History Main / ADisgraceToBlackbeard

[[quoteright:350:[[TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tla-pirates.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[- What [[IncrediblyLamePun ARRRRRRRRRR]] they, hijackers?-] ]]

->''"Those guys were ''pirates?'' Admit it, you chased [[APirate400YearsTooLate much cooler pirates]] when you were on our team."''
-->-- '''Hank Venture,''' ''TheVentureBrothers''

TruthInTelevision: Pirates, or more politically correctly, maritime terrorists, still roam the waters today (mostly in regions of high political instability or weak military resolve to stop them, such as UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}}, West Africa and the Straits of Malacca). This trope is about them.

Unlike their [[{{Pirates}} fictional counterparts]], there is nothing romantic about these modern-day pirates. They tend to be completely ruthless, cold-blooded killers, devoid of honour and willing to stoop to any crime. {{Sociopathic Soldier}}s on the high seas. Bonus points if characters express disappointment at these pirates' failure to shiver timbers.

Then again, this characterization is exactly how pirates were viewed during the Golden Age of Piracy and many of them lived up to (or down to) this reputation. [[NostalgiaFilter Perhaps 400 years from now, Somalian pirates will be viewed as romantic rogues.]] Also in the defense of modern piracy methods, the entire venture cannot work without at least some decent degree of stealth, i.e. independence from worldwide law enforcement. The use of vessels like Blackbeard's ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' or Bartholomew Roberts' ("Black Bart's") ''Royal Fortune'' would be easily visible by satellite imagery, and even if a modern pirate could take control of a hyper-fast and -powerful ship on the order of a US Navy destroyer, most every nation in the world would almost certainly launch immediate near-limitless-resource missions to hunt down and destroy it. That's on top of the fact that operating a modern warship requires resources far beyond what it took to run an effective pirate ship in the 18th century. In other words, piracy, like any other form of criminal enterprise, was forced to [[TechnologyMarchesOn change with the times]], or die.

Style is important, it seems: in terms of being romanticized, [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster Gangsters]] are the modern-day equivalent of 18th-century {{pirates}}, going on the high seas perhaps being seen as passe and hence not worth dressing up.

Malaysian and Indonesian pirates, on the other hand, live up to their reputation in creative ways that would make Type 1 pirates of yore proud. Instead of walking the plank, for instance, they like to leave crewmembers stranded in shallow water coral reefs 50 miles off the coast, where they have to stand on tip-toes waiting for a passing ship. This is to ensure you don't call for help while the ship is still in the vicinity. And that is if they don't [[LeaveNoSurvivors execute everyone on board]] -- whereas the Somalis make millions on ransom alone.

Related to RuthlessForeignGangsters.

May be SubmarinePirates.

For modern day pirates who still dress and act as if were the Golden Age of Piracy, see APirate400YearsTooLate.

