Blackbeard: The Obscure and Ever-Changing Figure of Piracy

          Are you fantasizing about a life of perilous adventure? Does the word “pirate” intrigue you? Well, what you have in mind is probably the image of a charming and witty Johnny Depp-like figure. Despite this being an attractive alternative, reality was in fact far from it. So how did we deviate so much from the initial public perception of pirates? It is the typical process that an image goes through, due to the influence of popular culture and today’s tradition of consumerism.

(source: @battu_mando on Twitter)

Despite only sailing the oceans for fifteen months, centuries later, Blackbeard became famous once again, as the face of piracy in popular culture. In the 20^th century, cinematographers were already taking advantage of its mysterious and intriguing personality by transforming him into an infamous villain for their adventure movies. The year 1952 brings the first image of the cruel pirate to the big screens, with a movie called Blackbeard: The Pirate, starring Robert Newton and Linda Darnell and combining adventures with romance. As expected, the movie remains trapped within the stereotypical frame, aiming to amuse the public with ridiculous mannerisms rather than create a believable character. To quite frank, the only element that stays true to the original pirate are the ribbons tied in Robert Newton’s fake beard. Therefore, it needs to be acknowledged that, despite managing to present exciting adventures and good humour, Raoul Walsh’s film lacks both complex characters and a more thoughtful plot.

Other cinematographers, on the other hand, chose to distance from the grotesque, humorous approach in favour of an image of savagery and cruelty. Such is the case of Kevin Connor’s miniseries, Blackbeard, from 2006, which chooses the very physically-appropriate Angus MacFadyen for the role of the great pirate. However, if you’re going into this series hoping to see a well-developed, complex character, you’ll probably be as disappointed as I was. You’d think the luxury of more episodes would give creators the opportunity to construct a realistic portrayal of a man with positive and negative traits, but, unfortunately, this is not the case for this show. The character often acts like a savage, without having any reasoning behind his actions, and this is illustrated from the trailer, which, funnily enough, states: “He killed for the reputation, and his reputation has become legend”. Well, I have to say it is hard to believe that a man who managed to build an extremely large crew and gather numerous vessels for himself would have no other reason for his crimes but his egotistical desire to be known as a barbarian.

A more inspired and successful attempt at portraying Blackbeard belongs to the fourth film from the well-known franchise, The Pirates of the Caribbean. After getting used to the infamous Davy Jones as the villain of the first three movies, this next one surprises audiences with a new character Jack Sparrow has to fight against. If you expect Blackbeard to be a ruthless, evil, the movie definitely delivers this veridical portrayal. However, following the pirates in their search of the fountain of youth, we come to realise that Disney managed, as always, to add layers and layers to their characters, making even the evil ones easy to empathise with. Blackbeard no longer remains a symbol of cruelty and savagery, but strikes the audience as surprisingly humane. Without giving too much away to the readers who haven’t watched the movies (which I highly recommend), the ending leaves viewers with the image of Blackbeard as a man who, like all of us, fears death and would do anything to protect himself.

Saving the best for last (in my opinion), I’d like to also present you with a more recent approach to this character, more precisely, the series Our Flag Means Death on HBO Max. As expected from a show in 2022, Our Flag Means Death truly shifts the public perception of piracy, promoting diverse and complex characters, which is exactly what the industry needs. Despite his claims of not doing research into the real life of Edward Teach, the character  played by Taika Waititi came out to be both credible and original. What I personally like the most about this show is the fact that it doesn’t question the identity of the characters, but encourages self-acceptance and diversity. Earlier productions served audiences stereotypes of the savage and cruel nature of piracy, showcasing an unfaithful image and a narrow-minded perspective, while Waititi suggests we look past the presuppositions society has regarding pirates. The series wisely utilises the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity to point out how little we actually know about the appearance and behaviour of pirates. However, the HBO Max series doesn’t aim for accuracy in terms of portraying famous figures such as Stede Bonnet, Edward Teach or Calico Jack. It does something better: it illustrates the humane, the fragile, the imperfect side of characters who have been, for so long, influenced by society’s unrealistic expectations of them.

Consequently, regardless of which one of the approaches to such a historical figure you find more appropriate, it is certain that all the creators mentioned above managed to achieve one goal: keeping the image of an interesting personality alive, passing it on to the next generation and allowing it to shift along with the changes in our cultures.