What Is The Appeal of Captain Jack Sparrow?

It is safe to say that most movie goers have heard of Captain Jack Sparrow from the two Pirates of the Caribbean movies and the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie: Pirates of the Caribbean, At World’s End.

It is also safe to say that there is something appealing about Johnny Depp who plays Captain Jack Sparrow and the character itself that has struck a chord with people. All three movies were huge hits, Johnny Depp was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for the first Pirates movie and the name Captain Jack Sparrow is practically a household name and not to sound cheesy or anything but try saying his name and conjure up his likeness without smiling. (Go ahead, try).

Anyway so what is the appeal of Captain Jack Sparrow?

Well, this is what I have established from his character:

He walks (or saunters or swaggers) to the beat of his own drum.
He is elusive, never tells anyone what he is doing, what his intentions are, as well as never explains or defends what he is doing.
He thinks outside the box.
He uses creative solutions and problem solving in the moment.
He uses his intuition (after all in the first movie he found an island that can’t be found using a broken compass).
He is free and light on his feet.
Has a big picture plan but goes moment by moment.
He acts in self-interest and promotes self-interest (Remember the “Code”, if a pirate falls behind leave him there.)


With all these attributes he comes across to most people as elusive, shady and you don’t feel too comfortable at the thought of having him have your back – yet there is something so appealing and attractive about his character, so what could that be?

Well it may be our shadowside; you may have heard Carl Jung or Debbie Ford talk about Shadowsides. For the purposes of this article I will explain Shadowsides as the idea that there are all aspects and energies of people within ourselves There are sides of ourselves that are either not dominant or are repressed and/or there are aspects about ourselves that we think that we cannot love for many different reasons. It is called the Shadowside because it is our hidden side, and also because people are often repressing or denying an aspect of themselves that they see in others. They may also consider it a Shadowside because it appears to be dark or negative to them.

We often will draw in people, places and things into our lives so we can become aware, understand, accept, appreciate and even forgive that aspect of ourselves. There may also be aspects of ourselves that we need to draw out, balance or compliment, in doing so we return to remembering our wholeness.

In the case of Captain Jack Sparrow, the shadowside can be a representation of what our true self truly desires, but society and our own rules (just like the majority of the rest of the characters in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) are in judgment of.

Since society is so pro-group adhesion, that the thought of acting in self-interest seems scary as well as uncontrollable, or more specifically if you are acting in self-interest then you are uncontrollable. However, it is Jack Sparrow’s approach to life that is actually the highest and best way for a person to be a full expression of themselves and not a carbon copy of some collective group’s beliefs and agendas.

So the appeal is that if we weren’t so held down by society and our own rules and judgments we would all like to be like Captain Jack Sparrow and by falling in love with his endearing character is one step closer to being able to fall in love with our own true self.

Melody Chase is a Writer and Counsellor at the Centre for Life Management/ LMC Relationship Centre and Co-author of Love by Design. She can be reached by email at relationshipcentre@shaw.ca