Is Pocahontas Historically Accurate

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

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.

According to the American Historical Association, “When asked about their intense reaction to the film, some described feeling as though they had just experienced slavery. The movie felt believable, they reported, due not only to the caption indicating its basis in fact, but because the setting and characters looked authentic” (Toplin, 1). That just goes to show how historically accurate the makers of the film were going for to show just how bad slavery really was, even if it repulses people. There are historians out there who on the record confirmed the historical accuracy of 12 Years a Slave. “At least two historians, Sue Eakin, and Joseph Logsdon, have confirmed that Northup presented a remarkably accurate picture of antebellum slavery and plantation society near the Red River in Louisiana” (Toplin, 1). For historians to say that the film is “remarkably accurate” shows the seriousness those involved went to, to ensure the historical accuracy

The new world was accurate for the most part, but there were few inaccuracies that occurred during the movie. For one, it is not historically proven that the relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith was a romance relationship, as portrayed in the movie. In The New World, Smith leaves Jamestown because of orders from the king, when in reality it has been proven he left Jamestown in 1609 because of a wounded knee when his powder horn exploded. In the movie Pocahontas is shown being given over to the settlers, this is inaccurate because Pocahontas was kidnapped

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.

In reality it is roughly based on historical truths and not entirely factual. There is a clear difference and it is often lost in the cinematic glamour of a great story. “The New World” is no exception and has clearly created a loosely fact based adaptation of the story of John Smith and Pocahontas. In summary fact based period films by Hollywood can easily mislead people into believing anything when it is based on facts. Moreover, the reason the “The New World” took this approach was simply to make the movie more appealing to the

From the beginning of the movie, the representation of 16th century London and Virginia shows a very obvious contrast. In the movie, the streets of London were filled with houses and architectures and people are dressed in sophisticated clothing. However on the other hand, Virginia where the Powhatan tribe lived was portrayed as being uncultured forest-dwellers who wears

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.

[4] Disney even goes on further to suggest that their intentions have a modern relevance when they say that “It is an important message to a generation to stop fighting, stop killing each other because of the color of your skin” (Pocahontas 37). It is quite clear that Disney never intended to write or rewrite history, as they have been so viciously attacked for doing. They are writing about tolerance and understanding, while at the same time they are giving back some respect to the indigenous people of America. James Pentecost, the producer of the film, feels that “moviemakers shouldn’t be handcuffed when using real stories as jumping-off places for works of entertainment” (Kim 24). Disney simply liked the idea of Pocahontas; they liked the message that it conveyed, and they made it applicable to Hollywood.

Implicit ideologies are seen in film dialogue, music, and content. Through a deeper level of interpretation, viewers can understand what is implicitly implied through a films messaging. Pocahontas, a classic Disney movie, is based on a legend that surrounds a Native American woman. Pocahontas reinforces the normative ideologies of interracial relationships, the misinterpretation of Native Americans, and gender stereotypes in an effort to appeal to children of all ages and teach them morals.

The movie Pocahontas was released by Disney in 1995, and its sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World three years later. Together the movies depict, to a certain extent, the story of Native American “princess”, Pocahontas. I will watch both movies in their entirety, paying close attention to detail, and take note of how exactly the story is portrayed. Afterwards, I will research as much as I can about Pocahontas and compare it to what is presented in the Disney film. I will then asses why I think, exactly, the filmmakers left out or changed what they did.

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.

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

In Camilla Townsend’s book, Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma, Townsend points out that there are many historical inaccuracies and myths that are associated with the story of Pocahontas. Using historical evidence to support the story of Pocahontas, Townsend attempted to create an accurate timeline bringing the past to the present. At the same time, the Disney film Pocahontas attempted to depict Algonquian culture accurately, however, according to history, much of the material presented in the film is full of misconceptions and is historically imprecise. In fact, Disney’s Pocahontas epitomizes John Smith and