Pirates Picks Up Some Protestors
Filed under: Action, Disney, Celebrities and Controversy, Johnny Depp, Remakes and Sequels
Now that the big stink over The Da Vinci Code is winding down, it is time for the next film to step up to the controversy plate and hit another home run powered by the bad-news-equals-marketing-gold strategy. Unfortunately for Superman Returns, there are no real Kryptonians to take offense at the film's representation of their species. But Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, well, there's a movie worthy of some complaints. In fact, the blockbuster sequel already faced some protests last year while shooting on the island of Dominica. The Carib tribe that is indigenous to the island had a big problem with being portrayed as cannibals, particularly in a scene that has Johnny Depp strapped to a skewer. The tribe's chief Charles Williams was especially outraged that many of his people sold out their heritage for $95 per day as extras.
Now comes the real picketing-style protesting. The Garifuna American Heritage Foundation United of Long Beach, California is staging a protest at Disneyland on Saturday afternoon in response to their own problems with their ancestors being depicted as cannibals. The non-profit organization is devoted to the preservation of the Garifuna culture and history, so their interest in the matter is obvious. I wonder, though, if anywhere in the film is it said the cannibals are on Dominica. Not that it would really matter since there is no proof that cannibalism ever existed in the Caribbean, and the movie's encouragement of the stereotype probably suggests that all native Caribbeans as well as the African-originated Garifuna share a cannibalistic past.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-23-2006 @ 10:12PM
MosquitoControl said...
History doesn't show cannibals in the Caribbean, true.
It also doesn't show zombie pirates.
Go figure. A fictional Hollywood movie... making things up.
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6-23-2006 @ 11:21PM
Natehead said...
Well, I gotta say this movie is probably going to suck. For a lot of reasons... Pirates #1 was awesome. One of my favorites. This one... the main villain looks lame. (crappy CGI tentacle face). All this about cannabalistic stereotypes... Yeah... it's gonna suck. Oh well.
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6-24-2006 @ 5:22AM
Sean said...
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life. This is even almost as bad as when a couple individuals made the ride politically correct in certain scenes just because they convinced themselves it was portraying rape. They never outright said it was rape and there were no sounds that even hinted it was rape.
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6-24-2006 @ 9:52AM
Donna A. said...
So is this where the term toe jam came? Or lady fingers?
People need to get a life. It's a blasted movie!
Donna A.
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6-24-2006 @ 11:59AM
Palehorse said...
Does this heritage group really think people are going to come out of this movie thinking: "Wow, I didn't know the Garifuna tribe were cannibals....well I'm cancelling my trip to Dominica!" Some people have too much time.
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6-24-2006 @ 12:45PM
Andrea said...
Throughout all forms of ENTERTAINMENT through history, every social group has portrayed some false attribute to it's own. But you know what? It's fiction. It's a movie, and everyone has suffered through it. No matter what anyone does, someone is going to get offended.
So you know what? Chill out. It's Hollywood-not a documentary.
And I quite frankly disagree with you, this movie is going to be a hit. Jack Sparrow by himself alone will make the movie a hit.
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6-24-2006 @ 2:05PM
Lida said...
I think all those protesters need to chill out! IT"S JUST A FREAKING MOVIE!! It's not meant to portray facts on anything, it's just meant to entertain!!
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6-24-2006 @ 3:36PM
Steve said...
"Oh, had I know about the protest I would have made plan!" NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is rather amusing to me. Perhaps I can help these protestors get a life? Also, the natives were paid well; Ninty Five Dollars is more than most US familes make in a week. The third Pirates can film in my backyard for twenty bucks a day, hell, make it FREE!!. Come to think of it, Why wasn't Pirates filmed in the US? And many of the characters in Pirates resemble my immediate family!!! I should sue Disney and plan a sit down right in front of Pirates director's house. And while I'm at it I'll sue Mickey Mouse for impersonating a human being.
Seriously, freedom of speech and assembly is cool. But you protestors of Pirates, can't you find something to do? And you commentors of the protestors, learn to find the humor in others.
PEACE
P.S. I plan on seeing the new Pirates Film
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6-24-2006 @ 5:07PM
Melanie said...
If I could just applaud MosquitoControl...
"History doesn't show cannibals in the Caribbean, true.
It also doesn't show zombie pirates.
Go figure. A fictional Hollywood movie... making things up."
Since when has Disney claimed to be historically accurate? It's meant to be a family fun movie... not a documentary...
