"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Cure of the Black Pearl" Through Archaeology.

I watched the movie (probably my 10th all-time viewing) ready to scrutinize every inaccuracy (I may be biased). The archaeological aspects had not gone unnoticed before but what I found through this new, ultra archaeological lens, however, was new appreciation for a movie Id relatively recently gotten unobsessed over.

What is depicted is archaeology being made. We are shown how ships of old get drowned, we see clothes and trinkets and weapons being used in what seem like accurate enough ways.

The entire movie gives the air of historical reconstruction embedded with magical phenomenon. The film may amp up the obsession over treasure but for this level of action and fantasy, it remains heavily grounded in the 17th/18th century life style and depictions.

The actions of pirates have some historical basis. We were told in lecture how they didn't have women, their captainship was less formal and how women were not on ships at all. The life on the ship is shown to be quite gritty and unsophisticated. Women that are present are definitely anomalies. The pirates are looters and low lifes and for all we know, they did all leave merchant ships. A parallel is even made between pirates and merchants when Will and Sparrow are talking about “Bootstrap” Bill Turner.

Some detractors may point to the attire of Captain Barbossa or his elevated position and even to how the pirates raided as being inaccurate. It seems like those criticisms overlook the "curse" aspect of this movie. Yeah Barbossa is captain but he is recognized as such. We learn the Jack Sparrow was basically voted out of the job at the whim of the crew, much like the historical facts told to us in lecture. The raid, being on, what seemed like, a major port, was driven by magic and not typical pirate behavior.

What I will concede however is the seemingly glamorous portrayal of the navy. From what we were told, conditions were awful and nobody wanted to be in the navy. Other than that (and maybe some as yet inconsequential nitpicks here and there) this film does a fantastic job of giving as close a depiction to real pirate life as can be expected of a fantasy/action/adventure. At the very least, we should all be thankful that it is not a pile of cutesy entertaining fluff like The Mummy.