Editing Mutiny on the Bounty (section)

== Cultural impact ==
===Biographies and history===
Bligh published his journal several months after his return to [[London]]. Titled ''Narrative of the Mutiny on the Bounty'', it was a [[bestseller]].{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=146}} He published an expanded account, ''A Voyage to the South Sea'', in 1792. Bligh's narrative called the voyage one of "uninterrupted prosperity," and made no mention of personal differences with the crew.{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=203}} The journal was heavily edited by [[Joseph Banks]], who told Bligh: "We shall abridge considerably what you wrote ... to satisfy the public and place you in such a point of view as they shall approve."{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=205}}

Bligh's narrative was unchallenged until the court-martial of the captured ''Bounty'' crewmembers in September 1792. In their testimony, the crew alleged that Bligh had cut their rations and Christian had been "in hell" due to his frequent quarrels with the captain.{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=200}} By contrast, Bligh's journal had claimed that he and Christian were on friendly terms and he believed the lure of Tahiti had caused the mutiny.

The perception of Bligh as an overbearing tyrant began with Edward Christian's ''Appendix'' of 1794.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|pp=343–344}} The ''Appendix'' was based on interviews with Fryer, Hayward, Purcell, John Smith, Heywood, Muspratt and Morrison. It argued that the day before the mutiny, Bligh had accused Christian of stealing his coconuts and reduced the crew's yam ration to three quarters of a pound as punishment.{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=202}} This left the crew "greatly discontented ... and their discontent was increased from the consideration that they had plenty of provisions on board, and the captain was his own purser".{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=202}} As purser, it was in Bligh's interest to be frugal so that he could supplement his salary by selling back surplus provisions on his return.{{sfn|Christian|2021|p=91}}

Apart from Bligh's journal, the first published account of the mutiny was that of [[Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet|Sir John Barrow]], published in 1831. Barrow was a friend of the Heywood family; his book mitigated Heywood's role while emphasising Bligh's severity.{{sfn|Alexander|2003|pp=401–402}} The book also instigated the legend that Christian had not died on Pitcairn, but had somehow returned to England and been recognised by Heywood in Plymouth, around 1808–1809.{{sfn|Barrow|1831|pp=309–310}} An account written in 1870 by Heywood's stepdaughter Diana Belcher further exonerated Heywood and Christian and, according to Bligh biographer Caroline Alexander, "cemented ... many falsehoods that had insinuated their way into the narrative".{{sfn|Alexander|2003|pp=401–402}}

Among historians' attempts to portray Bligh more sympathetically are those of Richard Hough (1972) and Caroline Alexander (2003). Hough depicts "an unsurpassed foul-weather commander ... I would go through hell and high water with him, but not for one day in the same ship on a calm sea".{{sfn|Hough|1972|pp=302–303}} Alexander presents Bligh as over-anxious, solicitous of his crew's well-being, and utterly devoted to his task. However, Bligh's reputation as the archetypal bad commander remains: ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''{{'s}} reviewer of Alexander's book wrote "poetry routed science and it has held the field ever since".{{sfn|Lewis|2003}} 

===In film and theatre===
[[File:Poster - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935).jpg|thumb|A promotional poster for the 1935 film [[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|''Mutiny on the Bounty'']] starring [[Charles Laughton]] as Bligh and [[Clark Gable]] as Christian]]

In addition to books and poems, five feature films have been made on the mutiny. The first was a [[The Mutiny of the Bounty|1916 silent Australian film]], subsequently [[lost film|lost]].{{sfn|Dening|1992|p=344}} The second, also from Australia, titled ''[[In the Wake of the Bounty]]'' (1933), was the screen debut of [[Errol Flynn]], in the role of Christian.{{sfn|Dening|1992|p=344}} The impact of this film was overshadowed by that of the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] version, [[Mutiny on the Bounty (1935 film)|''Mutiny on the Bounty'']] (1935), based on the popular [[Mutiny on the Bounty (novel)|namesake novel]] by [[Charles Nordhoff]] and [[James Norman Hall]], and starring [[Charles Laughton]] and [[Clark Gable]] as Bligh and Christian, respectively. The film's story was presented, says Dening, as "the classic conflict between tyranny and a just cause";{{sfn|Dening|1992|p=346}} Laughton's portrayal became in the public mind the definitive Bligh, "a byword for sadistic tyranny".{{sfn|Lewis|2003}} The film, [[Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)|''Mutiny on the Bounty'']] (1962) with [[Trevor Howard]] and [[Marlon Brando]], largely perpetuates this image of Bligh and that of Christian as tragic hero. ''[[The Bounty (1984 film)|The Bounty]]'' (1984) with [[Anthony Hopkins]] and [[Mel Gibson]], attempts a nonjudgmental portrayal of Bligh and a less sympathetic image of Christian.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} 

In 1998, in advance of a [[BBC]] documentary film aimed at Bligh's rehabilitation, the respective descendants of Bligh and Christian feuded over their contrary versions of the truth. [[Dea Birkett]], the programme's presenter, suggested that "Christian versus Bligh has come to represent rebellion versus authoritarianism, a life constrained versus a life of freedom, sexual repression versus sexual licence."{{sfn|Minogue|1998}} In 2017, [[Channel 4]] undertook a recreating of the voyage of Bligh featuring the former soldier [[Ant Middleton]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/mutiny |title=Mutiny |website=[[Channel 4]] |access-date=28 April 2020 |archive-date=24 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424192456/https://www.channel4.com/programmes/mutiny |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A musical ''Mutiny!'' played at the [[Piccadilly Theatre]] in [[London]]'s [[West End theatre|West End]] for sixteen months from 1985.{{sfn|Mutiny! (Essex)}} It was co-written by [[David Essex]] based on the novel ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' and starred Essex as Christian. [[Morecambe and Wise]] produced a spoof "play what Ernie wrote" called ''Monty on the Bonty'', starring [[Arthur Lowe]] as Bligh.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/morecambe_wise/intro.shtml|title = BBC – Cult – Classic TV – Morecambe and Wise}}</ref>

=== Museums ===
Both [[Pitcairn Island Museum]] and [[Bounty Museum]] on [[Norfolk Island]] use objects and memorabilia to interpret the history of the mutineers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bounty Folk Museum {{!}} History & Culture {{!}} Norfolk Island |url=https://www.norfolkisland.com.au/experiences/history-culture/bounty-folk-museum#:~:text=The%20Bounty%20Folk%20Museum%20tells,of%20artefacts%20to%20pore%20over. |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=www.norfolkisland.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Henry |date=2010 |title=Brushing up on Mutineers: Music with Art at Fletcher's Mutiny Cyclorama, Norfolk Island |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41818611 |journal=Music in Art |volume=35 |issue=1/2 |pages=119–132 |jstor=41818611 |issn=1522-7464}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Holly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnRASpkvQxMC&dq=bounty+folk+museum&pg=PT42 |title=Sydney & Australia's New South Wales |date=2011-04-15 |publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc |isbn=978-1-58843-775-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Planet |first=Lonely |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBYsDQAAQBAJ&dq=Pitcairn+Island+Museum&pg=PT314 |title=The Travel Book: A Journey Through Every Country in the World |date=2016-10-01 |publisher=Lonely Planet |isbn=978-1-78657-398-8 |language=en}}</ref>