 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
Pirates of the Caribbean |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This topic contains:
Overall comments and recommendationsYoung males would find the casting of young, attractive, well built males as both heroes and villains a powerful and appealing influence providing an avenue for hero worship and behavioural role modelling. The repeated use of violence by both heroes and villains to solve problems may send messages to younger viewers that the use of violence is a preferred and acceptable means of achieving goals and solving conflict. For adult viewing, Pirates of the Caribbean would appeal to a wide audience. The tongue and cheek humour presented throughout the film was very clever and tastefully done. The casting and the actor’s performances were of high quality, the special effects involving the cursed pirates were outstanding and the sea battles spectacular. It contains a number of mature themes including horror, the supernatural, self sacrifice, emotional blackmail, emotional manipulation, deliberate deception, greed and vengeance.
About the movieThis section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) and the associated consumer advice lines.
YMA reviewThis review of the movie Pirates of the Caribbean contains the following information:
A synopsis of the storyPirates of the Caribbean, produced by the Disney Corporation, is a swashbuckling pirate adventure film staring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa, and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swan. Captain Jack Sparrow arrives at the British Caribbean port of Port Royal with the intention of stealing a ship from the local authorities, but instead ends up in prison awaiting the hangman’s noose. At this point the real bad guys, Captain Barbossa of the Black Pearl and his band of cursed pirates attack Port Royal and kidnap the governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swan, whom they believe holds the key to lifting their curse, the curse of the living dead. To be free of the curse the pirates must spill some of Elizabeth’s blood over stolen Aztec gold. Will Turner, who has been in love with Miss Swan since childhood frees Captain Jack from prison with the provision that Captain Jack assists him to track down the Black Pearl and rescue Miss Swan. Captain Jack and Will find the Black Pearl on an uncharted Caribbean island and successfully rescue her. Captain Barbossa realises that Will is really the one whose blood they need to lift the curse, so he gives chase and takes Will prisoner. Elizabeth and Captain Jack are left to die on a deserted island. Their fortunes change when Elizabeth’s father the Governor and a troop of British soldiers become involved. Use of violenceResearch shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another. Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world. Violence was featured throughout then entire film from beginning to end. At times the use of violence was presented in a realistic manner, such as:
At other times, the use of violence was set in a comical, slapstick, tongue in cheek context. The use of violence was glamourised by attractive looking heroes and heroines who were able to employ the use of violence in an extremely effective and stylish manner. The use of violence by the villains while effective was presented in a less attractive and far more brutal manner. Violence was presented as a socially acceptable means to an ends, and portrayed little real life consequences such as pain and suffering. Heroes were able to quickly bounce back from blows that would be fatal to most, while the evil heroes were completely impervious to harm. The use of violence throughout the film was for the most part portrayed by males. Violent acts performed by female were less severe than their male counterparts eg, a slap across the face and set in a comical context eg, jilted lover. The heroine of the film is the exception to this and commits at least one very violent act. For the most part however, the heroine, rather than enacting violent acts, sought clever means of achieving her aims and outwitting her rivals. Material that may scare childrenUnder eight Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters. The main concern for children under the age of eight years relates to supernatural transformations:
Other violent scenes include:
Aged eight to thirteen Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened Children in this age group could be disturbed by many of the violent scenes described above. Over the age of thirteen Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult. The supernatural scenes presented in Pirates of the Caribbean may present a problem for some early adolescents. Sexual referencesThere are no sexual references. Nudity and sexual activityThere is no nudity or sexual activity.
Use of substancesThere were several scenes involving the consumption of what appeared to be alcohol. Some images involved a pirate drinking from a hip flask with the inference that it contained alcohol. Other scenes involved a man who had apparently passed out due to excessive alcohol consumption. One scene involved Captain Jack and the heroine on a deserted island consuming rum and becoming intoxicated; while the pair were obviously intoxicated and slurring their speech, the behaviour was not anti-social or offensive. The heroine displayed remorse the following morning by burning the remainder of the rum supply as a signal fire. Coarse languageThere is no coarse language in this movie. The movie's messageThe main theme presented throughout the film is a battle between the forces of good versus the forces of evil, with good triumphing over evil. While the evil side is obviously bad, certain authority figures on the good side displayed at times questionable values and morals, such as abandoning good heroes when it suited their own needs. Positive values parents may wish to encourage include Will and Elizabeth’s:
Negative values included:
|
|||||||||||||||
Copyright 2002 Young Media Australia
Page Modified
22-May-2002