I’ve had so many completely amorphous, disorganised thoughts about Billy recently. He had two pivotal moments in his life that defined him going forward, both involving the choice to engage in acts of violent revenge. The first leads him to believe he’s unredeemable in his father’s eyes, yet he never seems to contemplate how his outrage at the lack of loyalty and respect he receives when plying his father’s trade might make him more of a disappointment as a son than murder. It makes me wonder if Billy was every moral—if he ever truly cared about fighting imperialism—or if he was more driven by anger over being denied personal respect. On one hand, he does make lots of comments about his brothers and communal safety, but then he abandons those ideals as soon as they community fails to respect his choices. This certainly jives well with the Billy we see in Treasure Island, as a bitter drunkard revelling in his past glory, though the novel also implies that Billy has been rolling with Silver and co. for years—until stealing map after Savannah, which is hard to picture given what happens between Billy, Silver, and Madi.
I don’t know, none of these observations have a point, it’s just been sticking with me a lot lately.
#i don’t *like* Billy but he’s a really interesting character#and maybe it’s because I was spoiled about a lot of things#but even in the beginning i never read Billy as the pure cinnamon roll a lot of people apparently did#and it’s interesting that he was ok with flint’s plan when it involved sacking cities#but balked when it became about a broader and more inclusive freedom#he was always mistrustful of the maroons#and i feel like#maybe because he was so young when he was taken from his parents#he was never genuinely able to understand what sort of ideals they would have actually stood for#and he has such a rigid and black and white sense of morality#that it makes sense that he eventually turned on everyone because nobody is going to be able to remain in the ‘good’ category forever#so they all become enemies to him#i’m just rambling at this point#but he really is actually a very interesting character (via @pirateshelly)
Tag: very true
One of the the craziest things about “The Hobbit” film trilogy is the fact that like in many mainstream films, the concept of “home” is romanticized, and yet unlike many mainstream films, the reality of “home” is shown to be incredibly toxic.
Both Thorin and Bilbo glorify their homes in their minds, yet in both cases when they actually reach the home they’ve been dreaming about, they find them to be empty, desolate, and nightmarish. Their homes literally trap them in a downward spiral of corruption and bring them into proximity with evil objects of gold that subvert their inherent personalities and goodness as people. Their homes destroy them.
This is still wild to me. Sure there’s other, more artistic films that will deal with the idea of “home” being a toxic rather than a healthy place. But it is unusual to see the reality of their homes vs. the narrative about their homes that the characters believe to be true running so contradictory to one another in a film that isn’t otherwise too concerned with being intellectual. Even the books don’t focus on this message to that extent. Whereas in the films, there is a central theme that the idea of “home” as a fixation on a place is less healthy for us than the actions we take, and the people we choose to be with.
And that is quite bold and unusual.
Meg's Mumbles 