MovieChat Forums > Treasure Island (1950) Discussion > Today's kids still know what pirates are...

Today's kids still know what pirates are, after all

posted 18 years ago by mlraymond
14 replies | jump to latest

One of the low points of my life was a Halloween night some years ago, when I answered the door to trick or treaters in full pirate regalia, with a big Jolly Roger flag hanging up, and a chest full of chocolate gold coins. One little kid hung back and first asked his mother, "Why has he got that big knife?" in reference to my plastic cutlass, and then asked "Why has he got a bird on his shoulder?", looking at the prop parrot I had strapped on.

The mother had to explain these things, and I looked at the kid and realized that he had no idea what a pirate was. When I was a little kid, playing pirates was one of the favorite games of neighborhood kids, as we tied on bandannas and dug up vacant lots looking for buried treasure. I wondered if to a whole generation, pirates were something destined to remain obscure and forgotten.

Then came the release of Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean, and the world was made right again. Ever since that movie was in theatres, I have been greeted each Halloween with " ahoy, matey!" and "aaarrrr" from practically all the kids who come to the door.

Perhaps they'll eventually read Stevenson's book ,and watch the classic 1934 and 1950 movie versions. A world without kids loving pirate stories would be a pretty sad one,indeed.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] jfc5-1 18 years ago

What a stupid little kid! I don't care how young you are, if you're old enough to talk, you should know what a pirate is. That kid was deprived of the joys of piracy.

[–] twigs17 18 years ago

Please don't blame the kid; if anyone, blame the parents. What a great shame that so many treasures of the past are forgotten or ignored, or worse yet, made "politicaly correct" so they don't offend anyone! but yet will allow their children to play violent sims on a Playstation or Xbox. I fear todays children are entering a literary void.

[–] jfc5-1 18 years ago

Yeah, I guess it IS the parents that are to blame. It confuses me that parents let their kids watch the really bad things then turn around and keep them from watching things that are considered politically incorrect. I have a cousin, and when she was younger, her mom wouldn't let her watch or read Harry Potter, but she could watch things with sex and violence. Just crazy!

[–] bobsphotography2000 16 years ago

Right you are. Half the parents of today haven't a clue as to how to be parents. Really ignorant people. As someone else said, " The ART of parenting .... the skills of parenting.... have been lost on people who pop the kids out without any concern about how to afford them and train them."

[–] bobsphotography2000 16 years ago

You're right.

The poor kids of today that suffer because the parents play "politics" with their minds.

Gone are the days when kids could play as kids.... and not be polluted with adult political agendas. I actually remember in about 2nd grade when we all were taken into the school library and the school librarian read us the first two or three chapters in Treasure Island.... then stopped! When my classmates wanted to hear more, she just smiled and said, 'this is a library,,,, you can come get the book any time you want and finish the story for yourself !" It was a lesson to get kids to read.... fun books....

[–] talkinhorse 18 years ago

Even with political correctness, pirate imagery survives. There's still, for example, "Pirates of the Caribbean" at Disneyland. Although they did tone it down a few years ago...instead of chasing women, the pirates are now chasing food. Okay, so they're metrosexuals, but they're still pirates.

[–] AlienHunterRT 18 years ago

You sir have the best idea for Halloween, EVER!

[–] SabeFett 18 years ago

I don't know about Disneyland...but the last time I was at Disney World (March 2007), the pirates were still chasing women :). Yeah, my sisters and I are 19, 16, and 12 and we knew all about pirates since the day we were born mostly. Growing up watching all the old Disney Movies full of pirates (Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Kidnapped, etc.). I feel bad for the kids who didn't know pirates (or really didn't care to know) before POTC. But better now than never right?

[–] narnia4 18 years ago

I think Robert Newton's Long John Silver is better than Captain Jack Sparrow, alot better. For one thing, his craziness is understandable (as far as craziness goes), and he's a real pirate, not just some crazy guy running around coming up with stupid 'witty' remarks.
Its a real shame that kids can be obsessed with pirates because of PotC, and yet never have read Robert Louis Stevenson or seen this movie. Yet, one pretty good movie (Curse of the Black Pearl) followed by two awful movies (its sequels) is all that most of these kids will every really know about pirates.

[–] jfc5-1 18 years ago

I like em all. Robert Newton, Jack Sparrow... and the sequels. I don't really see how you can compare Robert Newton to Jack Sparrow anyway. It's apples to oranges with those two.

[–] death-wyvern 17 years ago

Comparing Robert Newton as Long John Silver, to Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbarossa would be a better comparison, in my opinion. Jack Sparrow is indeed a unique character, which is what makes Barbarossa's role so vital, as he is the one who portrays a much more traditional idea of what a pirate is. Yes, I liked all the POTC movies, (despite thinking that the middle chapter was almost devoid of storyline and good typical pirate fight scenes) yet for me this version of Treasure Island is simply more memorable. I remember so much of it quite distinctly despite not having seen it since 1993 or 1994, when I was about 9 years old. I really hope that this world hasn't reached it's pinnacle of pirate adventures. It would be such a pity if it has, as the original-poster's post about a boy not knowing what a pirate is, is very depressing.

Goddamn stupid political correctness.

[–] bobsphotography2000 16 years ago

I agree. Newton's Long John Silver was superior to Captain Jack Sparrow......

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] bobsphotography2000 16 years ago

I understand your fun in playing pirates for the kids.....

But the world has changed for the worse since you were a kid and the one who saw your prop knife was afraid, probably, because of all the violence around him today in the news, and maybe even in his own neighborhood.

If you think I'm wrong, consider this:
I went to a private residence on a work order call .... and I knocked on the door.... and a really nice, cute little girl answered by herself and I explained that I had to cross into the backyard on a service call ..... and she didn't quite understand that..... and no adult was home apparently....... and she said, "you won't kidnap me will you?" That broke my heart. (and the fact that she DID open the door to a stranger also worried me.... ).

And ..... not that kids understand..... but we DO still have pirates today...... and they're not the Disney characters..... they're killers, rapists, and very dangerous people. Read up on small boats going through areas such as around Indonesia...... and the unhappy and unlucky people who met the real pirates of today. Very scary.