The Mutiny Series
There is no way around the vilification of the pirate in modern storytelling. Known for raiding and looting in Hollywood depictions, this series celebrates a different perspective of the pirate and lionizes our freedom-loving, freedom- fighting ancestors who were determined to work against old-world monarchies’ oppressive and destructive ways. Pirates are individuals brave enough and bold enough to take on the establishment. And many pirates exist today in the form of great musicians and artists who honor their truth and refuse to compromise what they believe.
The Jolly Roger (skull & crossed bones)
“The skull and crossed bones does not just mean ‘we are bringing you death’; rather it announces ‘we are the dead.’ We, the shat-on, the abused, the flogged, the ones you treated as less than human, have escaped your power, have slipped away from the identity you foisted onto us. We, the ones who you took for dead, are returning as the dead – and thus free of all fear, free of all human labels or classifications or ranks. We might say that pirates did not raise the Jolly Roger as a symbol of violence, but rather as a declaration that no more violence could be done to them.”
- Brewin, Kester. Mutiny! Why We Love Pirates, And How They Can Save Us
Mutiny
“It was, in royal eyes, quite acceptable to plunder ships and steal their booty, as long as that was being done so for the furtherance of the empire, so long as riches were still being channelled back to the capital. Pirates were ‘the very negation of imperial social order’ precisely because to turn pirate they had raised two fingers at those who commanded them. It wasn’t their thievery that was so heinous, so unutterably villainous, but their self-determination and refusal to be governed.”
- Brewin, Kester. Mutiny! Why We Love Pirates, And How They Can Save Us
