Value : Race and culture
The movie is not only about the adventures that these characters go through; it is also a love story. The romance between them was mainly the part I liked the most when I watched this movie many years ago. Now, the romance between them seems more like the best solution for Disney to justify the more critical elements like race and no cultural understanding. The love between them is put to the test, and the brave Pocahontas rescues John Smith from being killed with her female intelligence and force of nature, right and wrong and understanding. At the same time, their love seems as the perfect way for the producers to lower elements like the obvious differences between the Indians and the British gold diggers who came to destroy their country in greed with no human interest. This is why race and colonialism immediately comes to mind while watching Pocahontas. Is this a film that Disney created to educate children about foreign culture or didn’t they have motives like based on a historically correct presentation at all? Living in a society that obeys to strict orders and respect for the chief, Pocahontas is portrayed as caught in a system because her people are following another cultural framework. When John Smith comes along, Pocahontas immediately, brake free and starts going behind peoples back to meet him. It can seem like Disney is portraying him as the door opener is her life. One other aspect in this movie is the song lyrics that go: “Their skin’s a hellish red, they’re only good when dead, barely even human.” These terms signify something strange or something not acceptable, something that needs to be taken care of. I think that this, as a movie for children, is very judgmental and is very one dimensional when it comes to culture and the view of what the “right” cultural and the write skin color is. I look at these songs as a “the others” point of view that is not aiming to justify unity. The thought about children watching this movie, picking up the song lyrics and starts singing them is raising some concerns. I don’t think this is a behavior that Disney wants kids to adapt, and if kids adapt this kind of understanding, but If these are powerful words used to describe something unknown and underlines a certain type of no acceptance for different race and societies worth being critical about. It’s not only the humans that act like this, looking at the natural surroundings and the animals in the movie, that mainly are portrayed as funny or clumsy, there are aspects that might support colonialism. Meeko, Pocahontas raccoon and the governors dog Percy’s reflects colonialism because of the way the dog is very scared of the raccoon, living a rich man’s life being spoiled with a server and is immediately turning to violence to put himself in a power position. It is not directly any signs of colonialism in the movie, but factors that opens for interpretation is diffidently exciting. |