Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Huang, Hua-lun. "Who are Sea Cutthroats? A Typological Analysis of Pirates." Crime, Law and Social Change, vol. 53, no. 3, 2010, pp. 277-298. ProQuest,
http://access.library.miami.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/216165573?accountid=14585, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-009-9225-x.
Huang focuses in this article on categorizing the various types of pirates that have been in history in order to better analyze their criminal actions on the sea. Huang then proceeds to analyze how the definition of piracy has changed over time, from various definitions given out by historians all the way to how piracy would be defined by the United Nations today and accepted as global maritime law. Huang, however, considers the modern definition to fail to consider the scope of the act of piracy in colonial times, describing the definition as having “problems with insubstantiality and imprecision.” Huang then proceeds to focus on the “serious flaws” that previous attempts to classify piracy had shown. Huang’s analysis of the classification of pirates showed historians had failed as “pirates should not be deemed as a homogenous group.” In other words, pirates weren’t as simple as their crimes and weren’t just thugs on the sea, as Huang focused on how the influences that pirates had on society were significant, such as by being state-sponsored or by being freedom fighters. Through this belief, Huang would create a three-dimensional analysis of pirates that would help deepen the understandings of their contributions to history. Huang’s classification would focus on state-sponsorship, ideology and the continuity of piracy.
This source, while it may focus on how to categorize pirates in history, I believe will be beneficial to my paper. The source seems to be credible, well-written and has little to no bias in it. This source offers information on how pirates operated in the Caribbean and how they interacted with national governments as well as with other pirates around the world. That information would be very helpful in outlining the history of the pirates in the Caribbean as it not only would offer evidence of their domestic actions but also their international actions as well. While the source may be older as it was published in 2009, I don’t believe that will hinder my report in any way as the focus on the aspect of history won’t make the information I obtain from this source outdated. Overall, I believe that the source would be beneficial as through looking at this source, you would be able to gain insights into piracy into the Caribbean at another point of view, as a categorized view of pirates would potentially let me learn new things that other papers wouldn’t have noticed or considered important.
Luckhurst, Roger “The Timeless Allure of Pirates.” BBC www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170621-the-timeless-allure-of-pirates
Luckhurst asks the reader “why are we horrified by acts of modern piracy in the shipping lanes off the East African coast, yet celebrate the ruthless acts of violence and thefts from pirates like Blackbeard?” The answer to this would be in the romanticism of these pirates and their stories that would become adored in popular culture and media. Luckhurst, however looks deeper into this romanticism as he describes that the alluring nature behind pirates, and behind other classic themes in Hollywood such as gunslingers and knights comes from the freedom that they have in their lives to adventure. Luckhurst details the true nature behind the pirates of the Caribbean as state-sanctioned mercenaries and wanted criminals. However, he also focuses on how they began to become part of the culture and the media around the world with the introduction of pirates within works throughout history. Luckhurst does this by discussing how the fictional pirates that had comes about in books and other popular works had spread around the world and offered a sense of romance to being a pirate in the Golden Age. Luckhurst talks about how this sense of romance holds some truth in history as well, as the Golden age appears with the development of society and the “statutory, moral and social restrictions on the expression of the self.” Many pirates refused to become part of this change that would have control over themselves and refused to go back to being under the unrelenting hierarchy of society back in the colonial times, wanting to instead live their lives by their pirate codes of honor. Luckhurst believed that this was why the worst crimes of pirates would be overlooked in history as the idea behind the fictional pirate will speak out far louder and will want us to cheer it on.
I believe that Luckhurst’s article will be a significant part of my presentation portion of the research paper. That portion of the research paper will focus on how pirates are portrayed in modern media and popular culture and that’s the main focus of this article. The source is reliable as it seems to be credible considering its publisher and how well written the article was. Luckhurst’s writing did not seem to have any overwhelming bias or flaws that would reduce the quality of the article as well. The article also came out in 2017, meaning that the information is current and will allow me to write an up to date and informed research paper. I feel like the allure of pirates in media could be a key part of the presentation as I could focus that portion on how media has chosen to use pirates time and time again from Captain Hook to Jack Sparrow, making me more interested about this topic and giving me more ideas for my paper.
Mackie, Erin. “Welcome the Outlaw: Pirates, Maroons, and Caribbean Countercultures.”
Cultural Critique, no. 59, 2005, pp. 24–62. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4489197 .
