This film has sparked so much controversy, mainly due to the fact that Disney based it's heroine on a main character that actually existed, but casually re-interpreting her to resemble their other doe-eyed female roles.
The Disney Pocahontas has been described as a barbie-type pullout out of a Playboy magazine. Her appearance is suprisingly similar to the other heroines, despite her being of a totally different culture.
But it is not this that enraged so many women. It is the subtle changes that Disney have made to the original story. In reality, Pocahontas and John Smith could not communicate because of their differences in language. She did not feel any romantic attraction to him though. In fact, she looked up to him and called him 'father'.
But Disney's attempt to make the ledgend into a cheerful story have changed other aspects to her fate. In their sequel, Disney showed Pocahontas moving to England to live happily with John Smith. True, she did in reality come to live here, but was forced to marry a colonist before dying of cholera years later. But that wouldn't make a happy ending now would it?
As a heroine, Pocahontas acted as a history lesson to young children, which is why it was so unfortunate that Disney made it's story so wrong. By making her a beautiful babe with comical sidekicks and a penchant for falling in love with hunk anglos, they have yet again created a heroine with no individuality, and fallen into the trap. |
