My idea for screenwriters: "The Wire" with pirates.

Exhibit A. Pirates are awesome.
Exhibit B. No onscreen depiction has done them justice, that I've seen.

Why can't we have a movie or a TV series about pirates that shows the same attention to detail and storytelling and realism as The Wire? (Maybe Deadwood is a closer analog, but I haven't watched it yet) Pirates have become too jolly and mischievous in our culture; I want to see something that makes me at least a little bit scared of them. Parellels abound: their specialized argot; the intricate connections to world commerce and politics; the way piracy became a whole shadow industry and how people were drawn into it. The tricks of their trade, and the endless chase by the authorities.

I thought of this after reading in Waterfront by Philip Lopate that there were quite a few pirates in New York in the late 1600s. He talks about William Kidd, who had a house on Pearl Street, was hired to catch pirates because of his experience as a privateer, then went back to being a pirate after sailing to Madagascar and not finding any to catch. (He claimed he was forced into it by his crew.) And several other nuggets that could be fodder: "There was such a thing as 'officially sanctioned piracy,' in which private merchants and governments subsidized buccaneering ventures." "The oyster cellars of old, where New Yorkers once guzzled oysters as their birthright." The rough democracy of pirate ships contrasted with abusive, authoritarian captains on legitimate ones. And the seedy waterfront areas.

Then you've got the modern relevance: pirates are somehow still confounding empires off the coast of Somalia. And it's a form of asymmetric warfare, like terrorism.

If someone doesn't write this, I will, and I don't think anyone wants that. Also, if anyone knows of a good pirate show or movie that I've missed, or books that would provide more in depth source material, please let me know.