If anyone walks out of that movie believing that all natives in the Caribbean are secretly cannibals... that's their brain cell issue.
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6-24-2006 @ 9:12PM
Richard Migbagliue said...
I live in Dominica, and I can tell you that there are in fact cannibal indians here. There was a case about 10 years ago that was in the high court. The guy went to jail.
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6-25-2006 @ 10:44AM
darkbhudda said...
"there is no proof that cannibalism ever existed in the Caribbean"
Because they ate all the witnesses.
Seriously though, how many tribes would admit they ancestors were cannibals? And if an anthropologist managed to find out somehow don't you think the exchange would go like this.
Tribesman: Here, use this special herbal mix. It is designed to keep away the mosquitos.
Anthropologist: Why does it smell like soy sauce?
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6-25-2006 @ 5:25PM
Christopher Campbell said...
Okay, I am the first critic of political correctness, and I think most of the time people get way too offended at things, but I do see the Carib's point about wanting to preserve their heritage in a better light. I mean, come on, what if Hollywood ALWAYS represented your ancestors as something that wasn't true. Obviously it is going to be taken as fact, not just stereotype, but the majority of the world, right? It isn't that different from Arabs wanting to not always be depicted as terrorists. But that isn't even the same because some Arabs have been terrorists.
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6-25-2006 @ 7:00PM
MaryAn said...
It's fantasy, not documentary and fiction doesn't have to be accurate because it's ... ahem... fiction.
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7-21-2006 @ 3:19PM
Rony Figueroa said...
Racist Stereotypes in Pirates of the Caribbean
By: Cheryl L. Noralez, President and Founder of the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation, United
Long before the film “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” opened to record-breaking box office numbers, indigenous groups raised strong concerns over the film’s racist depiction of the native Carib peoples as cannibals. Prior to production of the Pirates sequel, Michael Polonio of the National Garifuna Council of Belize accused Disney of perpetuating an unjust myth that harms the Caribs and their descendents. Carib Chief Charles Williams criticized Disney’s producers and stated that, “Our ancestors stood up against early European conquerors and because they stood up…we were labeled savages and cannibals up to today.” Despite such objections to the script’s racist portrayal of the indigenous people, Disney refused to make alterations. In response, Los Angeles area Garifuna leaders organized a protest outside of Disneyland for the film’s premiere on June 24th.
The Garifuna American Heritage Foundation, United can be found here. www.garifunaheritagefoundation.org
Rony Figueroa
on 19 Jul 2006 at 9:12 pm: 5
It’s hard to understand the issue of degradation against the Garifuna when people all over the world have been brainwashed by movies and television shows glamorizing pirates lifestyles and natives playing the role of the bad guys. Try to reverse that thinking when people have been conditioned all of their lives to believe what they see. It’s time to get educated about the indigenous peoples of our planet in order to stop this erroneous thinking. Garifuna, Kalinago, Taino, etc. -peoples of the caribbean- are not cannibals, never were cannibals…It was just warfare tactics used by the British to overcome the so called enemy of the time. These tactics are still being used against the enemy…it’s called character assassination!!
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9-10-2006 @ 8:26PM
Professor Peabody said...
OK enough. Cheryl L. Noralez, get off your little pigmy horse and come to understand that it makes no difference what you say about this movie or the portrayal of these people. Just because I (and most everyone in the world)watch a movie for entertainment value does not mean that I (we)are going to take it as what really happens. Have you ever seen a show called gilligan's Island? Have you protested that show? You know they show Islanders there as, dare I say it? HEADHUNTERS! In grass skirts no less! Oh dear! You might want to let the people of Russia know that the Cosmonauts were shown as vodka swilling bafoons.
You know I might want to jump on this bandwagon after all. Now that Steve mentioned Mickey Mouse looking like a person, it really pisses me off, that rat bastard has given guys with big ears and white gloves gloves a bad name. And the movie "Shuan of the dead", even though I know how to kill a brain sucking zombie, I think I will sue them because I have dead relitives that when/if they come back to life, I don't want someone putting the smack down on 'ol Aunt Mable thinking she's gonna be a little hungry for grey matter.
Guess what? I think you, Cheryl L. Noralez, President and Founder of the Garifuna American Heritage Foundation, United and Christopher Campbell and ALL the people who get offended over stupid crap like this should pull thier heads out of the deep smelly hole they are in, breath fresh air and get a cause worth making a stink over, like....child abuse or rape or hunger in the US or Pop singers who have little kids sleep over in his bed...
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