Consequences to the Romanticization of Piracy:

A review of Our Flag Means Death

Jilly DiMartino

This is a show that is based off of stories about pirates of the golden age. It is about a
high-class man named Stede Bonnet who dreamt of being a pirate one day. His marriage and
children seem to be getting his way of his dream life. Although he tries to convince himself that
it was for the good of the family. Once he abandons his wife and two children to live at sea on
his dream ship. He is not a fan of violence and tries to capitalize off of that by calling himself the
gentleman pirate. Captain Stede tried as hard as he could to stay away from violence, but it
caught up with him later on. His goal was to be like one of the many great pirates he had heard
of that ruled the sea with an iron fist and was a brave courageous soul. Such as the one and
only, Edward Teach aka Blackbeard. Blackbeard is a legend to the captain and his crew, and they
are stunned when Blackbeard came looking for Stede Bonnet. As the episodes progress, Stede
Bonnet and Blackbeard realize they have a lot more in common than they thought. Right off the
bat they start to get along because they both admire each other’s qualities.
For the purpose of this assignment, I am going to focus on the last three episodes of the
first season. Episode 8 titled “We Gull Way Back”, entailed Blackbeard’s old friend Calico Jack,
who “happened” upon Captain Stede and his crew. I really enjoyed this historical comedy series.
It was very intelligently created especially in regard to the accuracy of some of the pirates’
stories. It was one of the funniest shows I have seen in a while. The cast was made up of a good
portion of comedians that are widely known. For example, Nat Faxon played “the Swede” on
“Our Flag Means Death.” Nat Faxon is a well-known comedian and actor who has been a in a
variety of films and shows. The creators of the series did an excellent job on keeping the story
funny but with accurate perceptions and themes of piracy throughout the episodes. Buttons is
probably my favorite character on the show because half of the time he’s being a bit odd and
you kind of brush it off. But then there will be moments that he is an essential part of the team.
A common theme in piracy that is portrayed in the media are the use of parrots in the industry.
A large part of piracy is the classic look of a pirate. For example, if you went to a kids pirate
birthday party what would the pirate look like? When people think of a pirate they tend to think
of a guy with a hat, eye patch, and parrot on his shoulder. Parrots will often be portrayed as a
sort of side kick to the captain and repeat what he says thus reaffirming the power of his words.
But the series chose to have the bird archetype be displayed with Buttons, who was certainly
not the captain. But he was loved by the whole crew. Throughout the first season Button adopts
a lost seagull that is staying with their ship for safety. When Blackbeard’s’ friend Calico Jack
shows up he starts to get Blackbeard a little rowdier than Stede Bonnet was used to. Calico Jack
is playing around with his whip on the deck when he accidently whipped the seagull named Carl
right out of the sky. I found it interesting that this seagull was not attached to Stede Bonnet the
Captain of the ship but rather Buttons who bathes naked in the moonlight. I think that was a
purposeful choice made by the producers to include that iconic symbol.
Episode 9 “Act of Grace” encompassed the theme of the real life of being a pirate and
enjoying the crazy adventures but then coming to the brutal reality of that fact that it is illegal,
and the British have no tolerance for it. The episode begins with the British ships sailing directly
towards Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard’s ship. The structure of the British ships was fairly
accurate in design and proportion. After the warning shot was given to Stede Bonnet,
Blackbeard tells Bonnet to waive the white flag of surrender to the British. The white flag is a
common symbol that goes back years to symbolize a side surrendering in a fight. I found it
interesting that Blackbeard was the one to recommend this in the first place because of his
reputation of a blood thirsty killer.
The season finale, “Wherever You go, There You Are”, was an interesting take on gender
roles during the golden age of piracy. Since Stede Bonnet tried to return home to his wife and
kids it forces him to see what life has been like for the rest of his family. Unfortunately for him,
they seemed like they were doing quite well since his absence. His wife who originally gave him
the painting of the lighthouse to symbolize their love for each other, was tossed to the side out
of Stede Bonnet’s pure oblivion. Since his absence she has become a very respected and
talented artist who is a part of a community now and has found joy in her life with her children.
I think showing this side of the story was a bold move that I admire the writers for doing so. It
finally gave the perspective to the man that women don’t fall apart without them. Women are
strong and independent and can lead their own lives. I would say a possible improvement to the
show and accuracy of that time would be to add in the topic of slavery in some way. It was very
prevalent at that time and should be equally represented in old and new films.