Tonight! Critical Review of film Pocahantas (1995)
Tonight's blog will give you an opportunity to critically analyze a character in tonight's film. Please choose one character and explain their significance to the story. Choose carefully- be sure to be analytical and not just descriptive!
Who?
What/Why? What role do they play in the film? Why did the writer's and producers include this particular character in the narrative?
Evaluate the depiction of this particular character. How have the authors/producers chosen to depict your chosen character? Positively? Negatively? Give some examples...as many as possible.
Finally, what is the intended "moral of the story"/ "message" of this film and what role does your character play in delivering that message?
Who?
What/Why? What role do they play in the film? Why did the writer's and producers include this particular character in the narrative?
Evaluate the depiction of this particular character. How have the authors/producers chosen to depict your chosen character? Positively? Negatively? Give some examples...as many as possible.
Finally, what is the intended "moral of the story"/ "message" of this film and what role does your character play in delivering that message?
John Smith
ReplyDeleteJohn Smith is portrayed as a handsome English explorer who goes to explore the New World. John first views the Native Americans as “savages” before actually knowing who they are. He at first, along with the other explorers, was going to take over the New World. He first meets Pocahontas, who changes his mind entirely. He really got to know her and found out that her and the other natives can help him and they are not bad after all.
John was added to the narrative to teach a lesson. He in the end just wants to help everyone and wants everyone to get along. Him and Pocahontas just want to have the two sides know each other and not fight.
John was at first depicted as a racist character who thought of the Native Americans as savages before he even got to know them. He placed a stereotype on them that he soon learned was wrong when meeting Pocahontas. John ended up being a selfless leader of his people and got respect from Pocahontas who saved his life. He is shown as a positive character who in the end falls in love with Pocahontas and he realizes he is wrong about her people.
The moral of the narrative could be to not judge people before you have met and to create some peace, we can accept each other and learn from each other. John found out that the Native Americans are not savages shortly after he met Pocahontas.
In the Disney movie Pocahontas is a young woman who is the daughter of the chief of Indians. She is the protector of the land and animals. She meets John Smith when he and the Englishmen arrive to the new land. They dont understand each other at first due to the language barrier they face but then thanks to Disney they magically understand eachother. She shows John Smith that the land and animals are important and that the Indians are not savages. She shows the English how they destroy everything they touch. Disney portrayed her thi way to show how peaceful and kind she and her people are and how with communication you can save people and land. In real life Pocahontas was actually born Makoaka also known as Amonute,she was a teenager who was captured by the English during the 1613 and held for ransom. During her captivity she converted her religion to Christianity took the name Rebecca, and when given the choice to stay with the English or go home she chose to stay with the English. She was later celebrated as an example of "civilized savage".
ReplyDeleteThe character that stuck out the most to me in Pocahontas was John Smith. I noticed that in the beginning of the movie he was willing to shoot on contact any Indian that he saw. Everyone was on board with the idea, but when John Smith met Pocahontas he was easily convinced that the Indians were not savages based on one song. In real life John Smith was known to easily put guns to heads and demand food and supplies, no questions asked. They came to the land to take over their resources and claim the land as their own assuming the people that lived there were savages.
ReplyDeleteDisney depicted him as a good man who easily accepted other cultures and someone who was willing to learn from the natives cultures. There was a small amount of truth in the scenes that expressed the hate the europeans had for the natives but they turned it into a happy ending. The conflict was resolved and the “evil” governed was over thrown.
I think Disney wrote this historical story in the way they did to show a small amount of truth to the story so people will recognize and agree that aggressive behavior was unnecessary. Although, in real life the story did not end the same way, maybe Disney gave us a happy ending knowing that more people would agree to the resolution. Not to hide the truth of this horrible past but to promote coexistence in the future in real life.
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DeletePocahontas is the character I have chosen to be analytical about because she is one of the main characters in the story. Pocahontas is caught up in the love triangle with John Smith one of the white settlers, while her father chief Powhatan wants her to marry one of the members of the tribe Kocoum. Pocahontas is a positive character because she is young and carefree and loves nature. She is very naive because she goes off to keep looking at the new white settlers that inhabited the land. She becomes intrigued by John Smith and meets with him often despite the warnings from Chief Powhatan and her fellow tribe members. The writer's used Pocahontas to create the love story between her and John Smith where eventually a war breaks out and John Smith and
ReplyDeletePocahontas try to stop the two sides from fighting. The moral of this story is that just because the Native Americans don't live as the settlers do back home doesn't mean they are civilized. Pocahontas teaches John Smith that her tribe are happy where they live and they have been living that way for years. These two characters are shown to be more alike and show that each group of people are human. Kocoum catches Pocahontas in a romantic kiss with John Smith and attacks John Smith. Thomas kills Kocoum and then that leads the Native Americans and settlers into a war. Pocahontas risks her life to save John Smith from being killed by her father and the tribe and John Smith risks his life and gets shot by Governor Ratcliffe which leads the point where they are the same. By Pocahontas showing John Smith her way of life leads him to try to defend the Native Americans when it comes to the point where war almost breaks out.