Stolen Seas Analysis

Throughout the many ages, pirates have always been a center of fascination. Depicted as swashbuckling, carefree, and charismatic individuals, pirates have inspired many children to one day become pirates themselves. However, this depiction of pirates is far from how legitimate pirates are. Genuine pirates are not swashbuckling, carefree, nor charismatic, but, are more of an individual who “disrupts” the ocean, thereby being labeled as a criminal. In the documentary, Stolen Seas, directed by Thymaya Payne, he disillusions the whole romantic perception of pirates and portrays how difficult and lawless they really are. In November 2008, Somali pirates hijacked a ship named CEC Future, where they held the 13-member crew as hostages. This event …show more content…
In Stolen Seas, Payne demonstrates who and what pirates really are by supplying reasons from actual pirates and reasons from the Clipper Group, along with other specialists. Throughout the documentary, Ali was the representative for the pirates and stated his reasons for joining piracy and how the pirates came to be. As stated earlier, Somalia has been a warped country, having traditions of war and resorting to piracy. Because of this, Ali joined the pirates in order to earn money and provide his son with a future. However, the Clipper Group believed all pirates to be corrupt and their actions to be immoral. Ali, understanding both the Americans’ side and the pirates’ side, clarifies that “In the west, they see these people as evil people. They are villains, they are thieves. But Somalia, they don't see them as evil people. The Somalis see them as heroes.” This relates to the end of the film where it was stated that if Americans, with their warship, disrupt the seas, they are seen and welcomed as heroes, however, if another country with a small boat disrupts the sea, they are a criminal. These contrasting yet similar analogies embody Somalia and America respectively, displaying how both countries, see one another and providing the basis of the information given. Although both sides of the argument are given, Payne seemed to be more bias towards the pirates as they had more of a backstory. This relates to pathos being the primary mode of appeal towards the audience. Ali, being considered as a pirate by the Clipper Group and also considered as the “14th” hostage among the pirates, shares his story of how it was like working for the pirates and providing information on why pirates came to be. Shown and stated multiple times in the documentary, Somalia is suffering because of famine and toxic wastes being dumped near its coast from Europe. Consequently, Somalis being fishermen, could