See also SkyPirates and SpacePirates for specific types of modern-day/future pirates that still retain their romanticism.
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* The main characters of ''BlackLagoon'' are shown hijacking a ship after Rock first joins them. Since the group's normal vessel is a torpedo boat, one assumes they engage in piracy when their "delivery" business is poor.
** The characters are first seen robbing and kidnapping Rock. They were hired specifically to steal a disk by Hotel Moscow. Later, they were hired by someone else to hijack the ship. Basically, they commit whatever crimes they are hired to do (smuggling drugs, et cetera.) Luak and his men are also pirates before gettin wiped out by Revy.
* Mugen's old crew in ''SamuraiChamploo'' were 17th-century Japanese pirates, but they behaved like modern pirates (as real-life pirates always have).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* GreenArrow's origin (at least in some versions) involves modern-day pirates hijacking Oliver Queen's yacht and throwing him overboard.
* One of the many kinds of criminals that ThePunisher has fought. The River Rats from ''Punisher MAX'' series is a recent example.
* Members of GIJoe along with their Soviet counterparts, the Oktober Guard, are captured by river pirates in ''GIJoe Special Missions'' #4.
* Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} battles Somali pirates (with unexpected consequences) in ''BrightestDay'' #1.
* Since ThePhantom's origin involves pirates, he often fights the modern versions. In one DCComics story, the brutal thugs attacking a yacht are contrasted with a swashbuckling movie playing on the yacht's TV.
* Deathstroke and TheWarlord in ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}: Deathstroke and the Legend of the Ravager''. While Deathstroke is given a bit of a pass because of his noble intentions (he's only turned to piracy as a means to rescue his kidnapped daughter) the rest of his crew are portrayed as remorseless bloodthirsty criminals who just happen to be on a boat.
* Fathom clashes with modern day pirates off the coast of Florida in ''{{Fathom}}'' vol. 4, #1.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In ''LightAndDarkTheAdventuresOfDarkYagami'', Dark's boat is attacked by "moden pirates with guns and rockets and [[RippedFromTheHeadlines taking over oil tanks lick those guys on tv]]."
** Who inexplicably still [[TalkLikeAPirate talk like traditional fictional pirates.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* MadeForTVMovie ''Desperate Voyage''. A modern-day pirate hijacks private yachts, steals the valuables on board, and sends the passengers to the bottom of the ocean.
* ''Kidnapped in Paradise''. A woman is kidnapped (and her fiancee is killed) by modern day pirates.
* A major plot point in ''SixDaysSevenNights''.
* In ''{{Clear And Present Danger}}'', an act of piracy leads to an attempt by the U.S. government to systematically assasinate the leaders of drug cartels in revenge.
* ''CaptainRon'' features some real life ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean''. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Martin Short's incredulous, "Pirates? Of the Caribbean? Really?"
* In ''TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou'', Zissou's boat is attacked by pirates.
* The 1976 ExploitationFilm ''The Muthers'' features a band of female pirates who go undercover at a prison camp on a coffee plantation to rescue their leader's sister.
* In ''[[IndianaJones Raiders Of The Lost Ark]]'', the crew that are hired to transport Indy, his [[LoveInterest Dogone Partner]] and the Ark pretend to be these to try and prevent the two of them being captured by Nazis (claiming they killed Indy and planned to sell her into slavery). Interestingly it fails, [[EvenEvilHasStandards but not for the reasons you'd think]].
* ''Pirates of the [=XXth=] Century'', a 1979 Soviet adventure film about modern piracy.
* A group of modern day pirates run afoul of Tina in her introduction in the ''DOA: DeadOrAlive'' movie. And then have the misfortune to encounter the heroines when they are stranded at sea at the movie's end.
** And the head pirate is [[Film/MortalKombat Liu Kang]].
* {{Rambo}} has Burmese river pirates in the fourth movie.
* Somalian pirates get ass-whupped at the beginning of ''TheExpendables''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* The PeterBenchley [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_(1979_novel) novel]] ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_(1980_film) and later film]]) ''The Island''.
* The NUMASeries novel ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Vortex! Pacific Vortex]]'' features pirates using a modern legend as a cover for ship captures.
* Zoltan the Magyar and his crew from the YoungBond novel ''Blood Fever''.
* [[ConversationalTroping Mentioned]] in ''TheMysteriousBenedictSociety'' and the Perilous Journey. Cannonball, first officer on the cargo ship ''Shortcut'', explains that "modern day pirates don't fly the skull and crossbones," but definitely do exist and can be very dangerous.
* In ''AtlasShrugged'', Ragnar Danneskjöld is a Norwegian 20th Century ideological pirate, completely dedicated to promoting the ideology of Capitalism and unrestrained Free Market by force of arms on the high seas. Of course, AynRand [[AuthorTract portrays him as a hero]].
* From JamesLeeBurke's ''The Neon Rain'' (narrated by main character DaveRobicheaux):
-->Now these same bayous, canals, and marshlands where I had grown up were used by the Barataria pirates. But their namesakes, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Lafitte Jean Lafitte's]] collection of brigands and slavers, were romantic figures by comparison. The current group was made up of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin smugglers who would murder a whole family out on the Gulf simply for the one-time use of their boat, after which they'd open up the cocks and sink it. Occasionally the Coast Guard would find one half-filled with water and beached on a sandbar, the gunwales painted with blood.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* "Uh-oh, Chongo! It's ''Danger Island'', next!" on ''TheBananaSplits''. Featured Captain Mu-Tan and his rag-tag band of modern day pirates.
* ''CSIMiami'': A boat is suspected to have been hit by pirates, but careful investigation turns out that it was [[spoiler:a white supremacist militia group, and one of the crew was in on the attack]].
