Essay on Pocahontas

The Disney film Pocahontas can be viewed as a false portrayal of American history. Although it may have been made for entertainment purposes, Pocahontas is regarded to be a coming of age film for children due to its didacticism. The life lessons that one could possibly take away from the film are considerably positive, but the depiction of Native American and European cultures is deceitful. Most Disney films involve “epic romances,” in the case of Pocahontas one is not necessarily needed to convey the message of the film. Even though historical films cannot always be accurate to actual events, this film manages to stray away from the actual historical story of Pocahontas entirely. Due to this, children are presented with false information

All of this proves that Hollywood is not doing a good job in making up for the blatantly racist films of the twentieth century. Hollywood needs to do more to reverse the stereotypes of early film because such stereotypes are still seen today along with their respective repercussions.

It is said that there are many different versions to a story. There is one persons story, then there is an other person’s story, and then, there is the truth. “Our memories change each time they are recalled. What we recall is only a facsimile of things gone by.” Dobrin, Arthur. "Your Memory Isn't What You Think It Is." (online magazine). Psychology Today. July 16, 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/am-i-right/201307/your-memory-isnt-what-you-think-it-is. Every time a story is told, it changes. From Disney movies to books, to what we tell our friends and colleagues. Sometimes the different sides to the story challenge the

Disney has faced a large amount of criticism from critics over the tropes and stereotypes that it portrays in its animated films. This is not a recent event however. One of Disney’s most notorious and controversial films, Song of The South, was released in 1946. Song of the South, set during the Reconstruction Era, focuses on a young boy named Johnny who learns that his parents will being living apart for an unknown amount of time, moves to a plantation in Georgia, while his father continues to live in Atlanta. Depressed and confused over the recent events Johnny decides to run away to Atlanta, but is drawn to the voices of Uncle Remus, an ex-slave living on the plantation, telling stories of Br’er Rabbit. Although it is implied that the African American workers are no longer Johnny’s family property, the black characters are still wholly subservient and are happy to be so. James Baskett plays Uncle Remus as a blissfully, happy companion ready to please. Due to this “magical negro” trope, the characters’ ridiculously stereotypical voices, and the unrealistic happy and joyful relationship between the white landowners and their black help, Song of The South, is one of Disney’s most offensive, racist, and fictitious film. Disney’s portrayal of Uncle Remus is his veiled justification of the mistreatment that minorities received before and after the Reconstruction Era.

Many people believe the 1995 film, Pocahontas, to be the true story of a young Powhatan woman. However, the story lacks facts. Pocahontas isn’t even her real name. Matoaka, the real Pocahontas, faced mush more misery than the movie showed. Mataoka’s life in America, life in England, a comparison between the movie and real life, and how fictional portrayals of real people effect society today will show you that Disney’s inaccuracies could change history.

Pocahontas is a Walt Disney Pictures animation released in 1995 following the Disney Princess franchise. The movie is about Pocahontas, a native American lady whose home is invaded by Englishmen who wishes to exploit the land’s resources and to “civilize” the people living there. However, one of the Englishmen, John Smith, fell in love with Pocahontas. This essay studies the stereotypes of native American and them being essentialized in the media as being savages, sexism and also over romanticization, as represented in the movie.

Hollywood’s leading animation studio has had many instances of stereotyping and being racially insensitive. Two main examples of their racism towards Native American tribes have been Peter Pan and Pocahontas. In both instances, there have been controversial songs that have the Native Americans at the center. Both depict the stereotypes that are not necessarily true of the tribes.

John Smith's tales of the Indian princess, Pocahontas, have, over time, encouraged the evolution of a great American myth. According to this myth, which is common knowledge to most Americans, Pocahontas saved Smith from being killed by her father and his warriors and then fell in love with John Smith. Some versions of the myth popular among Americans include the marriage of Smith and Pocahontas. Although no one can be sure of exactly what happened almost four-hundred years ago, most historians agree that the myth is incorrect. Pocahontas did not save John Smith's life from "savages" and never showed any affection for him. The events of her life differ greatly from the myth Americans have created.

Now we will shift gears and look at the stereotypes and microaggressions that are in the Disney film Pocahontas. Son of the late Walt Disney, Roy Disney had the following to say regarding Pocahontas: “Pocahontas is a story that appealed to us because it was basically a story about people getting along together, which is particularly applicable to lots of places in the world today” (Amy, 55). Roy Disney’s comments are intriguing considering how offensive the film is to Native Americans, and how stereotypical and violent the film turned out to be. Allegedly the Disney production team intended to immerse themselves into the native World of Pocahontas’ and the culture for which she existed to get a better understanding of her lifestyle and to make the film as authentic as possible. They were said to have conducted historical research about Pocahontas and the time she lived (Amy, 53). Pocahontas is one of the few Disney films where the stereotypes are not hidden subtly in the storyline as microaggressions, but instead are set out front and center to grab the viewers’ attention, in a clear attempt to offend Native Americans.

The animated Walt Disney movie Pocahontas is based on a true life story of a young Powhatan Indian girl named Pocahontas who falls in love with John Smith. In the making of the movie, Walt Disney, attempts to relate to the early 17th Century historic event of Europeans settling in Jamestown; however, Disney did not portrait the true story. Disney rewrote the story by making it a beautifully romantic and animated love story like a Cinderella fairytale.

During the last several decades, the media has become a strong agent in directing and controlling social beliefs and behaviors. Children, by nature, can be particularly susceptible to the influencing powers of the media, opening an avenue where media created especially for children can indoctrinate entire generations. Disney movies, like all other media “are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,” such as racism. (Giroux 32). Racist scenes in Disney movies are often identified as simply being “symbols of the time” when the films were produced. Furthermore, Disney racism is often passed over as simple humor, or as a simple guide to

Back in 1995, as a 20 year old woman, I was, absolutely, still in love with everything Disney. I was still very much enamored with the romance and fairy tale aspects of all their stories and movies. So when the Walt Disney Company released the animated feature “Pocahontas” in the summer of my 20th year, I had to see it. At the time, I thought I had hit the jackpot with this movie. “An American legend comes to life” is the tagline to get viewers interested in this movie. [1] A heroin, whom was a beautiful Indian and a love story, who could ask for more from a Disney movie, I thought to myself. Now, being ignorant of the true facts about the Indian woman Pocahontas and even about Indian culture and history itself, I took this story more

[2] For films concerning slavery, the role of the filmmaker as educator is substantially heightened. All too often slavery films categorically vilify whites as oppressive forces, polarizing race and stereotyping the white

There are several critics towards Avatar which states that this movie contains racist themes in which the white hero once again saving the primitive natives. The editor in chief sci-fi magazines Jesse Washington writes that Avatar reminds her of Pocahontas story which also tells about how the main white characters realize that they are complicit in a system which is destroying aliens or people of color, and then go beyond assimilation and become leaders of the people they once oppressed.

Pocahontas and John Smith’s relationship really highlights the differences in culture in the film. John Smith, due to lack of exposure to Indian’s, truly believes that they are savages in comparison to the way the English live. Pocahontas and her tribe believe that the white men are savages in their own way, simply because they live and act in a different manner. When Pocahontas and John Smith teach each other the different greetings of their cultures, it is first exposed how different the two are. When John Smith and Pocahontas come together and fall in love, they have a few conversations that enlighten their lack of exposure to each others culture. John smith tells Pocahontas, “We've improved the lives of savages all over the world” and in