History students
Compare and contrast the Disney version of the Pocahantas/John Smith love story with the Hollywood version, "The New World". I will show you a clip from the TNW on Wed. Sorry, no Disney movies are shown in my classroom. Ever.
Here's something else worth checking out. As always, let me know your thoughts.
posted by Mr. Carlisle at 6:56 PM
25 Comments:
The Disney movie portrays the story of Pocahontas in a "hero" light. Like Howard Zinn said, a lot of the true story of a historic event is buried between all of the facts that are presented by people with certain biases. Disney buried the facts of this story in a love story between Pocahontas and John Smith because that's what they thought would sell. Because Disney has told the story of Pocahontas in that way many people don't know the true story. They don't know about the brutality and violence between the Native Americans and the English settlers.
The New World shows more of what actually went on between the settlers and the Native Americans. It also gives a much more accurate picture of the relationship between Pocahontas and John Smith, which was not romantic. The only problem with the true story now being told is that people don't want to believe it, because the Disney version is much more cheerful and heartwarming. The facts have been buried so deep that people don't want to believe them.
8:15 PM
Shannon,
Your comment is definitely in the top ten best comments I've received on the blog. I really appreciate your thoughtful response.
8:40 PM
This "The New World" movie definitely looks like it sides with Howard Zinn's opinion of European colonization of the Americas as opposed to the cheery, heroic childrens stories that are told in every single American elementary school classroom.
9:35 PM
Although I do enjoy watching Disney's Pocahontas alone in my basement from time to time, The New World is a much more accurate representation of the arrival of the English and the Pocahontas/Smith relationship.
10:16 PM
I would much rather watch The New World because it is historically correct and more realistic than any disney movie. It is sad that disney thought it would be a better movie if they changed the story. I think they shouldn't have used that story at all if they were just going to tell it incorrectly.
11:05 PM
I agree. The New World seems more realistic of what actually occured but most people probably stick to the Disney classic Pocahontas because that is what they want to believe. Even though you said it was slow Mr. Carlisle, The New World looks pretty interesting!
5:15 PM
Oh yeah Andrew, I think it's a pretty good movie, however, I think some students would be kind of bored by its slow pace.
5:33 PM
I remember that I watched The New World back when it came out, and it was slow but good. It's less black and white in terms of morality and shows more of the cruelty committed by the English (as well as actually having John Rolfe the first time around).
While Pocahontas is one of the extremely offenders of historical inaccuracy, it always seems that way with children's movies.
But even though it was intended as mainly a children's movie, I don't think that the history of what happened needed to be glossed over or as romanticized as much as it was (like not having John Smith and Pocahontas fall in love, not altering).
I don't think it's bad for someone to adjust history for a story, as long as people know it's only a story and to be skeptical until they actually know the facts.
7:06 PM
Malia,
I don't think most people will take the time to research the "real" story behind historical films. I think Hollywood owes it to movie goers to be as accurate as possible. That being said, I don't hold Disney films to a high historical standard.
7:15 PM
I don't think anyone really counts on Disney for the historical facts. Even though Disney edits much of what actually happened in real life, most people don't mind because a lot of the time it's obvious..
7:52 PM
I think it's obvious to people who know about history.
8:08 PM
I think disney is not trying to tell the truth about what really happened but rather paint a happy picture that will make a good film. young children do not want to watch something like The New World, they want something cheerful. That is what the diseny version is. The New World, instead of painting a happy picture, looks at the truth of the matter showing so many people what a flawed perception they have.
8:26 PM
The Disney movie turns the historical event into something much more happy ending princess stories because their target is little kids. Where New World probably portrays a more accurate/historical version. However it's probably has some bias from the directors who want to make the movie look good.
9:08 PM
I can't believe they even use the name Pocahontas. That story is so off, they could have made up random names and no one would have ever guessed it was based on the real story. She married a different man in real life than from the movie? That is not a small detail!
9:21 PM
I find it a bit annoying that in elementary school we learned about the relationship between the english and the native americans in the same way the disney movie portrays it when it's really inaccurate. I think we should have been taught the truth the first time.
9:51 PM
Although the movie Pocahontas is historically incorrect and has little to do with what actually happened, it helps you remember the names of the main characters; Pocahontas and John Smith, despite the fact that John Smith had no real love interest in Pocahontas in history. The movie Pocahontas helps us remember what really happened because we become interested in learning about the classic Disney movie we watched as kids.
Disney could have made it more historically accurate by changing John Smith to John Rolfe, but without the Disney movie Pocahontas I would not be as psyched to learn about the true history of Pocahontas.
10:09 PM
i like how in "The New World" it portrays more of the truth of what happened and not what we want to believe happened. although i understand that disney was trying to make a children's movie, it would have been nice if they hadn't lied to us so much because as a child, i honesty though that "Pocahontas" was true for the most part
10:16 PM
As a child I grew up with Disney movies, so naturally, I loved the Walt Disney version of Pocahontas. Growing older, I began to realize that my childhood movies, although historically inaccurate, introduced me history.
The Disney movie of Pocahontas is shown in a way that young children will be drawn to it; if it was a more politically correct version such as The New World, a child would not only see it as violent, but lose interest quickly. The way I see it is that Disney did a good job of acquainting children with history, making them more inclined to stay interested in the subject as they grow older. When the child reaches the point where they do not need the fairy-tale romance, they can then understand the true facts and still have a desire to study history, due to what they are shown as a child.
10:24 PM
I would definitely have to agree with everybody else here. I think that Disney took a classic American story and changed it up so much to make it appeal to a younger audiance. I think that "The New World" is far more realistic and shows us the truth behind what really happened!
8:24 AM
Its pretty interesting to see the stark contrasts between the two, in a way it makes you wonder about the way our culture works. How many things do we really want to just bury away and hide for the sake of adolescent girls that need their disney fix. I'll admit to being one of those people everyonce in a while, but still, it opens the door nice and wide for conspiracy theorists:) Unlike me of course. So where would we b without painfully boring, yet more historically accurate movies or accounts of past events, like The New World?
8:26 AM
Pocahontas has always been my favorite Disney movie, and after discovering all of its flaws and realizing what a creep John Smith truly was, I will probably continue to watch it...
7:18 PM
Tess,
You're a Disney addict.
7:20 PM
Although, I have deep and intelligent thoughts on this subject, my mother thought it was important to let you know the actress portraying Pocahontas in The New World was quite young-only 15-at the time of the shoot. In fact, she had never been kissed prior to shooting "the scene" with notorious bad boy Colin Farrell...more than twice her age...!
While inappropriate and by no means politically correct, I reminded my mom that the age spread was probably not that much different in history. After all, the young Pocahontas saved the notorious ladies man in distress, John Smith.
8:24 PM
Kori,
I actually knew that tidbit about the actress in the film. By the way, I really love your writing style.
8:27 PM
Wow. I forgot to type in the crazy word below the comment box. Cool. Okay. Summary: New world portrays the Natives as the "good guys" and the Disney version portrays the natives as the "bad guys" I disagree with the Disney version. Europeans came here loking for trouble and they got it. As I understand this, a series of wars broke out between natives and Europeans over territory and resources. It's amazing that the Europeans pulled off such theft. Boom.
9:12 PM
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