the place for all POTC discussion

Strong Female Characters - A Deconstruction

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:53:39 GMT

A lot of meta has gone into how well Elizabeth Swann and the handful of female characters in PotC it the criteria of Strong Female Character. While thinking about a character in another fandom, it just occurred to me that the definition of Strong Female Character might not be as universal as I – and probably other people – assume. What might be one fangirl’s idea of a Strong Female Character might be another’s Mary Sue.

Therefore, I’m conducting a Poll/discussion deconstructing Strong Female Characters. It’s on my LJ because it’s not specific to any particular fandom. As a matter of fact, I’ll appreciate it if the link is passed on to as many different fandoms as possible to get a wide range of opinions. Thanks for contributing.

x-posted everywhere. Sorry!

Five year anniversary

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:46:34 GMT

It was five years ago today (well, tomorrow; I'm cheating by 15 minutes) that "Curse of the Black Pearl" premiered in theaters:

And the pirate genre hasn't been the same since!

A sort-of homage is taking place at raise_the_dead, where all day the mods have posted a total of 23 stories based on the CotBP "universe" (sans sequels), of all sorts of pairings, persuasions, situations, and interests. These are written anonymously, but the writers will be "revealed" next week. Still - go, read, enjoy, comment!

And because the name of our game is "discussion" ... a friend (who I met through POTC, in fact) suggested you comment with three things that would not be in your life if not for POTC - hobbies, people, career, interests, tangible or intangible things. I can name online friends I've met in person as a result of it; I feel like my writing has improved for writing and reading so much different stuff all from one (three) movie(s); and I wouldn't have gotten into cosplaying, even as little as I do it. So, what about you?

Photo discussion part .... er, where are we now?

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:01:24 GMT

I was moved to post a photo and see if we can wring any discussion out of this fabulous membership. *G*

I have no guidelines, other than maybe, did you like it, or not?

Discuss!

My Favorite Adventure Films

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:29:00 GMT

MY FAVORITE ADVENTURE FILMS

Here is LINK to my list of favorite adventure films of all time. What are yours?

A little question...

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:41:10 GMT

I am at the moment writing a back-story and application to a PotC-RPG-game, to play Bootstrap Bill. I have most things figured out, but not his position on the Dutchman...

I imagine him being at the bottom of the pecking order in the crew, but what is his job, so to speak? A gunner? Or anything else?

Sea battles

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:37:26 GMT

It's probably been posted here before, but I cannot find it among recent pages. Like, past two. lol But I am writing a sea battle between the Pearl and an EITC ship but I am useless when it comes to such nautical things. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Or help me describe a good quick battle between two sailing ships? Thank you very much.

Link? For giggles

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 03:18:46 GMT

Every once in a while I like to google myself just to see what comes up.

Look at what the first "item" is on this page.

It was suggested that I send the company an e-mail and ask why a PotC fanfic is linked as an item for sale, but their e-mail is not offered.

Eh, at least someone enjoyed my writing enough to give people searching to order chocolates from Hawaii something to read. LOL

In all honesty, my first thought was, "where does this fit in?"

For you Will fans

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:14:22 GMT

If you're a Will Turner fan, check it out. I would say NSFW.

My only question is - if he's wearing Jack's headscarf, what will Jack be wearing in his drawing when it's eventually finished, I wonder? LOL (I am sort of wondering if the artist will tackle Norrington or any of the other guys, too.)

Willabeth and Sparrabeth?

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:18:23 GMT

I don't ever remember having a specific discussion about two of the biggest ships in the fandom, but if we do mods, feel free to delete.

1. Do you ship Will/Elizabeth or Jack/Elizabeth?
2. Why?
3. When did you become a shipper? (Meaning what moment)
4. If you only ship one of them, then why?
5. If you don't like either of them, then why?

Please no bashing or anything, I just want to know why exactly people ship the ships they do.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: "Consequences"

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 05:43:43 GMT

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: "Consequences"

Has anyone noticed something odd about the main characters in "POTC: At World's End"? Most or all of them either ended up with a less than happy ending or with their fates up in the air. READ HERE

Favorite character

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:09:53 GMT

Who's your favorite character? Have they always been your favorite character? And how long have you been a POTC fan (and did that character have anything to do with it ... or did you come in for some other reason and "find" him or her)?

POTC Box Set

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:04:01 GMT

New 'Pirates' Box Set on the Horizon?

"A reader named “Saleela” took part in a Disney online survey which included some information on a possible upcoming Pirates DVD or Blue-ray trilogy set that will include more extras and deleted scenes and MAY include a short film and collectible book. Disney is intending to release the box set this fall and it may become available as soon as Sept. 16th."

I'm guessing that short movie is the one about the strumpets we've been hearing about for awhile. Here's to hoping that the new extras include a commentary, and I'd be surprised if we actually got more deleted scenes.

An assignment!

Sat, 31 May 2008 00:44:19 GMT

Hey! Purpose! :-)

I have an assignment for anyone who wants to take the suggestion. I see USA is playing DMC twice this weekend. I don't think I'll be able to watch (going out of state on business), but I thought I'd post it here in case anyone wants to watch. There's something on the promo commercials about "bonus features" in the viewing. Just wondering what the heck that means, really ...

