RANT: Women DO NOT Love Bad Boys and "At World's End" Despair
Okay, I've just about had it, so pardon my soapbox-stepping for a moment.
So I feel like that awful quote from Carlton - "Sawyer represents men she has been with in her past so she is drawn to him, and he doesn't treat her like she would want to be treated but that is what makes him sexy - ladies love the bad boy." (thanks to amantium_irae and carrielynne2323 for supplying the quote) - voiced something really serious and not as flippant as he insinuates. And now it seems like I see this concept everywhere.
I'm ranting about this now because I've been having a film sequels "catch-up." I wanted to see all the sequels that have come out recently before I go out of town next week, so I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest last weekend (which I'd never seen before at all) so I could see the third one this week.
I really did love it. I'd heard mixed reviews about it, but I thought it was fabulous. HOWEVER, there is a glaring example of this "women loving bad boys" stereotype that I felt was, once again, ridiculous. I liked Elizabeth and Will from the beginning because they were set up as the destined couple. I think that Elizabeth is a really strong female character, which I certainly appreciate. And I can't help loving Will more and more as the films go on because he is just SO GOOD. I love good men.
But I felt like the second movie played up this annoying love triangle. AGAIN. Now, I could see Elizabeth's point of view overall. I really did think by that climax scene when she chains Captain Jack to the boat that she was trying to protect everyone else, and then of course she feels tremendous guilt over it, which is a burden. All of that I understand. What I don't really get is why they have to play this sort of forbidden flirtation back and forth between them (aided by lines such as "It never would've worked out between us") to the point where I believe they argue there's a real attraction on Elizabeth's part for Jack. It's like they've established Elizabeth truly loves Will (I loved when she said, "I just thought I'd be married by now. I really want to be married."), but they also try to say that she and Jack have this exotic pulse between them.
This isn't a rant about triangles though. I HATE them, but this is really about the women and bad boys thing. I. don't. get. it. I don't find Will boring. He doesn't have Jack's wit or colorful past, but he's pretty amazing on his own. Why, then, do they have those odd scenes with the compass when Elizabeth would hold it and it would point at Jack and vice versa (I realize there could be other explanations, but that seemed to be the implication)? Why do Elizabeth and Jack engage in all of this awkward playful (and often physical) banter? I would've much preferred a strong friendship between the two instead of this forbidden, what-if, "women love bad boys and can't resist them" thing. What I sort of saw was that when she was with Jack, she was really all about him and how exciting it seemed to be. Then if she saw Will or he was mentioned, you'd see glimpses of them again. Then they had these sweet, but almost out of place lines like the one mentioned above where she would say how much she wanted to be married, but it didn't seem fluid. It almost seemed like it lost its impact because of how focused she was on Jack when she was around him. I just found it very... odd.
The thing is that I don't believe that this is true. I'm starting to feel like a dying breed, but Will is completely attractive to me. He's sensitive, he's kind, he's loyal, he adores Elizabeth. And I know that Elizabeth isn't quiet and meek and submissive. She is brassy, and I love that. But I also believe that you can have a strong female who possesses strength and ambition but also who loves a simple man (NOT boring), one who isn't necessarily dashing and dangerous. One with whom you build a life, a deep, everlasting true love. That's what she has with Will, and when the creative powers force a third wheel like "bad boy" Jack, ironically it results in a weaker, more non-committal female character. Women do not want the bad boy. Women who are looking for foundation and reciprocal love desire the stability, virtue, and all-consuming love of a good man. I just wish entertainment would catch up.
On another note, just because I have to vent a little bit more, I went to see the third film yesterday. I liked it, though I will have to see it a couple of more times before I catch everything because I think I probably missed a lot of subtleties. I really love this historical, pirate genre. BUT! WILL DIED. I was so distraught over this. I seriously just wanted the film to be over after that because it was so depressing. Then I saw what they were going to do. But I'm just too damn much of a romantic for my own good. I was even a little surprised at how hard I fell for Will and Elizabeth throughout the trilogy. I didn't really love the fact that Will had to watch and be confused when Elizabeth kissed Jack (*contrived!*), and then they spent a good part of this movie apart because of Elizabeth's guilt over leaving Jack behind and Will's devotion to his father. And they just got married! I'm glad I stayed with it because I did like their scenes at the end (and am REALLY glad I stayed through the credits until the very end), and I understand that their love really took on a quite epic quality.
But I just hate when they kill one side of the couple. Even if he's a pirate and can sort of come back to life. Their life together was so new and they were just embarking on marriage and their future. I did not like that Will struggled throughout the film over a choice between Elizabeth and his father, then he tells her as they're fighting for their lives that he's made his choice and it's her AND THEN he dies and sort of inadvertantly is forced to choose his father anyway. It was absolutely amazing when his father asked him if he could live with the sacrifice of only having one day ashore with her every ten years and in a beautiful shot with the sun gleaming on him, Will replies, "It depends on how you spend the day" (para). I told you, I LOVE him. And the part about Elizabeth keeping his heart because "it was always yours anyway" was incredibly romantic. I just feel sad about it. And I wish they wouldn't have ended it that way for them. Was that the best way? I don't think so. *sighs deeply*
So I feel like that awful quote from Carlton - "Sawyer represents men she has been with in her past so she is drawn to him, and he doesn't treat her like she would want to be treated but that is what makes him sexy - ladies love the bad boy." (thanks to amantium_irae and carrielynne2323 for supplying the quote) - voiced something really serious and not as flippant as he insinuates. And now it seems like I see this concept everywhere.
