Six months ago,
Disney announced changes to the Disneyland Paris version of Pirates of the Caribbean, notably the alteration of the famous auction scene where the pirates are bidding on a buxom lady showing off her superstructure but really yearn for the flirtacious and possibly salacious redhead standing just after her. Disney also noted that these changes would be coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World in 2018, which touched off quite a stir over whether political correctness should influence revisionist history or alter rides designed from a different time with arguably harmless intentions.
Whatever your take on the issue, Pirates of the Caribbean will be going down soon (or already has as of today? I'm pre-scheduling these posts, so I don't actually know) to get its facelift. So here are some recent photos I took to commemorate the last time I expect to see this (in)famous scene in its original portrayal. (Of course, if I get back from my vacation, and the ride hasn't closed down yet, then nevermind!)
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| After the pirates have sacked the town, they round up all the women and auction them off to the highest bidder. |
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| One in particular attracts the fancy of most of the men. |
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| It is the famous Redhead, of course, and the pirates "wants" her. |
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| Some have argued that this portrayal is sexist and outdated, while others point out it was accurate to the time and accurate in its depiction of pirate life, which is not exactly the most savory lifestyle to begin with. |
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| Either way, this alluring wench will soon become a pirate in her own right. |
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| Will the new scene be well received or criticized? |
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| We shall see. Though I imagine that regardless of reaction, over time, it will become an accept part of the attraction and evolve into its own classic as well. |
The only problem I have with the new scene is that, as far as I know, pirates never held auctions. They either divided their loot equally or every pirate kept what they plundered. The new scene is still pirate-y though, with them forcing the citizens to give up their valuables, and it'll be cool to finally see the redhead and the buxom lady as pirates (I always assumed they wanted to join the crew by the way they acted). But anyway, great shots!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah, I suppose an amusement park attraction can never be perfectly accurate. Just seems a bit silly to change something that's been around for so long AND is so iconic, unless there really have been serious complaints and offense? I think there's a fine balance in the world of political correctness.
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