Why Did Disney Change The Facts About Pocahontas

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.

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

Another major difference between Disneys portrayal of Pocahontas and Townsend’s portrayal of Pocahontas is her decision to be baptized. Although it would have been seen as a betrayal to her tribe, Pocahontas chose to be baptized, with the consent of her father. Even though it was well known to Powhatan (Pocahontas’ father), that with his consent of Pocahontas’ baptism (now Rebecca), he would lose not his people’s respect, but as well as their trust, he

Sophie Gilbert says that the “environmentalist message” was powerful and unique. The facts, sadly, are not so positive. The movie would have still been great, even if names where changed, but would it still have appeal? Many people, children and adults alike, grow up thinking that they know the story of Pocahontas. A Powhatan Chief, Roy Crazy Horse, stated “It is unfortunate that this sad story, which Euro-Americans should find embarrassing, Disney makes ‘entertainment’ and perpetuates a dishonest and self-serving myth at the expense of the Powhatan Nation”, although creators of the movie may have thought that it would be harmless, people could still find offense to Pocahontas. James Allen, who knew the history of Matoaka, decided that “turning a story like that into something fluffy and “empowering” is just uncomfortable” and if the real history was ever made known among the public, people would most likely agree.

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

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.

Racism towards Native American tribes and individuals have been found throughout mainstream media. From nationally broadcasted sports games to popular Hollywood movies, Native Americans people have been stereotyped and/or culturally appropriated. Many examples of these stereotypes are blatant and have been portrayed for in the media for decades.

altered from the real version. Pocahontas was a nickname for “the naughty one” the girls real name in

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.

To begin, unlike Disney’s portrayal of what most people thought of as an epic romance of the ages, Pocahontas and John Smith were never intimate with each other. In addition, while being the

On the other hand, there are some parts of the movie “Pocahontas” that do not align with the reality of the Jamestown Colony. One historically

[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?

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.

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

John Smith was born in 1580, so he might have been a 27 year old blond and ruggedly handsome young man, but it is doubtful. But as for Pocahontas, she was born in 1595 and probably around the age of 11 or 12 when she first met John Smith in 1607. Pocahontas, when meeting John Smith, being such a small, young girl, not a woman, was not likely to have yet come into the womanly figure that the Walt Disney Company animated, if ever at all. Images of Pocahontas portray her as being shorter and plumper than the Barbie doll figure Disney gave her on screen. The clothing that Disney draws the characters wearing, especially Pocahontas, even rings of falsities because it was customary for them to have loose cloths draped over them. Pocahontas’ level of beauty is often questioned and really not known, but it is known that John Rolfe, not John Smith, fell madly in love with her, so there had to have been something beautiful about this Indian woman or “savage” as he called her when writing to ask permission to marry her.