PotC Fandom
Warning: Possible spoilers to follow.
Ok, so just in case you haven't noticed, I've been totally obsessing about the Jack & Elizabeth ship lately. It's pretty much completely taken over my brain. Yeah I know, like I needed another OTP. *rolls eyes*
But anyway, I'm still not quite sure what to make of the Pirates of the Caribbean fandom. I mean I do enjoy the movies, but I don't quite obsess over them as much as most people do. You know, the people who've already seen the movie 5 times in theatres. Yeah, I've only seen it once so far, and to be honest I didn't like it very much that first time. I was extremely confused through most of it, being as I hadn't seen the first one since it was in theatres. I just watched CotBP for the second time the other day, and it confirmed my opinion that the first movie is still much better than the second.
DMC had three redeeming qualities, in my opinion. Most obviously the wonderful J/E scenes, the return of (scruffy!)Norrington, and the introduction of Tia Dalma (who I think is a fascinating character).
But anyway, getting back to talking about the fandom, I registered today at keeptothecode.com for the sole purpose of voting for J/E in the J/E vs W/E pole. (Which we are winning, of course XD) I decided to look through the shipper threads and was disappointed to see such aggravating mods. If you so much as mention another character (i.e. Will) you get scolded by a mod. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't discussing the Jack/Elizabeth ship involve some sort of opinion on Will? I mean, nobody was character-bashing him, they were just stating facts the way they see them. But even that is not allowed for some strange reason that I cannot fathom. Except for maybe the fact that these PotC shippers seem to be CRAZY.
Which is really sad. Because they are just fictional characters after all. And we still have the third movie yet to come to see how these relationships are resolved in canon. But frankly, I really don't care. I've found that canon is HIGHLY overrated, as most if not all of my favorite pairings are never truly canon.
So anyways, these are my thoughts on J/E. They remind me so much of Spike/Buffy, and I'm pretty sure that's why I have so much love for them. First we have Spike and Jack, who are both the leading hot men with questionable morals but who deep down have really good hearts. The way Spike felt about Buffy in season 4 and early season 5 is how I see Jack feeling about Elizabeth right now. It's against both of their natures to want to settle down with just one woman, but they seem to be willing to do that for said love interests. And they're not quite in love yet, more like extreme lust/like. And it seems like Jack's feelings will further increase to be as much like love for Elizabeth as his pirate nature will allow him to have. And I also think the J/E relationship is more one-sided with Jack's feelings for Elizabeth like Spike's feelings for Buffy. At least at the moment.
Then there's Buffy and Elizabeth, both strong women who have been overprotected by the men in their lives and who secretly yearn for something more. I actually don't mind Will/Elizabeth that much, but I do feel like I have to make the comparison of their relationship to Buffy and Riley's. Riley is Buffy's safe and normal guy. The one that Giles and Xander expect her to be with. And so for a while she settles for him, and convinces herself that she feels more for him than she actually does. While us as an audience can totally see that she has more chemistry with Spike, the evil soul-less vampire, than she will ever have with Riley. And she is attracted to Spike because that is her Slayer nature. No matter how much she desperately tries to suppress it, it becomes obvious by season 5 that Buffy is indeed a Slayer with a dark side and that Riley just can't handle this. But Spike can. Just like how Jack can handle and enjoys Elizabeth's emerging pirate nature.
Now if Will does indeed become a darker character like what has been hinted at in spoilers, than I can see the Will/Elizabeth pairing working out. But if he remains such a bland and "good guy" character as Riley, then well, I just don't see it working out.
One last comparison I have between J/E and S/B. They are both obviously the majority ship, yet they have both been described as just temporary lust. And neither of them will probably work out in the long run or ever settle down and get married. But that happens to be what I find so interesting about these two pairings.
Ok, so just in case you haven't noticed, I've been totally obsessing about the Jack & Elizabeth ship lately. It's pretty much completely taken over my brain. Yeah I know, like I needed another OTP. *rolls eyes*
But anyway, I'm still not quite sure what to make of the Pirates of the Caribbean fandom. I mean I do enjoy the movies, but I don't quite obsess over them as much as most people do. You know, the people who've already seen the movie 5 times in theatres. Yeah, I've only seen it once so far, and to be honest I didn't like it very much that first time. I was extremely confused through most of it, being as I hadn't seen the first one since it was in theatres. I just watched CotBP for the second time the other day, and it confirmed my opinion that the first movie is still much better than the second.
DMC had three redeeming qualities, in my opinion. Most obviously the wonderful J/E scenes, the return of (scruffy!)Norrington, and the introduction of Tia Dalma (who I think is a fascinating character).
But anyway, getting back to talking about the fandom, I registered today at keeptothecode.com for the sole purpose of voting for J/E in the J/E vs W/E pole. (Which we are winning, of course XD) I decided to look through the shipper threads and was disappointed to see such aggravating mods. If you so much as mention another character (i.e. Will) you get scolded by a mod. Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't discussing the Jack/Elizabeth ship involve some sort of opinion on Will? I mean, nobody was character-bashing him, they were just stating facts the way they see them. But even that is not allowed for some strange reason that I cannot fathom. Except for maybe the fact that these PotC shippers seem to be CRAZY.
Which is really sad. Because they are just fictional characters after all. And we still have the third movie yet to come to see how these relationships are resolved in canon. But frankly, I really don't care. I've found that canon is HIGHLY overrated, as most if not all of my favorite pairings are never truly canon.
So anyways, these are my thoughts on J/E. They remind me so much of Spike/Buffy, and I'm pretty sure that's why I have so much love for them. First we have Spike and Jack, who are both the leading hot men with questionable morals but who deep down have really good hearts. The way Spike felt about Buffy in season 4 and early season 5 is how I see Jack feeling about Elizabeth right now. It's against both of their natures to want to settle down with just one woman, but they seem to be willing to do that for said love interests. And they're not quite in love yet, more like extreme lust/like. And it seems like Jack's feelings will further increase to be as much like love for Elizabeth as his pirate nature will allow him to have. And I also think the J/E relationship is more one-sided with Jack's feelings for Elizabeth like Spike's feelings for Buffy. At least at the moment.
Then there's Buffy and Elizabeth, both strong women who have been overprotected by the men in their lives and who secretly yearn for something more. I actually don't mind Will/Elizabeth that much, but I do feel like I have to make the comparison of their relationship to Buffy and Riley's. Riley is Buffy's safe and normal guy. The one that Giles and Xander expect her to be with. And so for a while she settles for him, and convinces herself that she feels more for him than she actually does. While us as an audience can totally see that she has more chemistry with Spike, the evil soul-less vampire, than she will ever have with Riley. And she is attracted to Spike because that is her Slayer nature. No matter how much she desperately tries to suppress it, it becomes obvious by season 5 that Buffy is indeed a Slayer with a dark side and that Riley just can't handle this. But Spike can. Just like how Jack can handle and enjoys Elizabeth's emerging pirate nature.
Now if Will does indeed become a darker character like what has been hinted at in spoilers, than I can see the Will/Elizabeth pairing working out. But if he remains such a bland and "good guy" character as Riley, then well, I just don't see it working out.
One last comparison I have between J/E and S/B. They are both obviously the majority ship, yet they have both been described as just temporary lust. And neither of them will probably work out in the long run or ever settle down and get married. But that happens to be what I find so interesting about these two pairings.