Pocahontas Live Blog

Some observations and commentary as I watched Pocahontas:
It is shocking how the characters in the movie address the Native Americans in such harsh ways. John Smith says, "Can't let you guys have all the fun" when talking about fighting the Indians. The natives are also called "filthy heathens" and "savages" to describe uncivilized people. One man says "if any Indian tries to stop me, I'll blast em." How is this in a children's movie? That honestly shocks me. Not only does it have extreme racial undertones but it is extremely violent and does not seem like a typical Disney happy themed movie.
Governor Radcliffe is shown with a mustache, bows in his hair, a purple hat, purple outfit, and dog in hand. All of these characteristics demonstrate the transgendered villain that Putnam displays in her piece that we read for class. His vice is his greed. He also is always in charge but never actually does the hard work himself until the end, where he ends up messing everything up anyway by shooting John. He is not capable of fulfilling these "manly" qualities. As said in the movie, "A man is not a man unless he learns to shoot."
Pocahontas is originally displayed up high on a rock with her hair flowing, flowers around her, and every camera angle imaginable. She is also able to gracefully dive off a huge cliff and white water raft and be alive and perfect, which is an amazing feat. C'mon Disney, can we be a bit more realistic here? Pocahontas is similar to most of the other Disney princesses in regards to her animal friends that help her along the way. She also has a mentor who is actually a tree. I do not like what this suggests about Native American beliefs and I think they could have done a better job portraying Native American beliefs.
Pocahontas is encouraged to marry within her tribe by her father who explains that her suitor would "make a great husband. He is loyal and strong and will build you a good house. You will be safe from harm." While this suggests that women need a man to be strong and protect them, I will cut it some slack considering this movie was made in 1995 before people actually understood sexism and feminism.
I will praise Pocahontas for the song "Colors of the Wind." I think it is the one thing in the movie that is nice because it encourages people to open their minds and look for adventure.

Overall, the end of the movie is respectable because of the mixing of the two races and the newfound understanding of each culture. However, this is not to say that the racist comments and assuming beliefs from the culture go unnoticed and should not be analyzed. Pocahontas was created as a Disney princess for diversity but never made into an actual princess in the movie. Using a diverse character to avoid backlash for the Disney name is not something that should be praised.