Pocahontas: cultural references

Pocahontas: cultural references

The character of Pocahontas is more related to cultural references, rather than to other issues. She represents the typical American female model, as she is beautiful, strong, curious, thoughtful, brave and proud of her culture. However, if we analyze the context in which Pocahontas is presented, we can see that the source story is quite different from the movie: the real Pocahontas ends up marrying John Smith and leaving her tribe.

The idea of the bad and good Indian has been a subject of discussion as well. Although this is the first time that Disney depicts Native Americans, which can be understood as something positive in terms of racial inclusion, the way they are depicted deserves a brief analysis. From the colonizers’ perspective, the Native Americans are savages. But, at the same time, the Native Americans see the colonizers as the ones who are not civilized. Here you can watch a video in which both groups (portrayed as opposites) prepare to war. Pay attention to the lyrics to see two different perspectives:

Although the dramatism is present throughout the entire movie, we do have a happy ending. However, what about the massive killings of Native Americans during the colonization? It seems that Disney tries to show that both Native Americans and English settlers were equal offenders; at least, the harm done by the colonizers is minimized. But, to what extent it is fair to portray both of them as equally “savages”?

What is your opinion about the ideology that Disney presents in this movie?

Nuria

Reference list

• Núñez, Verónica. Pocahontas. Disney Movie and Racism, 2009, http://disneyandmovies.pbworks.com/w/page/17905676/1%20Pocahontas. Accessed 10 May 2017.