Pocahontas; the woman, the legend, the myth. Matoaka, also known as Amonute, Pocahontas, and later, Rebecca Rolfe; was a Virginia born Native American woman. She is often remembered for her association with the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia as well as being famous for supposedly saving the life of Englishman, John Smith. In 1995, the famed daughter of chief Powhatan was given an animated film chronicling the events leading up to her meeting John Smith, saving him, doing her best to help put a stop to English/Native hostilities. Many fans have regarded the film as a timeless treasure showcasing the power of interracial romance overcoming current prejudices , however, I have found evidence to prove otherwise.
Evidence #1: John Smith's relationship with Pocahontas
Throughout history, the life of Pocahontas has been the subject of much debate thanks to claims made by John Smith, an English explorer, soldier, and author, who claimed she saved his life by placing her head on his own. Soon after, Matoaka became a legend possessing a number of myths romanticizing accounts of her meeting with Smith. Contrary to popular belief, there was never a romantic connection built between Smith and Pocahontas. Despite this, some writers inspired by accounts of a love story have often preferred the myth over historical fact, leading to several misconceptions of her life given from false information. Much like John Davis, author of Travels in the United States of America (the first known author to publish a Pocahontas/John Smith love story ), Roy Disney had also been inspired by fictitious tales of Matoaka's romance with John, creating an animated film based on her legend & folktales. After receiving a complaint from Powhatan Nation regarding how her story would be handled, Roy claimed the film was: "responsible, accurate, and respectful.", however, Powhatan Nation disagreed. When offered assistance for historical/cultural accuracy by the nation, Disney rejected their offer. Despite his claims, Disney failed to understand this: regardless of his intentions, using a glorified myth that fabricates information of a historical figure's tragic life, greatly contradicts his statements on giving an accurate, respectable portrayal.
Evidence #2: The Abduction of Pocahontas and Historical Inaccuracies
In Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, Governor Ratcliffe frames John smith, labeling him a traitor during a meeting with King James in a plot to wage war with Powhatan nation as well as avoid any punishment for crimes he committed. In light of this, the king decides to send a diplomat, John Rolfe to speak with chief Powhatan and escort him to London for negotiations in hopes of preventing any possible bloodshed. However, after greeting citizens of the newly formed Jamestown, eventually meeting the chief; Powhatan refuses to travel to London. A curious Pocahontas volunteers to go in her father's place under the impression she can bring peace between both nations, but this is not the case for the real Pocahontas.
In real life, Matoaka was kidnapped in the first of three conflicts known as the Anglo-Powhatan wars, a series of disputes between Jamestown settlers and Native Americans that began in 1609. Matoaka was held captive for more than a year; king James never sent Rolfe to Virginia for any negotiations. John Rolfe wasn't a diplomat either; instead, he was an Agriculturist, colonist known for successfully cultivating tobacco as an export crop in Virginia's colony. During her captivity, Pocahontas was held for ransom, not for money, but for the release of English prisoners who were captured by her father. As promised, Powhatan returned the prisoners, however he failed to provide the settlers with weapons and tools they found satisfactory. As a result, his daughter remained in their custody. It was at this point in her captivity Pocahontas was met by a deeply infatuated John Rolfe. Soon after, the chief's daughter was finally freed, but this only happened after she agreed to marrying John. Disney completely disregarded an important historical fact which exposed the truth about Matoaka's horrendous abduction by Jamestown settlers in favor of presenting a fictitious hero in a man who harvested tobacco for the sake of entertainment. If Disney truly wanted to boast accuracy they wouldn't have taken out a crucial piece of a story they were trying to recreate. Some may argue her being captured wasn't suitable for the target audience, however that has been proven false considering Disney's track record for having female protagonists kidnapped constantly as well as having some of the most cleverly displayed horrific deaths in children's movies ever to be filmed.
Evidence #3: A Song Titled Savages and The Death of Kocoum
In the original film, a song titled: Savages, was chosen to be featured near the end in order to set the tone as both Jamestown settlers as well as Native Americans prepared for war. The song was intended to represent tension growing between settlers and natives. In the end, it was successful, however this particular musical insults native culture, equating them to mindless beasts who act solely on their emotions. Powhatan's tribe members were portrayed as being filled with a similar level of hate which rivalled Virginia's settlers, expressing their own form of bigotry. In reality, it was Ratcliffe along with his English colonist who were the aggressors. Another issue concerning "Savages" would be it's own title. The term itself is just as offensive as the lyrics it contains, giving weight to an old stereotype of a good/bad Indian archetype. Considering the high level of racism found within it's lyrics you can tell there was an ambitious attempt to provide something meaningful by making both sides holding onto prejudices towards each other appear legitimately outraged for similar reasons; showing they truly aren't that much different from one another, fearing what they do not understand, but all it did was add more fuel to an old fire. Prior to events taking place during Savages, Kocoum, Chief Powhatan's strongest warrior and second in command was promised to have Pocahontas' hand in marriage, but due to her affection for John Smith, he became jealous. As a result, Kocoum attacked John with the intention of killing him. Near the end of their battle, a soldier named Thomas, another English settler who was sent to follow Smith, decides to intervene, shooting the Powhatan warrior in his heart. Kocoum's death along with John's capture was the precursor to Jamestown settlers waging war with Virginia's natives.
Kocoum's portrayal as a jealous villain automatically places John Smith in the role of a hero who had looked beyond his people's prejudices in favor of true love, however this couldn't be further from the truth. As I stated in the first form of evidence, there never was a romance between Smith and Matoaka. According to Mattaponi traditions, Powhatan's daughter was married to Kocoum long before she was captured. The nature of their relationship as well as his existence is often debated amongst scholars and historians, but his role in the film was only to serve as an antagonist to John; with his death practically symbolizing white man's dominance over Native Americans as well as presenting another instance of a good/bad Indian stereotype.
Was Disney's version of Pocahontas truly offensive?
After looking over all the evidence for this theory, it's clear Roy Disney set out to create a faithful adaption to myths surrounding Matoaka's life. Even though his intentions weren't necessarily ill conceived, the outcome of his vision resulted in representing old stereotypes, a music score littered with racist lyrics, inaccurate information regarding historical events, and misleading content pertaining to Native American culture. In closing, Disney's Pocahontas started out with harmless intentions, but in the end it turned out to be nothing more than a tasteless display of cinematic entertainment loaded with offensive material.
Major Historical Inaccuracies:
- Pocahontas's age- In her first animated feature, Pocahontas is 18 years old when she meets John Smith, but her real life counterpart was only 11 while Smith's recorded age was 28, further proving the romantic aspect of the film is false as well as making the mere thought of such a romance between the two unsettling and disgusting.
- John Smith- Smith was portrayed as a clean shaven, tall man with tight fitting pants and some armor. In reality, John was a short man sporting a full grown beard, wearing puffy pants. However, he was seen wearing a similar style of armor as his animated counterpart.
- John's planned execution- In the animated film, Smith was going to be executed at dawn in front of an army of colonist who had come to rescue him. The real John Smith was actually going to be executed in Chief Powhatan's long house in front of his warriors and counselors. During his capture none of the colonist knew where Smith was. The true nature of whether the "execution" was meant as a tribal ceremony, was intended to be a real execution, or was a fabricated story told by Smith is still up for debate among scholars.
