POCAHONTAS

1995, Disney

Animated

Rating: G

Approx. 81 mins.

THE STORY:
A ship carrying a group of British sailors and soldiers in search of New World gold lands off the Virginia coast. Further inland, a tribe of Native Americans goes about its business, unaware that newcomers, muskets in hand, are seeking them out. Captain John Smith comes upon Pocahontas, daughter of the band's chief and is instantly smitten. 

Pocahontas' inconceivably fluent English and intense beauty convince him that his colonial mission to eradicate or civilize the "savages" is arrogant and misplaced. The problem is that the star-struck lovers each have to convince their people that there is a peaceful solution before the Indian warriors and white devils have a full out to-the-death battle.

Things come to a head when Smith is captured by the Natives and the English crew arrive to rescue him before he is killed. Both sides threaten to annihilate each other until Pocahontas intervenes and stops the violence. Smith, however, gets shot in the melee, and has to return to England where he can be treated. Pocahontas realizes that her place is at home, so the lovers part, glad to have had the chance to meet each other.

QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:

• idiot
• blasted

VIOLENCE:

• gun violence: 2 Natives are shot and killed
• when Smith comes upon Pocahontas he is hunting for 'savages'; had she been male-- or heavy-set?-- she would presumably have been shot

TEACHING POINTS:

• colonialism was theft and exploitation
• violence does not solve conflicts, but makes them larger

THE UPSHOT:
I have my usual issue with the Disney female aesthetic. I like the fact that the central character is a strong, clever, independent woman, but wish she had more realistic proportions and features. 

But really the whole movie is a series of stereotypes: the  Natives  are fierce warriors with an innate spiritual side; the hero is blond, blue-eyed, muscular and has the WASPiest name possible; the heroine is a ridiculously beautiful Indian maiden whose destiny is to fall in love with the hero; the English aristocrat is greedy for riches and reputation and places no value on the lives of his men. Men carry guns and shoot to kill while women support their men and nurture relationships.

I think the film tries to respect First Nations culture, but from a very non-Native perspective. The idea of an inter-cultural relationship is also a positive, but it is the stereotypical dynamic: dominant culture male with ethnic female. And, in the end, their cultural and geographical differences ensure that their inter-racial love is largely unrequited. 

The caricature-like bad guys are constantly talking about "savages" and killing "savages." There is even a musical number in which both sides repeatedly describe their opponents as "savages." I understand this is meant to show that both sides have more in common than not, and that such judgments say more about those holding them than those being objectified, and so on. I just worry that with constant repetition of the negative model the positive message might get misinterpreted by young kids.  

Of course, my 4 year-old wasn't hung up on issues of colonialism, sexism or racism. She just loved the beautiful heroine and the whole Disney mystique. As much as she liked it, however, I wish she hadn't seen it. 

1/5