I'm ranting about this now because I've been having a film sequels "catch-up." I wanted to see all the sequels that have come out recently before I go out of town next week, so I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest last weekend (which I'd never seen before at all) so I could see the third one this week.
I really did love it. I'd heard mixed reviews about it, but I thought it was fabulous. HOWEVER, there is a glaring example of this "women loving bad boys" stereotype that I felt was, once again, ridiculous. I liked Elizabeth and Will from the beginning because they were set up as the destined couple. I think that Elizabeth is a really strong female character, which I certainly appreciate. And I can't help loving Will more and more as the films go on because he is just SO GOOD. I love good men.
But I felt like the second movie played up this annoying love triangle. AGAIN. Now, I could see Elizabeth's point of view overall. I really did think by that climax scene when she chains Captain Jack to the boat that she was trying to protect everyone else, and then of course she feels tremendous guilt over it, which is a burden. All of that I understand. What I don't really get is why they have to play this sort of forbidden flirtation back and forth between them (aided by lines such as "It never would've worked out between us") to the point where I believe they argue there's a real attraction on Elizabeth's part for Jack. It's like they've established Elizabeth truly loves Will (I loved when she said, "I just thought I'd be married by now. I really want to be married."), but they also try to say that she and Jack have this exotic pulse between them.
This isn't a rant about triangles though. I HATE them, but this is really about the women and bad boys thing. I. don't. get. it. I don't find Will boring. He doesn't have Jack's wit or colorful past, but he's pretty amazing on his own. Why, then, do they have those odd scenes with the compass when Elizabeth would hold it and it would point at Jack and vice versa (I realize there could be other explanations, but that seemed to be the implication)? Why do Elizabeth and Jack engage in all of this awkward playful (and often physical) banter? I would've much preferred a strong friendship between the two instead of this forbidden, what-if, "women love bad boys and can't resist them" thing. What I sort of saw was that when she was with Jack, she was really all about him and how exciting it seemed to be. Then if she saw Will or he was mentioned, you'd see glimpses of them again. Then they had these sweet, but almost out of place lines like the one mentioned above where she would say how much she wanted to be married, but it didn't seem fluid. It almost seemed like it lost its impact because of how focused she was on Jack when she was around him. I just found it very... odd.
The thing is that I don't believe that this is true. I'm starting to feel like a dying breed, but Will is completely attractive to me. He's sensitive, he's kind, he's loyal, he adores Elizabeth. And I know that Elizabeth isn't quiet and meek and submissive. She is brassy, and I love that. But I also believe that you can have a strong female who possesses strength and ambition but also who loves a simple man (NOT boring), one who isn't necessarily dashing and dangerous. One with whom you build a life, a deep, everlasting true love. That's what she has with Will, and when the creative powers force a third wheel like "bad boy" Jack, ironically it results in a weaker, more non-committal female character. Women do not want the bad boy. Women who are looking for foundation and reciprocal love desire the stability, virtue, and all-consuming love of a good man. I just wish entertainment would catch up.
On another note, just because I have to vent a little bit more, I went to see the third film yesterday. I liked it, though I will have to see it a couple of more times before I catch everything because I think I probably missed a lot of subtleties. I really love this historical, pirate genre. BUT! WILL DIED. I was so distraught over this. I seriously just wanted the film to be over after that because it was so depressing. Then I saw what they were going to do. But I'm just too damn much of a romantic for my own good. I was even a little surprised at how hard I fell for Will and Elizabeth throughout the trilogy. I didn't really love the fact that Will had to watch and be confused when Elizabeth kissed Jack (*contrived!*), and then they spent a good part of this movie apart because of Elizabeth's guilt over leaving Jack behind and Will's devotion to his father. And they just got married! I'm glad I stayed with it because I did like their scenes at the end (and am REALLY glad I stayed through the credits until the very end), and I understand that their love really took on a quite epic quality.
But I just hate when they kill one side of the couple. Even if he's a pirate and can sort of come back to life. Their life together was so new and they were just embarking on marriage and their future. I did not like that Will struggled throughout the film over a choice between Elizabeth and his father, then he tells her as they're fighting for their lives that he's made his choice and it's her AND THEN he dies and sort of inadvertantly is forced to choose his father anyway. It was absolutely amazing when his father asked him if he could live with the sacrifice of only having one day ashore with her every ten years and in a beautiful shot with the sun gleaming on him, Will replies, "It depends on how you spend the day" (para). I told you, I LOVE him. And the part about Elizabeth keeping his heart because "it was always yours anyway" was incredibly romantic. I just feel sad about it. And I wish they wouldn't have ended it that way for them. Was that the best way? I don't think so. *sighs deeply*