Difference between revisions of "329--Week 2 Questions/Comments"
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I think it is safe to say that Disney's intention was not to make a film accurately depicting the events of the colonization of Jamestown. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Disney did a good job in taking two important historical figures, using the backdrop of their time period, and developing a love story out of it. If someone told me that Disney had every intention to attempt to tell the true story of Pocahontas and John Smith, then yes I would denounce every flaw that was made. However, we all know that not all movies can be used as a primary source (especially this one), so Disney's Pocahontas will just have to suffice as a form of entertainment. - David Flores | I think it is safe to say that Disney's intention was not to make a film accurately depicting the events of the colonization of Jamestown. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Disney did a good job in taking two important historical figures, using the backdrop of their time period, and developing a love story out of it. If someone told me that Disney had every intention to attempt to tell the true story of Pocahontas and John Smith, then yes I would denounce every flaw that was made. However, we all know that not all movies can be used as a primary source (especially this one), so Disney's Pocahontas will just have to suffice as a form of entertainment. - David Flores | ||
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| + | It is hard to say what Disney's intentions were when making this film, but at least, the film does bring history to the forefront of children's minds, as Disney presents a romanticized version of John Smith's adventures and affairs with Pocahontas. David brings up a good point, we have to keep in mind that this movie was made for children and is bound to have tendencies to portray inaccurate events and exaggerate certain aspects of history (Although Roy Disney claims the movie was “responsible, accurate, and respectful”-Visual Communication by Paul Martin Lester). Children would rather see a happy conclusion than a disappointing one (which is how the story really ends, as Pocahontas was in captivity for some while). On a side note, I was also surprised that there was no mentioning of John Rolfe, the man who saved Pocahontas from captivity as well as the man who played a somewhat significant role in Pocahontas’ life. Would the movie have been better if it replaced John Smith with John Rolfe? Would it be more historically sound if it presented both men?-James Drury | ||
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I did a little research on the reception of Pocahontas. It seems to be one of the more popular and financially successful Disney movies released in the 1990s, but it’s also one of the most critiqued. It did pretty well at the Academy Awards too, winning for Best Original Song (Colors of the Wind) and Original Score. On another note, I found an [http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm essay] that examines Pocahontas and several other Disney movies. It raised an interesting point about the formulaic Native American stereotypes in the movie, in the form of the “noble” Powhatan, the “savage” Kocoum, and the “Indian Princess” Pocahontas. --Taylor Brann | I did a little research on the reception of Pocahontas. It seems to be one of the more popular and financially successful Disney movies released in the 1990s, but it’s also one of the most critiqued. It did pretty well at the Academy Awards too, winning for Best Original Song (Colors of the Wind) and Original Score. On another note, I found an [http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/gmj/OldSiteBackup/SubmittedDocuments/archivedpapers/fall2002/Artz.htm essay] that examines Pocahontas and several other Disney movies. It raised an interesting point about the formulaic Native American stereotypes in the movie, in the form of the “noble” Powhatan, the “savage” Kocoum, and the “Indian Princess” Pocahontas. --Taylor Brann | ||
Watching the film, it was immediately obvious to me how a movie can act as a primary source document for the time in which it was produced, as we discussed. The theme of greed, central to the song "Colors of the Wind", really seemed to reflect modern American guilt over our collective impact on the environment... Concerning the reading, it seems natural to ignore, but how was Smith communicating with the natives he met? One must wonder how we can take Smith's account of his interaction with Powhatan to be remotely seriously as his discussion about the settlers' purpose at Jamestown and so on seems only to be Smith's interpretation of a one-sided conversation. - JT Newcomb | Watching the film, it was immediately obvious to me how a movie can act as a primary source document for the time in which it was produced, as we discussed. The theme of greed, central to the song "Colors of the Wind", really seemed to reflect modern American guilt over our collective impact on the environment... Concerning the reading, it seems natural to ignore, but how was Smith communicating with the natives he met? One must wonder how we can take Smith's account of his interaction with Powhatan to be remotely seriously as his discussion about the settlers' purpose at Jamestown and so on seems only to be Smith's interpretation of a one-sided conversation. - JT Newcomb | ||
