Pirates, just amusement

Editor: Before we get too carried away with concerns over whether the Disney organisation will defame the Caribs, their descendants, and by further extension all current inhabitants of the Caribbean by depicting them as cannibals, let us remember that we are talking about a fictional entertainment, not a documentary. {{more}}

This is not a work of serious scholarship, nor is it representing itself as such. There is no attempt being made to adhere to strict historical authenticity. It is a STORY, an amusement, meant to distract and entertain an audience by exhibiting a few moments of unreality. It is supposed to be a diversion from the real world, not a mirror of it. This is not the National Geographic Society presenting the results of exhaustive historical research, this is the Mickey Mouse company unveiling yet another fantasy.

Even the most unschooled viewer would probably get a hint from the fact that this is a DISNEY movie, and it’s predecessor featured sword-fighting skeletons. For God’s sake, lighten up! People don’t go to this kind of movie expecting accurately detailed, historically and truthful representations of real people recreating true incidents. They go to escape reality.

Most people, not institutionalised, know the difference between fiction and fact. Every motion picture that is not a newsreel or a documentary has a disclaimer, at the beginning or end, indicating that the characters represented are fictional and do not represent, or are meant to resemble, any person, living or dead.

I am not, nor have I ever been, an employee of the Disney Corporation or any of its far-flung associated companies. I am a serious movie-goer who knows the difference between fact and fiction, and truly believe most people know that Cinderella, Star Wars, and Pirates Of The Caribbean (inspired by a pre-existing Disney theme park ride!) are fictional entertainment works.

Don’t we have more serious issues with which to concern ourselves? Not there’s anything WRONG with being a cannibal.

Movie Man

Editors note: While we respect your views, we think it is worth noting that, with all the fiction produced in Hollywood, it’s difficult to bring to mind immediately any which portrays the white man as a cannibal. Coincidence? Hardly likely, self-respecting people are always careful about how they portray their own. For the indigenous people of this region who have suffered being vilified for centuries, this is in fact no matter of mere amusement.