Critical Analysis Of The Myth Of Pocahontas

Walt Disney’s film Pocahontas is not historically accurate, but there is value in creating cartoon interpretations of American history. As a child, cartoons are mostly important for your development, both physically and mentally. Fairy tales help children understand the complexity of life. These visions use various symbols to teach morals and cognitive skills. Walt’s film was based off the legends and folktales surrounding Pocahontas, it was not meant to be historical but to promote racial tolerance.

There are five sociological concepts I am going to explain. And I will be using scenes from the Disney movie Pocahontas as examples. The five are: norms, role conflict, values, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

John Smith surprised many by becoming a significant leader and a ray of sunshine in an otherwise increasingly desperate situation. He strategically involved the Indians in order to increase the chance of survival of the colonists. This strategy caused him to develop personal relationships with Indians; some good, some bad. Although captured and sentenced to death twice by Chief Powatan, he was saved by Powatan's daughter Pocahontas. Many historians however, believe that Pocahontas did not actually save John Smith; they believe he was mistaking an adoption ceremony for his execution. David Price writes that there is no way to describe what happened other than an impending execution. "Nothing is known about seventeenth-century Powhatan adoption ceremonies, nor is any other tribe in North America known to have had an adoption procedure comparable to what was undergone by Smith."(pg.243).Either way, the romance between Smith and Pocahontas emphasized in children's stories is seemingly impossible; Pocahontas would have been eleven years old upon acquaintance with John Smith. Pocahontas

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

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.

For this research paper, I am providing you with the history of the Cherokee Indians. I have Cherokee Indian in my blood. My father’s family is fully Cherokee Indian. Both my Mother and my Father resided in North Carolina. Except on my Mother’s side, she isn’t any Native American of any kind. I am doing my research paper on the Cherokee Indians because it always perks my interest in hearing about my ancestors and what they did.

The Jamestown landing in 1607 was the first English settlement to be established in North America. In the movie “The New World” Hollywood attempted to tell the story of the Jamestown settlement and the relationship between John Smith and Pocahontas. The movie’s portrayal of their relationship was one of two people falling in love. The historical facts of their relationship, however, paint a completely different picture. Hollywood failed to represent the truth and romanticized their relationship which was not one of love, but one of an acquaintance or friendship.

As young children we are often misled to believe that the stories and movies we are exposed to are presumably based on factual history, but are in reality myths, keeping the truthful, important, and fair facts hidden. Amonute is an accurate example of learning the real events that occurred in a person’s life while the typical myth of Pocahontas saved an Englishmen from being killed by her father. In the beginning of the book we are briefly introduced to Pocahontas, the Powhatan people and the English colonists. As the book continues we follow Pocahontas when she is kidnapped, her married life, and her trip to London where she got sick because of foreign illnesses and died. Camilla Townsends “Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma” wants Pocahontas’ true story to unfold because she is worthy of respect for her bravery and sacrifice and because “everyone subverted her life to satisfy their own needs to believe that the Indians loved and admired them” (Townsend, pg. xi). I also believe that the author was trying to argue that even though the Englishmen believed that the Native Americans were uncivilized and lived like savages, that instead they were wise people.

Pocahontas was born in 1595, with the given name of Matoaka and later got the nickname Pocahontas. She has been known as the favorite daughter of the powerful Powhatan Chief but she is also famous in history for contributing greatly toward the survival of the Jamestown colony. When the English colonists settled in Jamestown in 1607, there became tension between the Colonists and the Powhatan Indians. During the 1600s, the leader of the Colonists, Captain John Smith was caught by the Powhatan’s men. It has been said that Pocahontas saved Smith’s life and has had great influence on early relationships between the colonists and Indians. During Pocahontas’s life, she has faced many tragedies but triumphs have also played a role in her time.

Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma is a novel written by Camilla Townsend, which illustrates a well detailed perspective of the life of Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan. It is often shown that Pocahontas 's story is misinterpreted, as many analyses of this subject are conducted by the speculations of various historical writings. To record, there is no single document by Pocahontas herself, so it is left for historians to rely on other people 's perspectives of the time. With the idea that most sources of this period would have come from rich, white men, these ideas would ultimately be biased in their views. In my opinion, I believe that the thesis regarding this book was to illustrate the true telling of Pocahontas and the effect of the English on the Natives residing in America during the 17th century. Specifically, I chose to analyze Chapter 3: First Contact, as Townsend was able to shed light upon the mythical idea of Pocahontas and demonstrate the plethora of inaccurate ideas portrayed by the settlers on the Native American culture.

In Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, Camilla Townsend depicts the events that happened during the seventeenth century time period. The central focus point is veered around Pocahontas. The book is shown as a biography of her life and the horrific times she experienced. The author, Camilla Townsend, was born in New York City and currently a history professor at Rutgers University. She is the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Humanities Award.

[1] Disney’s Pocahontas has understandably received a lot of flak about the historically inaccurate story that is told about the legendary Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. There is a good reason for that. The movie does little that can be construed as historically accurate, yet Disney claims that was never their intent. Disney, in their previous movies, has been attacked for being racist and unsympathetic to racial minorities. Their answer was a movie whose sole purpose, as stated by Disney, was to promote racial tolerance. The question is, then can a movie promote racial tolerance when the issue is built on false history, history that if told accurately would depict the exact opposite?

Pocahontas was born in 1596, in Virginia, and her name was Amonute, but she is called by her nickname, Pocahontas. She was a Powhatan Native American woman. The name Pocahontas meant “playful one” because of the environment that she lives in. She is the daughter of Chief Powhatan, Wahunsenaca. She was her father’s favorite daughter. Like any other females, she have learned how to find food and firewood. She also need to prepare feasts for any celebrations and build houses. She needs to learn all of these jobs by when she becomes an adult woman.

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.

John Smith and Pocahontas did, in fact, meet and they did develop a kindly relationship. It is said that his love for her is what helped her negotiate the release of two Indian prisoners that John Smith had caught and he stated that “not only for feature, countenance, and proportion,” she “much exceeded any of the rest of Powhatan's people.” [4] It