Wherein we revert to a free-for-all, willy-nilly no-numbering system G

Tue, 27 May 2008 04:45:37 GMT

Because I don't post the photo discussion so often anymore - and since we've hit 50 - I don't think I'm going to keep track of the numbers any longer. Every so often, I'll take a hankering to post a photo under a cut, and you tell us what you think. Sound good? (Or, you could post a photo; nobody else does it but me and artic_fox, but I promise you, nobody will revoke your birthday if any member wants to contribute by doing the same. Just as long as you put the image under a cut out of respect for dial-up members.)

Liar's Dice: Hate it or love it, it takes more than one viewing to figure it out.

Personally, I think Will won, since 1s are supposed to be wild. Your thoughts? (Two years ago, someone posted a GREAT thing about the rules of the game and why Will won, and examining his strategy for doing so. I wish I could find it again ... I'll give a cookie to anyone who might have the link to it, still.)

Less than obvious plot threads etc....

Mon, 26 May 2008 04:15:20 GMT

Hmm. Just wondering if anyone noticed the story thread between:

a scene in DMC, wherein Jack Sparrow suggests to Davy Jones that 'it would be half as CRUEL to separate (Will from Elizabeth) than to actually let them join in holy matrimony' and

the penultimate (fighting) scene where Davy Jones labels Jack as a"cruel man", and kills Will, separating him from Elizabeth while already letting them to get married.

Has anyone else picked up on any interesting plot threads etc. ?

AWE and Ponce de Leon

Mon, 26 May 2008 00:41:33 GMT

Well, does everyone remember what they were doing one year ago, today? Except last year was a Friday.

Anyway, I have something to ask you all that I've been thinking about for the past year, and just never got around to posting. I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I don't recall ever seeing it.

At the end of AWE, Jack studies the map, and the camera pans over to the Fountain of Youth, but instead of settling on it, it stops on a little drawing of a ship, and the inscription "Ponce de Leon, 1523" And the music gets all mysterious. What do you think the significance of this is? It indicates to me that maybe he's not going after the Fountain of Youth itself.

The Pirates of the Caribbean wiki, (which I just discovered) says this:

Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World, later he helped conquering eastern Hispaniola and was appointed governor of the province of Higuey. He conquered Puerto Rico and was appointed it’s first governor. In 1512 he removed from office and started an expediton to the lands norht of Cuba. In 1513 he discovered Florida and the Fountain of Youth. He returned to Spain, later he tried to conquer Guadeloupe and was re-appointed Governor of Puerto Rico. In 1521 he organized another expedition to Florida, during which he was wounded with a poisoned arrow. He aborted the expedition and returned to Havanna where soon died of the wound.

And this: *Warning -- Typos*

Sao Feng’s map shows the location of the Fountain of Youth and his route, but strangely the note on the map says “Ponce de León 1523” giving a date 10 years after the actual expedition and 2 years after his death. It is unknown wheather it has a deeper sence or is just a mistake.

Feel free to discuss! Happy Pirates Day!

Pimp yer comm

Sun, 25 May 2008 17:43:24 GMT

One year ago today, the final chapter in the POTC trilogy was released in theaters. As I'm sure you all already remembered, but hey - just in case you didn't. *G*

Here's a free chance to promote your community, if you like: Leave a comment giving the name and describing what it's about. There are new communities, communities that have been around forever, and all-between. Even those of us who've been around since CotBP can't know everything out there (though I have to say, despatches does its damnedest to keep up with it all). If you're a community member and you see that the moderator hasn't mentioned it here after a bit, feel free to promote it, too - it doesn't have to be just the moderators who do this.

Also, this is a good day to post any discussion topics you might have about AWE specifically - it'd probably be better to post those separately from just a comment here, so you'll actually get replies and it won't be hidden in a thread somewhere. But that's your choice. :-)

WRITE

Wed, 21 May 2008 01:48:52 GMT

Hey ... you like to read fanfic written just for you? GOOD.

You like to write fanfic? GOOD.

Sign up by the end of the month to do both here. (You do have to join the community if you're not already a member. Rulez is rulez.)

Just.. look at it. XD I'm evil.

Mon, 12 May 2008 08:42:03 GMT

Governor Swann's childhood, X-posted for lulz.

Photo discussion #50

Fri, 09 May 2008 16:24:25 GMT

Well, it's been a while. I don't think we've seen this guy yet:

I know this will make at least one POTC fan happy, if she's here. :-)

This is what I saw - AWE

Tue, 06 May 2008 17:26:48 GMT

After Will and Elizabeth get married, Will swings over to the Dutchman to help Jack recover the chest and key from Jones, so that Jack can dispose of Jones and the heart in whatever way Jack sees fit. It is not so Will can seize the heart and stab it for himself.

