Pocahontas

Pocahontas 
Disney 1995



Pocahontas was the 33rd film released by Walt Disney Pictures and was made during the period known as the Disney Renaissance. The movie gives a fictionalized account of Native American woman Pocahontas and her encounter with an Englishman named John Smith. The movie was released to mixed reviews. There was praise for the film's animation and soundtrack however much criticism for the poor historical accuracy of the story.

These side by side images provide examples of what Pocahontas looked like and the image Disney portrayed her with in the animated film. 

These are the comparison images of what John Smith looked like, and how Disney chose to make him look. Disney portrayed him as the epitome of our ideal traditional Prince Charming.


I watched this film many times as a child. I remember rewinding the VHS to play the songs over and over again. After watching the movie again I believe many things are missed by children while watching, because I don't remember Pocahontas being so racy. Clearly Disney sexualized the image of Pocahontas.


Positives
There are a few good points for children to absorb from this film. First, the movie does a good job of emphasizing the importance of taking care of the Earth we live on. Another point that was highlighted for me was acceptance of others comes from understanding. There is however a lot of violence in the movie.

Negatives 

• very sexualized
• men lack emotion/ depth 
• stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans 
• racist
• historically inaccurate

These negatives that I noticed in the film are mentioned in both the article in the New York Times and the Journal of Navajo Education. I agree that this film has many issues that may be overlooked unless the viewer is looking for them. Everything from my research confirms the issues of stereotype and racism in the film. Dr. Pewewardy wrote about the significance on the viewers of the lack of accuracy of the film. Many people take the film as a historical recollection of the story of Pocahontas without the knowledge that Disney just created the storyline.

Lyrics from the song "Savages" 

What can you expect
From filthy little heathens?
Here's what you get when races are diverse
Their skin's a hellish red
They're only good when dead
They're vermin, as I said
And worse.
They're savages! Savages!
Barely even human. Savages! Savages!
Drive them from our shore!
They're not like you and me
Which means they must be evil.
We must sound the drums of war!

Works Cited 

Maslin, Janet. "Pocahontas (1995) FILM REVIEW; History as Buckskin-Clad Fairy Tale." The New York Times. 11 June 1995. 

Pewewardy, Ph.D, Cornel. "The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale For Educators." Journal of Navajo Education. December 1996.