Having just watched the end of PotC : At World's End and it struck me that the final scene in which the East India Trading Co. flagship, the Endeavour, is destroyed by a motley fleet of rag tag ships is in fact a metaphor, or even paean, to the fall of British imperialism.
You need only look at what each side represents to see the parallels. The EITC, obviously, represents the majesty of British colonisation. Civilized, erudite and law abiding Beckett tries to bring order to the seas, at any cost.
The pirates and zombies allayed against them represent the native populations, lawless, savage, and only concerned with causing havoc. When the zombie thralls, united by a strong leader, band together with the rebellious pirates. The indecision of Beckett (the Raj, etc) allows their unruly mob to bring down the flagship.
It is no co-incidence that after the sinking the camera pans to various pirate nations, French, Asian etc., who will be able to ply their trade preying on the innocent in the aftermath of the ETIC's destruction.
I'll conclude by saying I always shed a tear at the end of this film. It's not at the maudlin scenes with Will and Elizabeth.
It's at the calm, resigned way Beckett strolls down the bridge of his ship, committed, like the British, to go down with his command. He knows that after him the rain will fall. It is as he says, "Just good business."
You need only look at what each side represents to see the parallels. The EITC, obviously, represents the majesty of British colonisation. Civilized, erudite and law abiding Beckett tries to bring order to the seas, at any cost.
The pirates and zombies allayed against them represent the native populations, lawless, savage, and only concerned with causing havoc. When the zombie thralls, united by a strong leader, band together with the rebellious pirates. The indecision of Beckett (the Raj, etc) allows their unruly mob to bring down the flagship.
It is no co-incidence that after the sinking the camera pans to various pirate nations, French, Asian etc., who will be able to ply their trade preying on the innocent in the aftermath of the ETIC's destruction.
I'll conclude by saying I always shed a tear at the end of this film. It's not at the maudlin scenes with Will and Elizabeth.
It's at the calm, resigned way Beckett strolls down the bridge of his ship, committed, like the British, to go down with his command. He knows that after him the rain will fall. It is as he says, "Just good business."