Despite the controversial nature of Disney's Pocahontas, could the film still have had a positive effect in the long run?
Disney's
Pocahontas is filled with historical inaccuracies and offensive stereotypes. The plot is inaccurate and there are plenty of moments that make someone who knows the real story of Pocahontas cringe. It is clear the movie is inaccurate, but this has not stopped the movie from becoming popular. Plenty of people recognize the inaccuracies, but still watch and show the movie to their kids. If the movie was so controversial and problematic, why does it remain accepted in our society? Is it possible that even despite all of the movie's problems, it offered representation to a group of people previously marginalized and caused Hollywood to step up their game to properly portray Native Americans?
Disney has a history of being non-inclusive. If you look at who is represented in their movies, there is not much diversity. It is mostly white people. Specifically in their princess movies, diversity was particularly slim. The other princesses that Disney had created before Pocahontas included, Snow White, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, and Jasmine. Almost all these princesses were white. Representation for minorities in Disney princess movies was slim to none, and when there was representation it was in the form of a minor character or side-kick. For Native Americans, there was no representation. Then,
Pocahontas was released. While the movie itself is historically inaccurate and offensive to many, it was the first time a Native American was seen onscreen in a Disney Princess movie. Not only was there now representation, the representation was also generally positive. Pocahontas is the heroine of the film. Representation matters and while
Pocahontas did not solve the problem completely, it was most certainly a step in the right direction towards a more diverse Disney princess franchise.
Due to the inaccuracies and other problems of the film, Disney faced significant backlash. People were rightfully upset and I think Disney deserved the backlash it got. The movie was offensive to many and caused a scandal for Disney. While of course it was bad that Disney offended many, I think the outrage it caused, forced Disney to improve the way they handle Native stories. If you look at Disney's more recent work in the 2016 film Moana, you can see a significant improvement from
Pocahontas. The movie is much more accurate and contains far less offensive stereotypes than Pocahontas. Disney put together a committee called the "Oceanic Story Trust" to help ensure Pacific Islanders were properly portrayed. I am not saying Moana is perfect, but I think when compared to
Pocahontas it is clear that Disney has improved. There was clearly more effort put towards accuracy during the process of making Moana than there was while Pocahontas was being made. I believe Disney has in some sense learned from their mistakes. Does that mean they are perfect? No, there is always room for improvement and Disney still has a long way to go, but as offensive as
Pocahontas was, perhaps the huge mistake that was
Pocahontas is what helped them improve.
It is difficult to determine whether or not
Pocahontas actually affected Native Americans in a positive way. In theory the idea of creating a Native American princess is an inherently positive one, but the actual execution of that idea complicates the question. I think it is reasonable to say that, to some degree, Pocahontas did have a positive effect. Was this effect big enough to offset the rest of the movie's problems and justify the creation of the film? I think this question is a matter of opinion, but I would not say it was worth it. Native Americans not only deserve representation, but also accurate representation and that is something
Pocahontas failed to do. Disney also should have been able to learn to properly handle Native stories without having to go through a big scandal. So, while I do agree that
Pocahontas had some level of a positive effect, I do not think it was large enough to offset all the harm the film did.
Bibliography
Accessed October 30, 2019. http://www.hanksville.org/storytellers/pewe/writing/Pocahontas.html.
Herman, Doug. "How the Story of 'Moana' and Maui Holds Up Against Cultural Truths." Smithsonian Magazine, December 2, 2016. Accessed October 30, 2019. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-story-moana-and-maui-holds-against-cultural-truths-180961258/.
"List of Disney Princess Movies." Accessed October 30, 2019. https://disneymovieslist.com/list-of-disney-princess-movies/.
Vanity Fair, November 16, 2016. Accessed October 30, 2019. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/11/moana-oceanic-trust-disney-controversy-pacific-islanders-polynesia.
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