Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Will the real Pocahontas please stand up?


After watching the Disney version of colonization, you'll write a review of Disney's version of the story of Jamestown, John Smith and Pocahontas.

Here is your chance to work out your ideas, ask questions, and consider the issue of historical accuracy in film.

Is is okay for artists and film makers to embellish, change, and even distor history? What is the message of Disney's version of Pocahontas?

18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pocahontas was like Dona Marina because she also was a translator for settlers. She was different though. We know that Pocahontas was a translator out of commpassion. We don't know that Dona Marina wanted to help Cortez or if she was forced.

10:47 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that Pocahontas was like Dona Marina in many ways. she was atranslator and a peacemaker. She wasn't a slave however and she was completely free.

10:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pocahantas was like Dona Marina in the way that she translated for foreign people taken her peoples land and had an affair or a relationship with the leader of these peoples. Pocahantas decided on her own to be with these forreighn people isntead of being bought by the.

They seem to be peace keepers and translaters to keep relations well between different peoples. They are like this because normally the first colonists and exploreers are men.

10:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think that the movie was fine. Everyone embelishes stories. If you really think about it, the real story of Pocohontas is boring. We also have no idea why she saved John Smith at the age of twelve.
Also, it is a disney movie for kids. If you expecting facts from this, you shouldn't have. Disney just makes movies to appeal towards people, not telling the real story.
Pocahontas was brave, and was a great peacekeeper. Without her, the Indians could havebeen wiped out. They wouldn't have been able to help the English. It is another what if, just like The Year of the Hangman. The colonists couldn't survive without the Indians.

7:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i think the movie is good for little kids because it is a good story but it has alot of flaws

9:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a coincidence! When I was in 8th Grade I did an oral presentation on this topic ( & got a 21.5 on 22!!)

The purpose of films such as Disney's Pocahontas is to instigate curiosity in historical subjects. It is a STARTING point not the end. I first watched the The film when I was 11 yeears old in the theatre. Later I did 2 orals on Pocahontas and still 13 years later I read books on her and the topic of settlers coming into the Americas. Educators & parents can use Discey movies, cartoons, games and such to 'light a fire' of interest & hopefully explore it further in the weeks & maybe even years to come.

Disney, as does any adapter to a film, has a certain responsability to historical fact & their audiance. Because Pocahontas' true story is more violent & sexual the choices Disney made in their content and storytelling makes sense.

Good Luck Kids! Enjoy the pleasure of reading...
vgg

12:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, Pocahontas is a kids movie, and it's very good for kids. The one problem with disney is that they take stories and change them. There are some people that don't even know that Pocahontas was a real person, disney has turned her into so much of a fairy tale. I mean, they could have named the movie something else and just have a thing on it that says "inspired by pocahontas".

6:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Although might say this movie is "fun" for kids it is completely inaccurate and a distortion of true events. From my point of view showing a biased film with no warning of fabrication is morally incorrect. This film is very influential at the young age of its appropriate viewers. I find it completely disrespectful to the Powhatans and the true occurrence at the Jamestown Settlement.

10:14 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree that Pocahontas was like Dona Maria in many ways, however there are most definetly major diffrences. Pocahontas was definently seen as a translator and an aid to the Europeans , however, do we think that Pocahontas is a triator, some of us maybe but in general her image is much more of a heroine. I think that the main reason for this is the form of goverments, and thier opinions. In Mexico many people mourn the fall of the Aztec and have strong ties to that heritage. In America there are most difenently Native Americans who mourn the loss of thier civilazation as do many other people mourn now, but this is slow incoming. This growth of attention towards thier civilzation will undoudtedly change the constant image of Pocahontas. Eventually it is possible that Pocahontas will be portrayed as a traitor and villian, but neveer with the same intensity as Dona Maria. The simple answer to this is that despite the increased amount of attention to native Americans and thier culture is that thier will always be that bit of positive light towards the settlers, and evenually immigrants. In short there is very little FAMILY connection that leans in favor of the Native Americans, while the families that come in and the ones that are decended from immigrants while feel a natural leaning towards thier ancestors, which can be diciplined through education, but its effects will never leave the image of Pocahontas. All the other arguments about the comparisons of Dona Maria are most likely endless, for example they were both "high born" but then one (Dona Maria) was caste down, and Pocahontas remianed a high position. They both married Europeans, but one was an uncertian marrigae, possibly forced, while Pocahontas's marrigae seemed a real one. One began aiding at a young age, the other when she was fully grown, but both learned the Europeans' language. Pocahontas provided material help while Dona Maria acted as translator. The comparison is endless but the one extreme contrast is that of the image both are given, triator and heroine.

