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

[guanin.livejournal.com]

I chose James as my favorite character because at the moment he is it, but I love all the characters
in different ways. At first, it was Jack because of who he is. He follows his own path and is
unwilling to do what others expect of him. After him came Pintel and Ragetti, who never fail to make
me smile. I've written them more than I have written any character in any fandom. I've given them
first names, lives before, during, and after the movie, personality quirks, little details; I've
basically fleshed them out as much as I possibly can.

Norrington has risen to the top of the list lately probably because I've started writing him. I
already loved him for the same reasons I do so now, but they've become clearer to me. He is a
capable and skilled fighting captain, he has gained the love of his men, and he is above all else
honorable. Now the kind of honor I'm referring to is not the type that preoccupies itself with a good
name and a respectable place in society at the expense of all else. It's the kind that believes in
what's right and just and in doing his duty, making sure that those under his responsibility are
safe. Although at times doing his duty and doing what's right are not compatible. Particularly in
his dealings with Jack.

As an answer to the second question, pirates and tall ships invaded my brain 2 years ago and they
never left. I've writen only two stories in other fandoms since then (although I do still read
plenty). I've changed my specialization in history from Mesoamerica to piracy so it's changed my
future career. And I have finally, finally found a direction for my original fiction. Until this
last Monday, I had not written original fic in 3 years because I couldn't find anything that I wanted
to write about that sprung exclusively from my own brain. Now I have a whole universe that would not
have been created without POTC. And yes, the characters are pirates. And I'm still in the middle of writing POTC fanfiction, because I simply cannot imagine my life without it now. I need it to calm me, to amuse me, to make me whole. I don't really know how to explain it. It's just a part of me now and always will be.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I need it to calm me, to amuse me, to make me whole. I don't really know how to explain it.

I think, considering the other comments, you don't really have to explain. Many of us feel the same way.

I need to read your Pintel/Ragetti fics. Are they archived anywhere?

[guanin.livejournal.com]

They're all on my lj. I don't have that many entries so they're easy to find.