January Meme: Storytellers and storytelling in Black Sails

„We’re all stories, in the end“, says not just River Song on Doctor Who but Captain Jack Rackham in Black Sails‘ final episode. Black Sails works on so many levels; one of them is a very meta meditation on storytelling and storytellers.

The show’s cast of characters is a mixture of characters derived from a literary classic, Treasure Island, characters based on historical figures (with considerable liberties taken), and characters invented for this particular show. While there is no fourth wall breaking as such, many of the characters are very much aware they’re part of a narrative; trying to control said narrative and/or trying at least to use it to their advantage is very much on top of many a character’s agenda.

( Who tells your story? )

The Other Days