Hollywood Pirates : The Myth and the Dream for Better or Worse

Captain Keitt: illustration of a pirate captain on deck. By Howard Pyle (1853 - 1911).

Hollywood Pirates : The Myth and the Dream for Better or Worse

Writer J. Dennis Robinson in his article "Why I Hate Fake Pirates" makes his case for the lack of authentic costume in Hollywood pirate films. Robinson begins with the Hollywood creation Captain Jack Sparrow from the Walt Disney studio. Then he travels back in time to the sources of pirate myth: Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson, Peter Pan by James M. Barrie, and The Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle, the artist and illustrator of countless pirate images projected onto the silver screen and television. Robinson puts the responsibility, or the blame, on these writers and their fictional characters who refused to stay on the page and leapt into the lives of children and their parents and guardians.

Robinson notes the effect that a babysitter's stories of adventures on the ocean can have on a child, who grew up to write Treasure Island in 1881.

"Long John Silver became the quintessential fake pirate that children still love to fear."

Robinson outlines how children's fascination with pirates of legend such as Stevenson's Long John Silver was blended with the James M. Barrie fantasy creation Peter Pan.

"Barrie’s instinct that all children wish they can fly, distrust adults, and are fascinated by colorful pirates proves true with each new generation."

Robinson concludes with the influence of artist and illustrator Howard Pyle (1853 to 1911). Pyle who describes himself as "a Quaker Gentleman in the Farm Lands of Pennsylvania," recreated the bold lives of pirates in thrilling and action-packed images. In his Book of Pirates, Pyle illustrates pirates through a filter of romance, engaging in smoking, drinking, wooing, sailing, dealing with treasure, fighting, and dying.

References

Why I Hat Fake Pirates. By J. Dennis Robinson. SeacoastNH.
http://www.seacoastnh.com/History/History_Matters/Why_I_Hate_Fake_Pirates/2/

Pyle, Howard; Johnson, Merle De Vore (ed) (1921(1921)) "The Ruby of Kishmoor " in Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates: Fiction, Fact & Fancy Concerning the Buccaneers & Marooners of the Spanish Main, New York, United States, and London, United Kingdom: Harper and Brothers, pp. Plate facing p. 212
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pyle_pirate_captain.jpg
Pyle created this artwork before 1911.

From Project Gutenberg : Free Online Books Past their Copyright.

Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson.
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/120

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16/16-h/16-h.htm

Captain Blood by Rafael Sabitini
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1965/1965-h/1965-h.htm

The Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26862/26862-h/26862-h.htm