* The ''{{MacGyver}}'' episode "Pirates" had Mac clash with modern day pirates.
* Gavin gets rescued and then promptly BoundAndGagged by these in ''TheBrittasEmpire'', after being lost at sea on a potato-powered lilo. I'd ''like'' to say it makes sense in context.
* ''DeadliestWarrior'' had the Somali pirates do battle against the Medellin Drug Cartel.
* ''BurnNotice'' episode "Rough Seas" [[NotUsingTheZedWord never included the word "pirates"]], perhaps to avoid invoking this, but the bad guys ''were'' thieves operating on the water.
* The ''LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' two-parter "Loyalty" deals with Somali pirates.
* ''Series/TheATeam'' takes on river pirates in TheAmazon in the two-part episode "The Bend in the River".
* On ''ThirtyRock'' Cerie's wedding is delayed by several months because her fiancée is captured by Somali pirates. Due to StockholmSyndrome, some of them end up as groomsmen at the wedding.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w347Mv4vN3w "Somali Pirates Song"]] by MitchBenn is about this kind of pirate, and makes it very clear that they're not like [[APirate400YearsTooLate the other kind]] (while throwing a few 'Aharr's in for good measure).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* The ''TerryAndThePirates'' comic strip dealt with the pirates of the China Seas in the 1930s (modern day for the strip), the beginnings of modern day piracy.
* Pirates were a common foe in the early days of the ''JungleJim'' strip.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Religion]]
* The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which holds that the decrease in pirates leads to an increase in global warming, specifically says these pirates don't count.
** Some in the church do point out that Somalia has the most of these pirates and least greenhouse gasses. That's because without a real government to keep order and create a suitable climate for business (including investment in heavy industry), there is little heavy industry in Somalia, and not a lot of greenhouse gasses as a result. In other words, an increase in pirates ''does'' lead to a decrease in greenhouse gasses, but that's [[{{Your Mileage May Vary}} probably a case of the cure (piracy and anarchy) being worse than the disease (global warming)]]...
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The second area of operation in ''{{SOCOM}} III'' is in the Indian ocean, fighting against a group of pirates called the Fist and Fire.
* In ''[[UnchartedDrakesFortune Uncharted: Drake's Fortune]]'' All the enemies are modern pirates. Nathan even comments on how far they are from the idealized notion of old-timey pirates. "They don't take prisoners... well, not ''male'' prisoners."
* B. Jenet is the female leader of the Lilian Knights (a band of modern pirates) in the ''VideoGame/{{The King of Fighters}}'' universe. They use a nuclear-powered submarine rather than a galleon.
* The first mission of the computer game ''{{Comanche}} 4'' deals with the US army fighting the pirates of Indonesia.
* And ''DangerousWaters'' often has rogue, "pirate" elements in speedboats. Fortunately, they go down to gunfire quickly. Unfortunately, they tend to be mixed in with civilian fishermen and other vessels, making it difficult to identify them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Referenced in [[http://nonadventures.com/2009/04/18/all-for-nautical/ This]] ''TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella''.
* ''FullFrontalNerdity'': "[[http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ffn/index.php?date=2010-12-16 Somali Pirates of the Caribbean]]
* Also in [[http://www.thefreckledfinger.com/newest-cartoon/2011/3/1/030111-a-childs-disappointment.html this]] strip of ''TheFreckledFinger''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* [[http://www.weebls-stuff.com/songs/Somalia/ Where can you find pirates? Off the coast of Somalia!]]
* The ''ChaosTimeline'' has the modern Red Pirates of the Socialist Block, which rob ships of the capitalist nations. And also Nipponese terrorists doing this, who are even worse.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Trope name comes from Cartman's assessment of piracy in Somalia in the ''SouthPark'' episode "Fatbeard". However, the Somalian pirates are shown sympathetically to a degree, having resorted to piracy only because a CrapsackWorld forced them into it. And the Somalis ''do'' turn into the more romanticized brand of pirate for a time (complete with sea chantey sing-alongs), if only because (as Cartman points out) it's just much more fun that way.
* ''JonnyQuest'' TOS episode "Skull and Double Crossbones". Modern day pirates force the Quests to help them obtain sunken treasure.
* An episode of ''TheSimpsons'' had a lost-at-sea character being rescued by pirates, and thinking how awesome it was. We see their conversation subtitled as they cheerfully plan to sell him into slavery. Except that they were fisherman, and the saved him in a net moments from drowning.
** Played straight with the Pirates that attack Homer's "Party Boat".
-->'''Asian Pirate:''' Set a course for ''Hidden Pirate Island'', A.K.A '''Hong Kong!'''
* The PG-rated modern pirates Captain Barnibus Crab, Kim and Simon are the main bad guys in the third series of the ''FlipperAndLopaka'' animated series.
* {{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} clash with modern day pirates during TheTeaser of the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Clash of the Metal Men".
* One of the ''RupertBear'' cartoons featured river pirates, who show up in a later episode as members of a pirate retirement home, which had previously been inhabited solely by more [[APirate400YearsTooLate traditional]] pirates.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Recently published histories of the resurgence of modern piracy include ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Jolly-Roger-Uzi-Threat-Modern/dp/1557503281 Jolly Roger With An Uzi]]'', and ''[[http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Waters-Modern-Piracy-Terror/dp/0452284139 Dangerous Waters]]''.
* Historical pirate crews ''did'' operate according to rules set by the captain: John Phillips of the ''Revenge'', for example, decreed that any member of his crew who committed rape would be put to death. However, this was less because EvenEvilHasStandards and more because captains needed to maintain discipline among their crews.
[[/folder]]

