Pirate

:This article is about sea pirates. For other uses see Pirate (disambiguation)

Popular culture

In popular culture, pirates are associated with a stereotypical manner of speaking and dress. This tradition owes much to Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in the 1950 film adaptation of Treasure Island. Many stereotypical pirates have accents which are apparently from Cornwall, or Bristol in England. The popularity of pirates recently rose when the movie Pirates of the Caribbean was released. September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Related Topics:
Robert Newton - Long John Silver - 1950 - Treasure Island - Cornwall - Bristol - Pirates of the Caribbean - September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day

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A recent Internet meme has stereotypical pirates and ninja being rivals, a theme touched in the humorous website "Real Ultimate Power" and Flash movie "How to Kill a Mockingbird" Although obviously historical buccaneers and ninja never encountered each other, much less in combat, the two sides are portrayed as having antithetical personalities: pirates are crude, brutish, extroverted sea brigands whereas ninja are cautious, calculating, introverted stealth warriors who work from the shadows.

Related Topics:
Meme - Ninja - Real Ultimate Power - How to Kill a Mockingbird

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Stereotypical piratical dress

• Brightly coloured, mismatched clothes, known as Motley
• Eye patch
• Wooden peg leg
• Hook hand
• Golden hoop earring
• Bandana
• Parrot on the shoulder, generally squawking 'pieces of eight, Braak!'
• Mischievous ship's monkey
• Tri-cornered hat
• Scruffy beard
• cutlass

Surprisingly, many of these stereotypes are true. Pirates during the Golden Era would often lose limbs in battle. These pirates would be employed as cooks, as they could not be of any use during raids anymore. Bandanas would be worn to keep sweat out of their face. Their clothes, however, would typically be practical and comfortable clothes, meant to be convenient for working on a ship. Sometimes pirates would even keep animals on board, to supply them with fresh food, but exotic animals such as parrots and monkeys wouldn't be of any use to them. Some pirates also believed that putting pressure on their earlobes (wearing earrings) would prevent them from becoming seasick. A more practical suggestion for the purpose of a gold earring is that when a pirate would die, the gold on him would provide some kind of funding for a funeral and coffin.

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Pirate jokes

One of the verbal tics commonly attributed to pirates with their long enunciation of the "r" sound--"Arrr!"--has become the basis for many jokes and puns, similar to the basis for International Talk Like a Pirate Day. For example, "Q: What was the movie rated? / A: Arrrrrrr !"

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Piratical pop stars

Pop stars have long been drawn towards pirate culture, due to its anti-establishmentism and motley dress. An early 1960s British pop group called themselves Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, and wore eye-patches while they performed. Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, was a fan of Robert Newton.

Related Topics:
Johnny Kidd and the Pirates - Keith Moon - The Who - Robert Newton

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During the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the Sex Pistols, banned from performing on land, hired a pleasure boat and cruised down the Thames before being stopped by river police. They later adapted the dirty song "Good Ship Venus" as their hit "Friggin' in the Rigging". Another of Malcolm McLaren's protegées, Adam Ant, took the pirate image further. One of the tracks on the album "Kings of the wild frontier" was called "Jolly Roger".

Related Topics:
Silver Jubilee - Elizabeth II - Sex Pistols - Thames - Malcolm McLaren - Adam Ant

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