Admittedly, this is my interpretation. But I believe there's been a good deal of resentment against Will for this action, that it was seen as him tying Elizabeth up to him, then abandoning her like a cad to do what he wanted. At no time did I ever see any indication he wanted to replace Jones, just that at one point he was considering it as the only way to fulfill his obligation to free his father from enslavement aboard the ship - until Jack provided a way out. It also seems fairly clear that Will does not wish to leave Elizabeth after their one day together, that he is not looking forward to his new post, but that he is accepting it because he must at some point.

I also believe Elizabeth understood this, at least basically, since she negotiated Jack's trade for Will with Beckett and Jones, and later was in favor (with Will) to Barbossa that they should stall releasing Calypso and give Jack time to carry out his plan ... to find the heart aboard the Dutchman and dispose of it.

What did you see? :-)

Tell us something about yourself

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:51:13 GMT

(Note: While I am a moderator and have some liberty to be bossy, I would really prefer this NOT be taken as a "mod post." I hope you'll see why.)

I read something non-fannish that I was linked to earlier by a friend's journal - the link was a women's guide to men on "How Not to be That Guy," if you're curious; many of you may have seen it. It also made me remember several weeks ago, when we had that one post about Elizabeth that someone made (and then didn't reply much to the comments made), how in one thread a couple of people pointed out they thought the fandom needs someone neutral to patch things up. Well - I don't know if that's necessary. Maybe. But I think the fans can do this themselves if they like.

An important point brought up in the essay was lack of listening - specifically, how a lot of men don't listen well to women and just assume. Not to diminish the writer's aim at making men better listeners, but there was something in there that struck me: Some of us in fandom don't listen very well, either. A lot of us. Especially me. Especially in this fandom. Or rather, we either don't say what needs to be said, or read what needs to be understood when someone else writes it. Again, especially me.

Why is it that it's easier to get into a meaner argument on LJ than with someone face-to-face? (Not that that doesn't happen; it's just that if you equated some of these LJ comment-fests with their real-life equivalent, there'd be bar brawls left and right.) Especially considering LJ is a written form of communication, which offers time to ponder a reply.

I think - I think - it's because we meet over a fandom and that becomes the Most Important Thing Between You and I. Similar likes can often lead to conversations about real life and finding out you have even more in common - or surprisingly, less. But if someone lets a fannish disagreement divide them, they'll never learn anything else. (Yeah, I do this. So do some of you.) I've an online friend who likes the same actor I do. Then I found out we often vote differently in politics - and yet, I don't hate her for it or vice versa. In real life, we might've never talked again because of that political difference, which probably would be one of the first things we learned about each other. (And oddly, because we already agreed on fannish things and were friendly, when discussing politics we find we're not that far apart on a lot of issues. Never would have learned that otherwise.)

You can't know everybody you meet. But manners usually make real life interactions more pleasant, because you get facial expressions, appearance, gestures, to help "smooth" disagreeing POVs. These manners sometimes vanish online. (Yeah, I've done this. So have some of you. Some people are grownups and some of us are not so much, online.) Perhaps it would be valuable to know something personal about a fan you don't like. Maybe it's too late for some. But isn't it ironic that some of us who heartily dislike one another in this fandom might sit next to each other at lunch, not knowing our LJ names - say, at a work conference or a meeting or something - and get on famously after chatting for five minutes about the kind of work we do and our not-so-kind thoughts on upper management? Even in the "old days" of fandom before the Internet, people largely met other fans in person or through snail-mail correspondence, and because they didn't get to spend much time with each other, they were a lot kinder and more accepting of basic fannish differences. Does (more frequent) familiarity breed contempt online?

It't not safe to plaster the wrong kind of personal information online, but I don't think it needs to be that detailed. For example: I'm single, in my 30s, and am politically liberal. I like cats. I like to read and write (obviously). When gas isn't so damn expensive, I like to travel. I write boring facts for a living and try to make them a little less boring. I'm not big on kids, but I don't hate them. I've liked the romance of pirates since I was 12 and sneaked a high seas bodice-ripper off Grandma's bookshelf.

Either I'll get nothing in return to this post or others will say something about themselves. I don't think this will solve the fandom's disagreements, and I'm not deluded into believing it will make people love someone they can't stand, rightly or wrongly. But maybe it could make future disagreements less tense.

I hold your hand in mine

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:17:57 GMT

Regarding the end of CotBP:

Do we know who the crawling severed arm belonged to? I have a hard time telling the cursed pirates apart when they're skeletons. First I thought it was Koehler, but when he died he seemed to have both arms. If there isn't a clear-cut answer, guesses are welcome. (This isn't a plot bunny. I'm just curious.)

potc3, unscripted

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:39:43 GMT

Found this on YouTube, and enjoyed it immensely!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Unscripted with Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush and Chow Yun Fat.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Enjoy!

The Wenches' Website

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:10:54 GMT

The actresses who play Scarlett and Giselle have put up a website to host interviews they conducted with the cast of PotC. But in true strumpet fashion, they did it in lingerie and in their co-star's own bed.

Check it out here.

The site hasn't launched yet, but if you sign up, you'll be e-mailed when its up. Looks pretty cool to me! I can see they've done Lee Arenberg, but I wonder with who else they've shared a pillow with.