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CountryBehr
09-27-2002, 02:04 PM
I'm seeing posts about the "PC"ing of the pirates in POTC. What exactly did they change or take out?

Sheila
09-27-2002, 02:14 PM
:sigh:

(this sigh was *not* directed at you, CB :) )

I'm not sure which thread you're referring to, but I'll give you the information I have regarding the "PC-ing" of PoTC:

PoTC was not modified a few years ago to become more politically correct. It was changed to add in some new animatronics and in the process the Imagineers changed the one vignette where the pirates were being chased by the large women. (It now has her chasing them because they stole her food.)

Some idiot PR person from DL mistakenly said that it was for PC reasons. A big uproar ensued about Disney bowing to PC pressures, blah blah blah.

In fact, the scene was only changed because the Imagineers thought it would be funnier.

I sure hope this myth goes away sometime soon. :rolleyes: :D

Sheila

Bill Catherall
09-27-2002, 02:15 PM
The pirates that were chasing the women are now chasing food. And the heavy girl chasing the skinny pirate is now chasing 2 pirates who apparently stole food from her kitchen. (They're carrying trays of food and she's wielding a rather threatening rolling pin.)

{Edit: I see Sheila beet me to it. But my version is a little different. ;) }

Sheila
09-27-2002, 02:21 PM
Originally posted by Bill Catherall
The pirates that were chasing the women are now chasing food. And the heavy girl chasing the skinny pirate is now chasing 2 pirates who apparently stole food from her kitchen. (They're carrying trays of food and she's wielding a rather threatening rolling pin.)

{Edit: I see Sheila beet me to it. But my version is a little different. ;) }

Bill, your description of the exact change is much better than mine.

But "beet" you to it? Only if you carrot enough to do so. ;) :D

Sheila

Ghoulish Delight
09-27-2002, 02:32 PM
Originally posted by Sheila
Bill, your description of the exact change is much better than mine.

But "beet" you to it? Only if you carrot enough to do so. ;) :D

Sheila Hey, letuce keep it civil here. I don't want anyone to turnip injured. I hope the moderators don't have to squash any rotten behvior!

chuckle

Bill Catherall
09-27-2002, 02:33 PM
Sure...everybody pick on the engineer who can't spell. :rolleyes:

;) :D

I don't knead no stinkin' spell checker! ;) *snort*

innerSpaceman
09-27-2002, 02:35 PM
The dialogue was changed to completely innocuous from can't-believe-they-got-away-with-this-suggestive. I do not repeat it here because of (a) copyright violation issues; and (b) I do not remember it off the top of my head.

And myth, shmyth. If this scene was changed because they thought it would be funnier, then the imagineers were more creatively bankrupt than I would have thought possible.

Hades
09-27-2002, 02:38 PM
You will all excuse me as I fall out of my chair, clutching my sides, and die of laughter! DIAL 911, DIAL 911! OUCH!:D

disneymeimei
09-27-2002, 02:45 PM
The skeleton in the "captain's quarters" used to have a mate....not anymore....

hbquikcomjamesl
09-27-2002, 02:46 PM
Mr. Catherall is correct. Or more precisely, if memory serves correctly, the two women being chased now carry pies, and the pirate being chased is apparently one who had succeded in stealing food. Thus, in the earlier version of the scene, the two pirates and the large woman are apparently seeking some --er-- romance, while in the current version, the --er-- hunger involved is of a more literal sort.

The biggest mystery to me is how such a change could be anything but an act of bowing to political correctness.

politically correctness (n) Empty conformance to some arbitrary code of conduct in order to secure political favor, or avoid political consequences. In contemporary American culture, political correctness generally consists of an outward show of sensitivity that is not actually felt. Like calling illegal aliens (the technically correct term) "illegal immigrants" (which is an oxymoron, since an immigrant is here legally, with the intention of staying and seeking citizenship). In 19th century American culture, through the first half of the 20th century, political correctness generally demanded racial segregation. In Nazi Germany, political correctness consisted of acting in a rabidly anti-semetic manner, and using "Heil Hitler" as a general greeting. In Stalinist Russia, political correctness consisted of glorifying communism in all artistic and literary endeavors.

