Our Flag Means Death vs. Black Sails: Which Is More Historically Accurate?
How do the pirate series Our Flag Means Death and Black Sails compare in terms of historical authenticity? While both shows take great liberties in their portrayals of the past, there are also many elements of truth to their stories of swashbuckling, colonialism, and rebellion. Though Our Flag Means Death and Black Sails are very different shows in many ways, the fight for freedom from oppressive sociopolitical systems is the beating heart of both of them. They play into centuries of romanticized cultural fascination with pirates, much of which stems from a relatable yearning for a life outside of the established order of things. Pirates have long represented nonconformity and freedom in its purest form — a tradition that is upheld and updated through a modern lens in Our Flag Means Death and Black Sails.
Starring Thor: Ragnarokdirector Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby as the legendary pirates Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, HBO Max's Our Flag Means Death brings a deliberately anachronistic and comedic tone to the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean. While it doesn't shy away from showing the more gruesome aspects of life aboard a ship in the 18th century, Our Flag Means Death takes a largely romantic perspective on piracy that fits the idealism, curiosity, and longing of its main character, Stede Bonnet. Because of this, however, its historical accuracy is often questionable, or even intentionally farcical.
Related: Blackbeard's No Kill Rule In Our Flag Means Death Might've Been Real
Starz's Black Sails takes a much grittier approach to life on the high seas, which is more accurate in some ways and less in others. As a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel Treasure Island, Black Sails combines fact and fiction in
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