Davis, Krista2020-11-242020-11-242020Davis, Krista. “‘Arrrr! To Hell with Convention!’ Unpacking the Appeal of Pirates in Tampa’s Gasparilla Festival.” Royal Road, 2020. https://doi.org/10.48497/M9SC-3P78.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11868/1378Recommended Citation: Davis, Krista. “‘Arrrr! To Hell with Convention!’ Unpacking the Appeal of Pirates in Tampa’s Gasparilla Festival.” Royal Road, 2020. https://doi.org/10.48497/M9SC-3P78.Historically, pirates of the 17th and 18th century had a reputation for being ruthless plunderers and scheming villains. However, despite their barbarous history, pirates are often romanticized in current popular culture in films, books, and in Tampa’s Gasparilla festival. This romanticization of piracy allows society to forget the more accurate, brutal deeds of historical pirates in favor of a more light-hearted perception of them in popular culture, such as through the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. By examining the representation of pirates in film and in Gasparilla in relation to their historical counterparts, this essay explores how the idealized pirate has come to represent freedom and independence. Additionally, this essay argues that though the romanticization of pirates in film and festival provides a means of collective release from societal pressure, the historical reality of piracy should not be forgotten.en-USGasparilla festivalPiratesTampa Bay (Fla.)CarnivalesqueArticlehttps://doi.org/10.48497/m9sc-3p78