Editing & Writing Samples - Tahsha

Over the years, Disney has been creating movies and TV shows depicting social issues that the world faces. Be it depression and mental illnesses portrayed by Riley in the movie “Inside Out”, or gender roles being challenged through “Mulan” or even tackling subjects such as coping with loss through the movies “Bambi” or “The Lion King”, Disney makes sure to incorporate a message for their viewers that might help develop society.

Today, we will be diving into the indigenous story of “Pocahontas”. The movie, released in 1995, loosely revolved around the true story of the Native American woman, Pocahontas. Themes of colonization, feminism, race and culture were highlighted through-out the movie and were applauded for being vocalized at that time, however this re-telling of her story though romantic and fantastic, lacked the whole truth.

The plot for most Disney Princess movie involves a young girl being a victim of some sort of cruelty from which “only a Prince” could rescue her. Movies with the “damsel in distress” trope; became popular. Initially these movies portrayed princesses to be fair in complexion, young, naive and helpless, Pocahontas however breaks these norms as not only is she the first princess of colour with her own title but is also an adult whose story is based on real life. Striving to be an independent woman who can lead her people without the interference of a man, she struggles to not only gain her peoples' trust but also her father’s.

The story begins with a group of Englishmen setting out to discover a “New World” where they would be able to uncover gold. Arriving at Pocahontas’ homeland they begin to dig and explore without any right or permission to do so. The mindset of these men being superior to the Natives is expressed in the manner by which they constantly refer to them as “Savages”. The negative connotation associated with that word implies that the Natives are uncivilized however as stated in the song “Colours of the Wind”,

“You think the only people who are people

Are the people who look and think like you”

we are able to gather that they are simply uncomfortable with the idea of change and embracing different cultures and lifestyles even though at its root they are quite similar. The visual aid utilized is John Smith (an Englishman) initially wanting to shoot a bear for sport and Pocahontas discouraging this action and instead following the bear to reveal that it too has a life worth living with a family to take care of.

The difference in clothing, language, weapons and entertainment of the two parties further enhances the elements that make them unable to understand each other. Through this instance colonization is portrayed, highlighting the unfairness that the colonizers forced upon the natives. The idea of foreigners settling on your land and claiming it as their own is a subject that can easily anger people as it was very common during that time period. Even though the movie doesn’t do justice to this inequitable instance it does get the audience to think. As these Disney Princess movies were catered to a young audience we can only hope that it planted a seed of equality that will eventually grow.

In addition to equality as a tribe the idea of gender equality is also subtly highlighted through this movie. We are constantly reminded that Pocahontas needs a man to lead her people, however she goes on to single handedly unite the two nations and restore peace in her land without the help of a man. Ironically the man who she is promised to dies before he can see the bright future that his nation has with her as their leader.

Unlike the Disney Princess movies released before, Pocahontas ends on a bittersweet note, with her choosing her nation over romance. This choice contradicts the idea of a woman needing a man to live a successful life as well as a woman not being able to lead a nation alone. The concept of feminism being new at the time was well portrayed in this movie, instead of forcing the idea upon the people, it was intricately placed not only for girls to feel empowered but also for men to realize that women are capable of surviving on their own.

However empowering and uplifting the movie was the unfortunate reality was that many of these actions and ideas were mostly exaggerated. The real Pocahontas, having been oppressed and suppressed, still carried herself with a dignity that was depicted throughout the movie as well which did allow people to ponder upon the idea of being an independent woman.

In this manner Disney was able to demonstrate various social issues and drive people’s thoughts to a better future in which these could be omitted. These themes being relevant in today’s day and age allows audiences to release that history does repeat itself and that we can either run from it or learn from it.