Difference between revisions of "329--Week 2 Questions/Comments"
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The reading of John Smith really focuses on diplomacy, trade and fighting exclusively. One of the interesting things about the reading is Smith constantly mentions the Indians giving him and men with him big feasts. The whole effect seems to present that the relations with the Indians went fairly well at the beginning. Another interesting thing I noted in relation to the movie is Smith didn't travel alone, but had men with him and the only time he ended up alone was when his men were killed. - Jonathan Bell | The reading of John Smith really focuses on diplomacy, trade and fighting exclusively. One of the interesting things about the reading is Smith constantly mentions the Indians giving him and men with him big feasts. The whole effect seems to present that the relations with the Indians went fairly well at the beginning. Another interesting thing I noted in relation to the movie is Smith didn't travel alone, but had men with him and the only time he ended up alone was when his men were killed. - Jonathan Bell | ||
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| + | Rather than debate the benefits/pitfalls of sugarcoating history for children, I'd like to focus on how Disney's portrayals of the Powhatan and the English reflect more modern cultural trends and biases. The Powhatan of the film conform very much to the noble savage stereotype: they are closer to the land and to nature, and their society is tribal and simplistic. They are distinctly less civilized than the English, and yet they are the first to lay down their weapons. Pocahontas, because of her proximity to nature and the spiritual, is able to understand John Smith almost immediately. Pocahontas also reveals to Smith her view of nature, which is (excuse the pun) earthier than that of the English. Although the English are greedy, their motivations and society are portrayed as far more complex than those of the Powhatan. - Sarah Richardson | ||
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| + | And moving on to a very nitpicky matter, did the filmmakers ever visit Tidewater Virginia? Cliffs? Mountains? The animators' depiction of Virginia reminded me of the overblown and romantic frontier of the Hudson River School painters in the nineteenth century. The America of those artists--and of this film--is as un-English as it gets: wild, untamed, majestic. It just reeks of Manifest Destiny. - Sarah Richardson | ||
