I know James was written to be a villain, and I'm so pleased with what they did with his character instead. I really enjoyed that other script of CotBP, where he lets the pirates go himself. I got the biggest kick out of that.
And the image of him standing at the helm, sailing the Dauntless to Isle de Muerta...*swoons* Isn't that just a lovely thought?
There is no evilness behind that smilie. 😉
I see what you're saying. It's a problem that kind of bugged me, because it wasn't like Norrington was being horrible...he was just doing his job. True, he was also quite prideful, but at the same time, nothing he did really fits with the idea of him even being...well...mean.
I guess a lot of people don't view it that way. Maybe it's because I'm friends with so many police and military officers. I just get really irritated when people act like those who uphold the law are doing something wrong. 😄
when decent men kill people for a living..they have to make light of the situation and pretend those people are nothing more than animals.
which is what worries me about will because its not his job he just hates them like a racist would hate someone for no reason other than what they are.
I think Norrie's experience of being a pirate himself will decide his fate in movie 3. It may be a key to his redemption.
Also, when you kill people for a living, you have to remove yourself from emotion. In one of the visual guides, it mentioned how emotionless Norrington seemed because he can't show emotion in front of his men, and that lack of emotion was one thing that turned Elizabeth off.
I always wished Norrington had kissed Liz before he ran off with the chest. Since Jack and Will got to snog her, it's only fair Norrington gets to do it too. 😆
Um......Lovely, I missed something in your post, hon, and I really need to address it.
Hating pirates isn't like racism.
Aside from our kissable Jack, huggable Gibbs and a few other pirates from Jack's crew, have any of the pirates we've ever seen in these movies been...nice??
No.
Will's hatred of pirates has a lot to do with his trauma from when the ship he was on was destroyed by pirates. What Will IS doing however is just automatically assuming that all pirates are evil.
We know better, and Will eventually learns this later. His dislike of them is not at all strange, considering what he went through. Acting like Will is being super evil for not trusting or liking pirates is like asking a rape victim to not be distrustful of strange men.
That was the best comparison I could think of. Sorry it was a bit graphic...
It isn't entirely fair to Will's character to act as if he was in the wrong for being angry, fearful and suspicious of anyone who was a pirate. He probably saw a tremendous amount of death and random destruction for no other reason except for greed. I wouldn't like pirates either if I had been in that situation.
but I could have a hatred for say all..Asian people because one or two of them killed my dad or something does tht make it OK for me to hate them all and kill any that cross my path because of what a select few did? Before I even know what kind of peole they may be?
You see it all the time. Many people(ignorant horrible people) discriminate against black people because they think they are all murderers or rapists or are all out for trouble when they are not.
Does a mere generalization or a bad experience with a select few give those descriminitive people a right to murder a black man that crosses their path?
heck no..
..I think will generalizes..and discriminates..which is rather like a racist...its interesting that T&T and Johnny talked/picked up on the fact that Will is the first person in the entire franchise to Kill someone on screen.
will treats them as animals, calles them "it"
all the trademarks of a discriminitive person
EDIT - lol and Harry Potter ROCKS!
There is a major difference between what Will feels towards pirates and what a Ku Klux Klan member may feel toward a black person.
A KKK member will hate someone simply because of the color of their skin. This is not the black person's fault.
**Edit** Just saw your second post, Lovely. Glad you noted that he changed, but I'll leave this post as is so that others can read it. 😄 **
Will dislikes pirates because of the choices that pirates make. Pirates choose to steal, to rape to kill...or to not. So far, Will hadn't found any that he likes, and mostly with good reason.
Racism is an unjustified hatred of someone because of skin color. Will's feelings on pirates is perfectly justified, considering what happened to him, and considering the time period, naturally inclined to kill a pirate if he meets one.
These days, no, you can't justify killing a criminal, but back then it wasn't all that abnormal.
You point out how Will says "it" when he refers to pirates...but you are forgetting that this was in the beginning of the film. He moves beyond that and learns that perhaps not all pirates are bad. He even goes so far as to risk his life to save Jack.
This is a huge change in character development for Will, and you are not giving him enough credit.
I know my post is a bit rambling and perhaps not all that coherent; I'm exhausted and about to go to bed, so good night!
The point I am trying to make is that Will is not a racist, or remotely similar to one, because of his dislike of pirates. It's a normal behavior of someone who has had a terrible experience involving them.
And as I said, you have to consider the times...Will wanting to kill a pirate would not have been unusual in those times. Pirates were considered to be vermin and were treated as such; if you found one, you exterminated it.
So again, there is nothing strange or horrible about Will's behavior. At that particular time in the movie, Will has nothing but the fact that the pirate threatened to harm Elizabeth as a basis to judge Jack.
Since Will is in love with Elizabeth, it would make sense that anyone who threatened her would be on his bad side.
Hating pirates does not equal racism in any way, shape or form.