-Jeremy Biskind

10:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think it is really different to watch a kid movie based on historical events after learning everything about them. It sort of ruins the movie, yet makes it humerously interesting. The movie tells the basic idea of the story, but in a kidlike way. The songs were awsome (Savages, savages!) and appealing to children. In my opinion, children who watch this aren't old enough to actually know about Pocahontas at all. So the fact that Disney taught them a little and amused them at the same time is pretty good.

9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the pocohantus movie was to innacurate to call a "based on" movie. I think it should be called a fantasy, I agree that it is a good movie for kids though.

P.S John Smith in the real movie didn't even look like the real John Smith.

2:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pocahontas is a fine movie to show to kids if you have a conversation with them afterward so they know the real story. It is very entertaining and worth the watch even though it is untrue.
-caroline k.

2:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jamie said

I think that some of the people that wached pocahontas think that the movie is fact and that the people are not thinking of the indians

2:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sally L.

I think Pocahontas is a bad movie to show your kid. It confuses kids because they get tuaght something firdt then when they grow up the kids get tuaght simething very differently.

2:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gaya C
8-9 periods
Ms.Doyle

some people might think that pocahontas is a really bad movie because it is politically wrong and some of their facts are wrong and its all WRONG! but its a disney movie. it gives the basic facts and doesn't go into details. of course they should't have made pocahontas 2 times her age and fall in love with the 'wrong guy' but it doesn't say anywhere that this movie is totally correct and anybody who thinks otherwise is wrong. even though she spoke english in the movie, i mean this is for kids younger than 7 years old. their not going to say "oh I didn't know they speak english."

12:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Gaya C
8-9 periods
Ms.Doyle

some people might think that pocahontas is a really bad movie because it is politically wrong and some of their facts are wrong and its all WRONG! but its a disney movie. it gives the basic facts and doesn't go into details. of course they should't have made pocahontas 2 times her age and fall in love with the 'wrong guy' but it doesn't say anywhere that this movie is totally correct and anybody who thinks otherwise is wrong. even though she spoke english in the movie, i mean this is for kids younger than 7 years old. their not going to say "oh I didn't know they speak english."

12:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay, no offence guys, but did it ever occur to you that kids learn stuff very early by TV, and will probably always remember it that way, even without meaning to? If they see Pocahonatas at the age of 2, and love it and see it over and over and over again, they'll almost have it drumed into there mind that Pocahontas was a 'fairy tale'. Then, when people try to teach them the right version, the might say 'yeah right, she's not real' or say 'but I thought that she looked like this, or that she was 24, or that...'. Why doesn't disney just call it something else, besides Pocahontas?

3:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1. Website #1 Nekrosius's

On thing that I learned about the culture of the natives was that they would skin the hide of the buffalo to make there tepees. Another part of there culture was that they had visions about the contact between the humans and the spirit world. Another part of there culture was that they decorated everything with designs and each symbol had a meaning.

Website #2 Jacobs

A part of there culture was that the marriges where arranged by a male family member. Another part of culture is that the men where highly respected and the little girls would usaully help the mothers with the house work.

2)

Both cultures had a very good sense of goverment and who ruled but they also had very different cultures some did the sun and ghost dance some did not.

3)
Why did the people travel so much? Why did the natives trust each so much?

4) What did the natives eat? What did they wear?

5) The writing of the 3-4 time and culture is a little hard to read. The lay out of mr.n's class time and culture was way different then the others. fiona pe r 3-4 doyle

9:44 AM  

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