Let's face it: pirates are violent men who commit acts of armed robbery at sea. They're not (to quote W. S. Gilbert, in the finale of The Pirates of Penzance) "noblemen who have gone wrong" and are merely playing at piracy on a lark. Of course, they'd want to do dishonorable things with any women they encountered. As to the large woman chasing the pirate, well, there's no accounting for taste.

Cadaverous Pallor
09-27-2002, 03:09 PM
In one of the chasing pairs, the woman was taken out completely and they put in two chickens instead. The pirate chasing them has a net.

CHICKENS??? <sigh> They just ransacked a town and this guy really, really wants a chicken dinner.

My feelings in a nutshell - Either you show pirates doing what pirates do or you don't show pirates. SO THERE!


The dialogue was changed to completely innocuous from can't-believe-they-got-away-with-this-suggestive. I do not repeat it here because of (a) copyright violation issues; and (b) I do not remember it off the top of my head.Copyright? You can't just quote it? Heh, you just can't remember and tried to make it sound good. ;) I actually didn't know this.

They also added the fat babbling pirate to the chase scene. He sits on a barrell and talks incessantly about how much he ate etc. He's a good AA but I don't like him much. I do like the two pirates catching beer as it streams out of a barrel with holes in it.

refurbmike
09-27-2002, 03:10 PM
Forgive my memory, but before they changed the woman chasing the food, did she still "giggle?" If you don't know what I mean, just make sure you pay attention to her next time you watch.

Andrew
09-27-2002, 03:17 PM
By the way, a brief quote from a larger work used to illustrate a point is considered "fair use" under copyright law. Feel free to compare and contrast the before and after dialog--just don't go posting the entire attraction script.

innerSpaceman
09-27-2002, 03:30 PM
Thanks, Andrew. I will consult my Pirates resources and will post the selected bits of dialogue. While there is nothing in the eliminated verbage that will not pass the auto censor on these boards, I think most people will find that the speech is quite racy by circa-60's Disney standards.

HBTiggerFan
09-27-2002, 03:38 PM
refurbmike - yep!

wdworbust
09-27-2002, 03:43 PM
I had been on POC in 1978 and then again in 1998. I had heard about changes and looked for them in '98 but the only thing I thought was different was in the final scene, up the ramp to unload, where the two pirates are pulling a big bag of treasure. I thought I remembered that in '78 they were pulling up a large woman. But no one has mentioned that in this thread so.....I guess not. :rolleyes:

innerSpaceman
09-27-2002, 03:55 PM
Actually, the former Epcot World of Motion figures who are grunting and groaning to pull the treasure chest up the hill replaced the pirate captain who was balanced precariously upon a set of teetering barrels. There was never a woman being pulled up the hill in this scene.

A few other World of Motion figures, humans and animals, "grace" the very beginning of the gluttony scene which (I don't care what anyone says) was changed for political correctness.

You can always tell which are the World of Motion figures. Besides looking fairly different from the original Pirates figures, the WoM AAs have frozen facial expressions that never move.

ahecht
09-27-2002, 05:27 PM
Yes, the fat woman stil jiggles.

oregonzooron
09-27-2002, 05:37 PM
CHICKENS??? <sigh> They just ransacked a town and this guy really, really wants a chicken dinner.

Even better, the pirates running from the woman are carrying fish. Let's see...I just returned from a long sea voyage. What will be my food of choice? Oh, yeah! Fish is gonna be high on MY list!!


