Pocahontas Research Paper

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.

Townsend examines the following months on the settling of the English, as well as Pocahontas’s kidnapping, to her imprisonment, down to her marriage to John Rolfe, her conversion to Christianity, and finally her death.

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.

Have you ever wondered why interpretations and perceptions of things change over time? It is because everyone has their own opinion and outlook on things, especially when it comes to the interpretation and perception of people and stories. While some of the opinions may be similar to one another, many of them are different. Upon reading Paula Gunn Allen’s “Pocahontas, To Her English Husband John Rolfe” and John Smith’s “The Generall Historie of Virginia”, The reader already had a perception of Pocahontas as it relates to how she looks, where she came from and her personality. After reading both of the works by Paula Gunn Allen and John Smith, although the physical similarities of Pocahontas are evident, within the texts there are differences as it relates to the representation of Pocahontas. Allen revises Smiths representation of Pocahontas through personality, romance and point of view.

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.

The New World is a 2006 historical drama set in the early 1600’s, as settlers come from Britain to begin exploring and colonizing the American continents. Written and directed by American director and writer, Terrence Malick, The New World depicts the foundation of Jamestown, the story of John Smith, and their relationships with Pocahontas. The film stars Collin Farrell as John Smith, Q'orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas, Christopher Plummer as Captain Newport, and Christian Bale as John Rolfe. Produced by Sarah Green, the film received strong positive reviews for its cinematography, score, and young 15 year old Q'orianka Kilcher’s performance as Pocahontas. (Boehm 1-5)

The effectiveness of media in perpetuating and maintaining racial definitions is apparent through the consistent presence of such ideas in popular films such as Disney’s Pocahontas (1995) and James Cameron’s Avatar (2009). Despite over a decade difference in release, there are similarities between the two in terms of the racial labels applied to Native Americans as a race and how they are portrayed as a result. The producers behind Pocahontas claimed that the film is much more than a love story and is about maintaining an open mind in order to appreciate different cultures. By creating an animated picture about a

The book is written in narrative flow and shows Pocahontas’s development from a little girl to a grown woman. The author is showing how big of an impact a woman made to her people and culture. Even at the age of nine she was a main concern of her people because her father was Powhatan, the paramount chief. At that time she experienced strangers who came to her father’s kingdom in big ships. As the story progresses, she is more and more as a greatly influential person. Townsend portrays that she is the one who saved John Smith’s life. She also explains who Kocoom is and his relationship ties to Pocahontas.

[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.

Apparently, Smith's ego prevents his General History from being a reliable source. This leads historians to question whether his captivity occurred at all. His egocentricity may be seen in the following passage from his General History:

By far the most questionable stereotype and misinterpretation in the film is the way Disney chose to portray Pocahontas, specifically her age, characteristics, and body image, which according to historical records and cultural belief, was completely inaccurate and therefor unauthentic. The article Using Critical Race Theory to Analyze How Disney Constructs Diversity, once again provides insight into the differences between the Disney film and the authentic native culture. It says, “When Compared to White Disney heroines, Pocahontas is portrayed as sexier, more sensual, and exotic, bare skin

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

Barnett explains, "a number of unlucky Pocahontas figures populate the frontier romance, saving white beloveds only at the cost of their own lives" (93). Fortunately, Pocahontas's life was spared despite her willingness to sacrifice, although her later affiliations with a white man and Europe led to her death from disease. The notion of females rescuing white men and assimilating with their culture have traditionally been connected, which resulted in greater Indian deaths due to their exposure to a foreign culture from which they had not yet learned to protect themselves.