Mackie introduces the history of piracy on the Caribbean waters by first choosing to discuss the cultural fixation by modern society on pirates. Pirates to the people, are “objects of popular fascination, glamorization and nostalgia,” and nostalgia in this sense, is not of the outlaw but of the character of the daring desperado that lives out their fantasies. Mackie’s focus in this paper is on the various subcultures of the Caribbean, coming about from the disposed underclasses of society in various eras. Mackie analyzes how pirates are emulated later on in history as young men follow a similar path as them, offering insight into both how pirates really were and how they have become glorified. Mackie’s use of piracy is in order to offer insights into the culture and people behind piracy and to offer it as a contrast to other cultures of that time period or in modern times. Mackie then discusses how history and society have transformed pirates to the point that they have become “mythical figures” in the Caribbean, as they stand for various things such as survival and resistance. Mackie would then discuss the various changes that pirates had gone under, discussing how pirate communities tackled issues that society faces today such as racial-ethical complexities as well as a pursuit for autonomy. Mackie would use these pirate communities to argue that pirates in reality, exhibited counter cultures, saying how those in society that had felt scorned by the brutal reality of life in colonial times would react in defiance and become pirates in a pursuit of something away from the social norm. Mackie would then proceed to analyze the differences between pirates and other scorned groups in Caribbean society during the colonial period, specifically the Maroons and plantation workers. Maroons were African descendents in the Caribbean that had formed their own societies and settlements and had chosen and were hostile of Spanish slavers as they were a refuge for former slaves. Mackie would then use the analysis on the pirates, maroons and other Caribbean cultures in order to analyze how pirates forced themselves to be recognized by society and how they changed the lands around them through their actions in the expanding European territories.
This article can prove to be very useful to my essay because it provides a further in-depth view into how pirates acted in colonial times. Due to the viewpoint of pirates as a counterculture, they were able to be analyzed in a unique way that allowed their actions to have more depth to them, and in turn, allowed for more insight into piracy as a whole. This article also gives information on how pirates reacted with other groups in Caribbean society besides the European governments, allowing for a potential peaceful look at pirates. On the other hand, this paper would allow for a closer look at the relationship between piracy and politics during this time period. The paper also seems to be reliable considering how written it is and how credible the source is. While it may be considerably old as it was released in 2005, the focus on the history of piracy in the Caribbean allows me to potentially use this source while staying up to date.
Petersen, Anne. “‘You Believe in Pirates, Of Course...": Disney's Commodification and ‘Closure’ vs.
Johnny Depp's Aesthetic Piracy of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’”
Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 29, no. 2, 2007, pp. 63–81. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23416141 .
In this article, Petersen focuses on how Disney’s use of pirates in its franchises have changed over time. Petersen explains how at first, when Disney included Pirates of the Caribbean as theme park attractions, the way pirates were portrayed and sold to the public were as “swashbuckling caricatures.” The true accounts of piracy in history were not used by Disney because it did not fit their goals, rather they chose to mix history with fairytale like elements. Petersen then discusses the change in medium from theme park attraction to film, by analyzing Disney’s game plan for developing the film. Petersen discusses the themes that pirates of the Disney franchise stood for, “fear and humor” as the villains from previous works had always been “prime sources of humor.” Petersen then analyzes the film and how it follows classic Disney storylines as good triumphs over evil and the heroine ends up with her true love. Petersen, however, also analyzes the choice to have Johnny Depp be the star of this film series. Petersen discusses how Johnny Depp wasn’t the obvious choice for a Disney move, as his career connoted “scandal, indecency and even un-Americanness” as his actions throughout his time in Hollywood had sparked controversy and did not fit the typical Disney star. However, Petersen highlights how Captain Jack Sparrow isn’t really a hero, but an anti-hero, and how his actions in the film go against the traditional idea of Disney movies. Johnny Depp challenged the ideas of Disney and through his actions, was given a blank-slate to create the character he envisioned himself playing. The character, Captain Jack Sparrow, would be the breakthrough Disney needed for the Pirates franchise they had been trying to establish as his allure as an adventurous pirate in this film. The change in the Pirates franchise would be symbolic of Disney’s rise from not just family entertainment, but to its rise as one of the most powerful media corporations in the world as it challenged the conventional norms that they had dealt with as a company till that point.
Looking at this article, I believe that it will provide a source of valuable information fro the presentation portion of my research paper. The presentation portion of my research paper will focus on the rise of Pirates in contemporary media and their influence, and what better way to analyze this then by having key information on the most widely known Pirates franchise in contemporary media, Pirates of the Caribbean. Using the information about how the change in media platform by Disney and how they developed the characters and ideas for Pirates of the Caribbean could potentially be a great piece of my presentation. The article also seems to be reliable as it come from a credible source, is well written and holds no overwhelming bias. While the paper may be older as it was written in 2007, it will still hold valuable information as it accounts the rise of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as a famous film franchise.