the innuendo in POTC and interpretation
Look at this that I found. What do you make of it? http://ccs.filmculture.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=38 The whole thing is a series of the sexual innuendo and what it's supposed to mean (literally and for the characters)
[S1] Some people have said that from where Jack is sitting on these steps, he must have a direct view down Elizabeth's open blouse. However, Elizabeth is wearing a leather strap across her chest over her blouse, so her blouse does not appear to be open very much.
Regardless, there is a lot of sexual tension in this scene, with Elizabeth lamenting that she's "so ready to be married" (often taken to mean she's eager for sex), and with Jack willing to marry Elizabeth on the spot (often taken to mean that Jack's equally eager for sex).
[S2] Elizabeths's quote "Will taught me how handle a sword" is sometimes taken to be a sexual innuendo, playing on the meaning of the word "sword."
[S3] Jack's quote "You're sitting on it!" is sometimes taken to be a sexual innuendo, since the Compass is on the ground roughly pointing at Elizabeth's rear end, which could be construed as the thing Jack wants most. This is emphasized by Elizabeth's response: "Beg your pardon?"
[S5] My Compass works fine.
There are two sexual innuendos here. The first is that "Compass" can refer to Jack's anatomy. The second is that immediately after Jack's defense of his "Compass," Jack looks straight downwards, and in the very next scene Jack is shown standing directly behind and facing a cannon, which suggests a phallic extension. The stopped music after Elizabeth's question emphasizes the impact of her question on Jack.
[S6] The red mark on the right side of Jack's jaw is clearly visible at this point when Jack talks with Bootstrap. According to the commentary on the DVD of the first movie, this scar is supposed to be a syphilis scar, to be more authentic of licentious pirates. This red mark is clearly visible at other times in the film, as well.
[S9] Some people have interpreted Beckett's mild emphasis on the word "chest" here to mean a woman's chest. The fact that Beckett says "more than one chest" might be an additional clue that this is a double entendre, even though there are clearly two treasure chests in the overt meaning of Beckett's sentence.
[S11] Most people consider Elizabeth's comment "If it weren't for these bars I'd have you already." to be a sexual reference. Since her father noisily breaks a candlestick off the wall when he overhears Elizabeth's comment, apparently the sexual meaning of this statement was indeed intended, not just the marriage meaning.
[S12] There'll be no knowing here.
Obviously "knowing" here has a sexual connotation, given Tia's seductive approach to Will, and Jack's hasty intervention.
[S100] Jack's quote "My eyesight's as good as ever" is a reference to masturbation. Up until about the 1950s there was a common myth that masturbation causes hair to grow on the palms of the hands, and worsens the eyesight. Jack apparently fears that the black spot might be interpretated as hairy palms, with ensuing implications.
After several hours (counting the first film) of eternal love for her fiancé Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), I must confess I was not prepared for this. There had previously been some verbal sparring between her and Jack, complete with a measure of sexual innuendo, and Jack had shown a vague romantic interest in her, in spite of Depp’s sexless, camp construction of the character, but I did not feel I was being asked to pay much attention. It had been as if the child-pirate was slowly and tentatively discovering desire in the middle of a story in which desire, along with most other emotions, was no more than a cog in the narrative structure supporting the film’s most important attraction: the theme-park ride. Like the spectator, Elizabethhad been less than impressed with Jack’s stirrings, although now we discover in retrospect that she had at least noticed. Now, seemingly out of the blue, she accosts him and, for several shocking seconds, presses him against the nearest mast in a tight clinch to his noticeable but not unpleasant surprise, while Will looks dejectedly on from a lifeboat. Then, with the captain’s defences down, she handcuffs him to the mast as she separates her mouth from his while making up a lame apology. After all, her sudden outburst of passion had been nothing but a trick to save herself and the others from the sea monster by sacrificing the hero.
Since I assume most spectators are more interested in the fate of Captain Sparrow than in the rather colourless love affair between Elizabeth and Will, it is this second realisation – that she has betrayed our hero – rather than the first one – that she had betrayed her lover – that comes as more of a shock. In a narrative which is not very concerned with morality or scruples and which runs away from depth of feeling with much greater enthusiasm than from the various villains that pursue the heroes, it is not inconsistent that the virtuous heroine turns out to be a bit of a monster. Yet what interest me most are the reasons why we are made to reconceptualise Elizabethas a monster. Is it because we have glimpsed the shadow of infidelity, because she had shown herself capable of desiring somebody else? (Will’s expression suggests that he would have been totally helpless had this been the case). Or is it because she uses her sexuality to destroy our favourite hero, in the best tradition of the femme fatale? Does she act out of love, or out of selfishness, is she pure evil or just misguided? Since her little deception is necessary for the narrative’s dénouement, it may be argued, as it has been argued countless times before, that in an action-packed movie such as this one, it is wrong to look for character motivation or, even less, ideological interpretations. Just enjoy the ride. That’s what you came to the cinema for in the first place. But why do the filmmakers choose, in order to reach the climax and the ending they desire, to turn the clichéd heroine into a clichéd monster in the last minute, without the slightest hesitation?