----

Then again, this characterization is exactly how pirates were viewed during the Golden Age of Piracy and many of them lived up to (or down to) this reputation. [[NostalgiaFilter Perhaps 400 years from now, Somalian pirates will be viewed as romantic rogues.]] Also in the defense of modern piracy methods, the entire venture cannot work without at least some decent degree of stealth, i.e. independence from worldwide law enforcement. The use of vessels like Blackbeard's ''Queen Anne's Revenge'' or Bartholomew Roberts' ("Black Bart's") ''Royal Fortune'' would be easily visible by satellite imagery, and even if a modern pirate could take control of a hyper-fast and -powerful ship on the order of a US Navy destroyer, most every nation in the world would almost certainly launch immediate near-limitless-resource missions to hunt down and destroy it. In other words, piracy, like any other form of criminal enterprise, was forced to [[TechnologyMarchesOn change with the times]], or die.

* {{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} clash with modern day pirates during TheTeaser of the ''BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Clash of the Metal Men".

* Ragnar Danneskjöld is a Norwegian 20th Century ideological pirate, completely dedicated to promoting the ideology of Capitalism and unrestrained Free Market by force of arms on the high seas, in AynRand's ''AtlasShrugged''. Of course, Rand [[AuthorTract portrays him as a hero]].

* ''TheATeam'' takes on river pirates in TheAmazon in the two-part episode "The Bend in the River".