They also added the fat babbling pirate to the chase scene. He sits on a barrell and talks incessantly about how much he ate etc. He's a good AA but I don't like him much

Actually, he's always been there, but before, he was babbling about the winsome wench that got away. She was a cute blonde hiding in the barrel where the levitating cat is now.

see you at the zoo

ron

innerSpaceman
09-27-2002, 06:11 PM
Ok, as promised, here is the rather colorful dialogue spoken for the mere 30 years between 1967 and 1997 by our drunken lout of a potbellied pirate:

"O' Shiver me timbers, it's dead [sorry, indecipherable] I be. A might too fast these light-footed wenches be for the likes of an old, swigbellied pirate such as I.

Now where be that fascinatin' little ol' treasure, eh? hehe. Heave to, mateys! Say, if you set your eyes on a bewitchin' maiden in your travels, oh she be a lively lassy, she were! Oh, I tell you true, it's sore I be to hoist me colors on the likes of that shy l'il wench! Hahahehe.

Favor, keep a weather eye open mateys. I be willin' to share, I be!" (fit of drunken laughter)

Check out some of that dialogue in italics, folks. 60's? Disney?

Now you be the judge: Compare the above with the stuff in my next post and decide for yourself. 60's vs. 90's. Progress? Censorship? Plussing the Show - or Political Correctness Run Amok?

innerSpaceman
09-27-2002, 06:20 PM
And here's the rather silly dialogue we're stuck with today. Are the similarities a sly tribute, or simply an attempt to avoid as much AA facial re-programming as possible?

"Oh, Shiver me soul. hehe. Me belly be feelin' like a galleon with a load of treasure in her hold. Argh. Another swaller may well be sendin' me to Davy Jones. Well, maybe another bite or two more won't sink me ship. Haha.

And me fine salty pork, matey, I be wantin' for a fine pork loin. Maybe you can help me out a bit, eh? Hahahehe. O' brush me barnacles!

Now where be that lil' ol' fish dinner I been a'cravin'? Hope that pilfering pussycat ain't beaten me to it. hoohaha. Avast there, matey! If ye been hankerin' for a taste of this here bird's peg leg, I be willin' to share, I be!" (fit of gluttonous laughter)

Ok, I'm gonna be sick now.

Cadaverous Pallor
09-27-2002, 07:09 PM
Originally posted by innerSpaceman
it's sore I be to hoist me colors on the likes of that shy l'il wench!....I be willin' to share, I be!Ok, it is racy. But so was the scene. The scene was pretty horrific, if you really think about it. The women being captured after their men are obviously killed, and the pirates trying to have their way with them. The words aren't half as racy as the visuals. (BTW, "hoist me colors" refers to when pirates take over a ship and hoist their flag on it to show that they own it. He's just saying he wants to keep her, not "hoist" anything onto her.)

It makes one wonder why the hell it was all okayed in the first place. There's a guy being drowned in that well! All of the pirates are slobbering drunk! They try shoot each other all the time! People's homes and possesions are being burned to the ground while the evildoers sing their song about their terrible deeds!

But, like I said before, this is what pirates do. If you want a ride about pirates, it has to be about killing and raping. Being a person that enjoys gory entertainment, I have no problem with this.

JCLowesman
09-27-2002, 07:40 PM
I guess a comment like "give peas a chance" would be inappropriate at this time.

Tigertail777
09-27-2002, 08:02 PM
You forgot one bit of PC pillaging that has snuck through... almost every pirate used to have visible tattoos... they have mysteriously dissappeared every last one....hmmm sure it wasn't a PC move. :rolleyes:

Sheila
09-27-2002, 08:42 PM
Originally posted by JCLowesman
I guess a comment like "give peas a chance" would be inappropriate at this time.

Or "visualize whirled peas" either... :D

My, what a bloodthirsty crew is posting in this thread. Aarggh, avast and aye, matey. :p

Thanks, IS, for the actual script -- that is pretty darn interesting that talk about violating the womenfolk was even allowed in the first place.

You learn something new every day. :)

Sheila