Can You Paint With all the Colors of the Wind?

            We’ll be deviating a bit from the chronological order of events in order to discuss a critically important piece of literature which was read by many colonists, and many Englishmen, and generally accepted as a truthful account. The text I am referring to is John Smith’s numerous, lengthy accounts of his explorations, of which many versions were published in both England and the colonies during the 16^th and 17^th centuries (Townsend 52). His romanticized story of Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan, and the way she saved him from execution, heavily influenced the way Native American women were viewed. Furthermore, his fanciful account, which has in fact been disproved, led to some very interesting modern interpretations.

            The original story goes something like this: John Smith, English explorer, is kidnapped by an Indian tribe. He is brought before Chief Powhatan, who orders that he be executed. However, just before he reaches his demise, the chief’s beautiful, tender-hearted daughter throws herself over his body, shielding him from harm. Touching as such a tale may be, scholars believe it to be untrue. For one thing, there were many legends preceding John Smith’s story which had the theme of an explorer narrowly escaping execution only to be rescued by the local ruler’s innocent, yet alluring, daughter (Mills 2). Smith was most likely borrowing material from stories he’d heard. Furthermore, it is almost impossible for his story to be true, because he failed to include it in his earlier accounts of his explorations! He published numerous books in 1612 about Virginia and his experiences there, but it was not until 1624 that he published the story of his so-called encounter with the Indian princess. Conveniently, all those who could have refuted his story were dead by that time! Not to mention the fact that Pocahontas, portrayed as a strong, independent woman with an ambiguous attraction to Smith, was merely ten years old at the time (Townsend 52).

            Smith’s portrayal of Pocahontas made sense given the time period in which he conceived it. Women in 16^th century England and colonial America were supposed to be subservient to men. Native American women had much more independence than Caucasian women. They were unabashedly strong, they had influence within their societal groups, and their style of dress mirrored that of their male counterparts, designed for comfort and efficiency, with no regard to modesty. Englishmen did not know what to do with that, and so they played up the sexual side. Thus, Pocahontas is depicted as a kind of benevolent goddess. Many artistic renditions of her depict this; she is often shown baring her breasts or otherwise suggestively unclothed, and her features are regularly shown as Caucasian or vaguely Middle Eastern; the strong features of the Indians tend to be neglected entirely.

 

 

 

 

            Which brings us to another topic: The modern rendition of Pocahontas. The portrayal that is most relevant to my generation would probably be the Disney animated movie. I remember watching the first film and the sequel numerous times throughout my childhood. Even as I grew older, I always remembered those films fondly, believing that they were excellent examples of children’s movies which had strong, non-stereotypical female characters. However, considering the movie through a different lens, I am forced to see how very wrong I was about that.

            It goes without saying that the Disney film lacks historical accuracy. Regardless, it is the portrayal of Pocahontas that I want to focus on. I’m not sure why the animators thought it was appropriate to depict her as a dark-skinned Caucasian girl dressed in a slutty Indian Halloween costume, but that was apparently the aesthetic they chose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In both movies, Pocahontas is scantily clad, even in snowy weather. Furthermore, her womanly physique further exacerbates the historical inaccuracy of the movies. Most aggravatingly, although the movie allegedly purports the message that one must follow one’s heart, it appears that Pocahontas is living by a different ideology, one that goes like this: Follow the men in your life. First, she sacrifices her place in her tribe for John Smith, and then in the sequel, she embarks on a journey to England with John Rolf, apparently to save her people, although how her actions are contributing to that cause is unclear.

            Obviously, John Smith’s romanticized account of his first meeting with Pocahontas was fabricated, most likely to increase the sales of his book. After all, she did become a household name in her own right after moving to England with her husband, John Rolf (Townsend 129). However, Smith’s rendition had further-reaching implications. His falsification continues to influence modern interpretations. I’d like to see a remake of the Disney movie, one that showed the real Pocahontas, and told the truth about the unfair and manipulative way in which she came to be an Englishwoman. Alas, I fear the lie has proved so entertaining that no one would be interested in learning her true story.

Sources:

N.d. n.p. Web. 14 Nov 2012. <http://blog.encyclopediavirginia.org/2012/05/09/pocahontas-saves-john-smith-or-a-journey-in-art-history-that-includes-some-big-words-anime-and-a-few-odd-sports-references/>.

Tonwsend, Camilla. Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma. New York, New York: Hill and

WMills, Kay. From Pocahontas to Power Suits. Plume, 1995. Print. ang, 2004. Print.

Photos: Google images