your life, seeing behind and seeing ahead, not just you but all of the others around you (people, animals, environment), and really asking what your role is - what myth are you living and what myth are you supposed to live. I'm not saying to go find a myth and say, "Ah-ha. That one." LOL But myths have so many facets to them that we can look at them and see how they connect to our lives and guide our lives. In the old days, living mythically was easy because living was hard. But at the same time, it was fulfilling, it was accomplishing real and important things or at least being prepared to. But today, we don't have that. We do in certain areas and in certain people's lives, but not for the most part. So many things have become so hollow. People want to "go into" movies and video games and simulation games on the Internet to find some meaning, some purpose, some fulfillment. They want to live mythically, to feel it. I have read so many things about people being empowered by Jack. Looking at their lives anew. Trying things they always wanted to, but were to afraid to try. That is a part of mythic living.

The meeting-people aspect I think speaks to another thing we're missing - community. And some of the communities that come together out of movies such as POTC - the ones I think people get the most out of - are those where people are banding together around that mythic calling. They are supporting each other in those journeys, which include everything from "yes, go back to school," to "I'm here if you need me," to "please do something to make me laugh today because I really need it," and everywhere in between and outside and up and down.

And the third thing you spoke of is about realilty. You know, Western culture is so tied up in what is "real" and "not real" and "crazy" and "sane." I have a psychology degree, and I look at these issues much differently now than I did back when I got that degree. In other cultures, in many Indigenous cultures, for example, people who Western people would call crazy were held to be holy people. They walked a path that didn't include just this world. They had visions and knew things and heard things and those things could help the community (once again, a focus that we lack, generally speaking, today). Within that and other similar worldviews, the question wouldn't be "Is Jack (or any other character) real?" It would be, "What are you learning from him? What is he teaching you?"

Now, all this got me to thinking that, besides my own, I've heard (or heard rumor of) quite a few incredible stories of the positive effects of the movie and the fandom. So, I'm conducting a little poll, and inviting anyone involved in the fandom to take it, and perhaps comment on their experiences. I'd appreciate it if any and all would pimp this in their journals, so we get as wide a sampling as possible.


[Poll #497921]

Comments

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Favourite character: I went for "other" because it's changed so much over time. The only thing I can definitely say is that it's never been Will, and only rarely has it been Elizabeth.

Initially, my favourite character was Jack. He's the one who persuaded me to go back for a second & third viewing - but then, after that I knew the story and I was able to concentrate more on the nuances, the background action, and the minor characters... and I fell for our dear Commodore Norrington... Of course, I'd loved Murtogg & Mullroy from the moment they appeared on screen, as well as Groves. Gillette I've mostly grown to love through fandom stuff, and seeing him as a contrast to Norrington and Groves. Though he has some good lines (I particularly love his delivery of the 'mermaid' line), he's not really set up as a loveable character.

So, yeah, I refuse to decide.

Other stuff in the poll: I forgot that icons & banners probably count as 'fanart', so I should have ticked that box, sorry...

Changing my life? It's hard to pin down, but it's a lot to do with confidence. I've never really been the kind of person who's into popular stuff, so I was rather amazed to find myself so in love with the most popular film of the summer... especially having gone into it with such low expectations... I've always been in love with sailing ships & the romanticism of pirate stories, but have rarely found anyone who shared my interests, making me feel even more like an outsider than I already did. Even when the everyday squee-ing about the film died down in real life, I could continue geeking to my heart's content, because I'd found people who shared my interest - namely, the wonderful, fantabulous, online fan-community - and because I now had an outlet for my enthusiasm & bounciness, I found that I got on better in other parts of my life. Since I no longer had to supress thoughts for lack of fellow enthusiasts to share them with, I could simply post them, then move on to sorting out 'real' life. In turn this has led to me being able to control my anger & violent tendencies far better than ever before (by 'violent tendencies' I mean the desire to indulge in violence rather than actually doing anything). If I really need to let off steam, I've found I can do that through the medium of fic-writing...

So, perhaps not as earth-shatteringly changed as some people have been, but I ascribe my new-found control & maturity (as well as my increased sense of fun, silliness & play) to PotC :-)

Apologies for rambling so much, and also for the quite atrocious grammer & neglect of basic sentence construction...

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I ascribe my new-found control & maturity (as well as my increased sense of fun, silliness & play) to PotC

Sounds like it had a fairly profound effect on you, actually.

No apologies necessary for "rambling"--I wanted detailed comments, simply because I think this is of interest to all of us in the fandom.

I forgot that icons & banners probably count as 'fanart', so I should have ticked that box

Ooop. I should have, too.

Re: favorite characters--I can fully relate to the changing preferences. Norrington really grows on one after a few viewings of the movie, and especially on viewing the deleted scenes, but what really got me loving him as a character was all the Sparrington fanfiction. Stories like firesignwriter's Moonverse, and the_stowaway's Trust and Honor made me see him in a whole new light.

I am reminded that I need to read all your fics, too, which I will, one of these days soon!!

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

lol, I'll warn you that they're of varying quality, but they're all accessible through the memories at tiggs_fics

...and I need to read all of your fics :-)