Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Is Disney's Pocahontas Realistic or Romanticised?

The Disney movie Pocahontas tells the story of the daughter of a Native American chieftain who fell in love with an English colonist, John Smith, and eventually ended the conflict between the settlers and her tribe by saving Smith's life.  This movie is based upon real people and real events, but is all of it really true?


In fact, this movie has many historical inaccuracies (which is not entirely surprising, considering Disney's habit of doing extensive research and then apparently forgetting most of it in the making of the movie).  The whole story may well have been fabricated by John Smith, as he published two very different accounts of his captivity.  The first one included no indications of cruelty, but the second may have been embellished.  The second account was the one that told the story of Smith's being saved by Pocahontas.  It also assumes that they all can communicate perfectly well, which was probably not the case.


Portrait of Pocahontas
Several of the characters, even, were historically inaccurate.  Pocahontas wasn't even her real name: it was just a nickname, her real name being Matoaka.  She later married another colonist, John Rolfe and changed her name to Rebecca Rolfe.  Also, when John Smith and his crew landed in Virginia, Pocahontas was about 11 years old.  She is depicted in the film as being much older than this.  Also, villain John Ratcliffe (yet another John) is shown as being the founder of Jamestown.  He was the captain of The Discovery, but he wasn't Jamestown's first governor.


Many historical inaccuracies aside, Pocahontas contained many gender and racial stereotypes, and is also a prime example of the romanticization of the Native Americans.


Pocahontas is supposed to show the story of a daring young heroine who risks her life to save her love.  However, this in itself is damaging and essentially says that Pocahontas has nothing more important in her life than her male relationships.  Also, at one point, Ratcliffe is resentful because Pocahontas ended the conflict and his chance to get the natives out of Jamestown, attempts to shoot the chief, but John Smith takes the bullet for him.  This may have been meant to show the strength of the new alliance between the Native Americans and the settlers, but what it does more is to shift the focus of the movie from the heroine Pocahontas to the tragic, typical male hero, Smith.


 Pocahontas' physical appearance is also considered by some to be a gender stereotype.  She has very Asian facial features, but her body type is quite Caucasian.  Some consider this to depict her as an idealistic, stereotypical "exotic beauty," while not necessarily looking much like a Native American.
Pocahontas, 1995.

In the beginning of the movie, Pocahontas is betrothed to Kocoum, a warrior of her own tribe.  However, John Smith eventuallly wins out romantically over Kocoum, which some argue symbolizes white supremacy and Eastern victory over the West.

There is one song, "Savages," in the movie that has been heavily criticised, saying it is blatantly racist.  While the lyrics are, in fact, blatantly racist ("Their whole disgusting race is like a curse... They're only good when dead... Barely even human, savages! etc.), I think they were meant to try and show the settlers' attitudes towards - and ignorance of - Native Americans, while not expressing Disney's own views.  It apparently didn't come across this way to critics, though.


Pocahontas, 1995.
This film also places emphasis on the romanticization of the Native Americans as the tragic victims of colonization, though it does have some aspects of Indians' actual involvement in history as opposed to simply being victims of it (though most of these may not have been historically acccurate).  Pocahontas and John Smith's whole relationship was highly romanticised, as historically, there is no evidence of any romance between them.  The song "Colors of the Wind" romanticises Native Americans' respect and caring for the land, though parts of it are probably true.



                                 "You can own the Earth and still
                                      all you'll own is earth until
                                     you can paint with all the colors of the wind."
                                                                                                                      -Alan Menken, "Colors of the Wind"

 Alan Menken's "Colors of the Wind", Pocahontas 1995.



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8 comments:

  1. Julia HandDecember 12, 2013 at 9:00 AM

    I really liked the way you made a very modern connection with Jamestown to Pocahontas. It really fit with exactly what we are doing in class. The pictures really help you follow the story and make it easier to understand. All of the information you provided was accurate and it was very interesting to read about. I wonder why the creators of Disney chose to change the truth of history so much?

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  2. Chris MDecember 12, 2013 at 11:55 AM

    Nice job. As young kids we do tend to believe that everything on TV and in movies is real. I had no idea that Pocahontas wasn't her real name. Thanks for mentioning her real name being Matoaka. I agree that the movie depicts her much older than she really was at the time. Your post was very interesting, and fun to read. Thanks for posting.

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  3. UnknownDecember 12, 2013 at 1:37 PM

    I loved this post! I have seen this movie many times and have always wondered if it was a true story and you have finally answered my question. You did a fantastic job comparing it to the ideas we have been talking about in class. I enjoyed all the pictures and video at the end it made it very enjoyable to read. Lastly I liked how you explained the false impressions that Disney left, it was very interesting. I wonder why Disney created such a incorrect movie. Always great job, I loved the topic!

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  4. UnknownDecember 15, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    I really liked this post. In fourth grade we had to dress up as a famous historical person and I chose Pocahontas. Then I didn't even realize how most of the information in the movie isn't even the real facts. I would just like you to know that one of your pictures didn't show up. But, anyways I really liked how you were comparing the actual fact of Pocahontas with the movie. When I saw that you were writing about Pocahontas I just had to read it. Great Job!

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  5. UnknownDecember 15, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    I really like how you included a lot of information! It was really interesting to hear all of the misconceptions surrounding Pocahontas, including her name! The pictures helped explain the blog post. The title intrigued me and made me want to read more! Great job!

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  6. Katherine SquiresDecember 15, 2013 at 8:15 PM

    After Ms.Gleason mentioned this blog post to our class I was really excited to check it out. I thought it was a nice idea to connect history class to a Disney movie that tons of people have seen, as it would be easy to understand. Upon reading it I was very much impressed. I really liked your tie ins about gender stereotypes, and it actually made me mad that Disney didn't portray the truth about Pocahontas...or should I say Matoaka. Although it got a tad lengthy, all the colorful pictures and video clips helped to keep me engaged! Overall, good job!

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  7. UnknownDecember 16, 2013 at 4:54 PM

    I agree with you that the tale of Pocahontas was romanticized for the Disney screen, and have heard before about the many historical inaccuracies in the movie's plot. In second grade I made a poster about Pocahontas, and was surprised to find that most of the things that I had believed about her story were not at all true. Your post pointed out some new problems with the movie that I had yet to consider in the second grade. The gender stereotypes are quite frustrating to me, especially the scene where John Smith is portrayed as a hero in a completely fabricated scene. Pocahontas should be the hero! She's the one who saved his life and the entire colony of Jamestown, which as we've learned in class would have perished without him. It's also news to me that she was only 11 when this encounter happened, casting more doubt on the idea that she saved Smith because she was in love with him. There are many reasons that she could have done so, one possibility being that she was intrigued with this new race of people and wanted to learn more about them, as later evidenced by her trips to England. I agree that Disney needs to quit making fairytales out of historical events, as it puts false facts into the heads of everyone that watches them.

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  8. UnknownJanuary 12, 2014 at 5:10 PM

    This is an incredibly well written article. This movie, despite criticism, was and still is incredibly popular. If I were to ask somebody to describe Pocahontas to me or explain her story, nine of ten times the person would tell me that she was tall and beautiful as well as a savior who rescued some British man who they cannot remember. I believe this movie had several negative effects on the general public and I think it is right that people criticized it. The very fact that Pocahontas spoke with "Mother Willow," who was just a magic old tree reinforced negative stereotypes such as Native Americans "primitive" ways and beliefs.

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