The middle of summer brings out the blockbusters in full force, entertaining us and stealing our money. Or, like Captain Jack Sparrow might say, "borrowing" it.
My intent had been to see Pirates of the Caribbean on opening weekend. However, upon arriving at the theatre, we were met with long lineups and a sold-out show. We had a choice, we could pick another movie or we could wait until 10:30pm to see the next showing of the two and a half hour hit. We opted for another movie, The Legend of Sinbad, an entertaining though not as fulfilling pirate story.
This weekend I vowed not to make the same mistake again and purchased my tickets online around midday. We managed to arrive at the theatre 30 minutes before the movie started, and found the theatre packed full. With 30 minutes before the show started, we found our way to the very front of the theatre, in the worst possible seats, craning our necks to see the advertisements which played before our feature started.
Why is this the case? What made this movie so special? Was it the storyline? Perhaps it was the stunning special effects? Or maybe the costumes? Perhaps it was the actors? The theatre full of giggling teenage girls seemed to support the latter possibility.
The storyline, while not remotely believable, was definitely appealing. The costumes and the special effects will undoubtedly place this in the running for at least a few Oscar nominations. That is, at least, my hope. Some critics have even touted Johnny Depp as being a contender for the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow.
There was, however, something deeper in the story; something that tugs at our hearts and appeals to the masses, young and old. There was heroism.
The story begins with a young girl named Elizabeth who spies a young boy near death, floating in the water. As the crew brings him on board, her father places him in her care. She spies a medallion around his neck, stamped with a skull and crossbones. Assuming he is a pirate, and knowing he would be killed for it, she takes the medallion and hides it. That medallion is the key to the story, and is part of a curse.
The story skips ahead eight years and finds Elizabeth and this boy, whose name we learn is William, much older and in love. Of course, to make the movie more romantic and appealing, it is a forbidden love. Mistaken for William's sister, Elizabeth is kidnapped by the pirates, who need her blood and the gold medallion to end their curse.
You can trust a dishonest man to be dishonest, Jack Sparrow says. But you cannot trust an honest man. He will inevitably do something stupid. In this movie, "stupid" roughly translates to heroic self-sacrifice.
The movie bounces the idea of self-sacrifice around several characters, and even the sarcastic, less-than-sane Captain Jack has his turn with the opportunity to sacrifice himself for the good of someone else. William does several things that Jack considers to be incredibly "stupid", yet for as stupid as Jack believes these actions to be, they are undeniably noble, so Jack goes along to help. They go after Elizabeth, breaking the law and making William a pirate and an outcast in the process. He is willing to shed his own blood to save the woman he loves.
William performed these heroic actions for the love of a beautiful woman. But what would we have thought of his character if he had performed these actions for the sole purpose of giving life back to the cursed pirates? That would have changed the story significantly. What if there was no Elizabeth in the story? Would William still have been driven to shed his blood to end the curse?
This leads me to wonder, is it love that makes or breaks a hero?
Page 2 >> Jesus: the ultimate hero who died for His enemies
Hannah is a recent business graduate from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. She is currently a secretary for the Department of History, and enjoys writing in her free time.
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