Folklore and myth play a major role
in depicting the history and identity of a people or nation. Both the content
of such tales and the way they change from generation to generation are
reflections of the group that tells the story. One example of such a tale that
has been integrated into American history is John Smith’s record of his
encounter with Pocahontas and her people the Powhatans. Though loosely based on
actual events Smith’s tale has grown much from the time it was fist written. Upon
examination of Disney’s version of the Pocahontas story in relation with
Smith’s early accounts of the tale, we can see how the story’s telling has been
re-shaped to greater enforce perceived American identity and the American
concept of Manifest Destiny.
From
the very beginning of Disney’s Pocahontas
we notice a discrepancy between the way Disney depicts their character
of John Smith and how Smith is depicted in earlier more historically accurate
documents. Disney’s characterization is of a brave and noble warrior, explorer,
who is respected and loved by his peers and embraced as a revered leader figure
among members of the Virginia Company. Other more historical sources contradict
this interpretation. Documentation of the
events of Jamestown suggests Smith’s real relationship with his peers was much
rougher than Disney portrayed. In settler’s
letters, daily life life in the Virginia Company under Smith’s leadership was
often described as “a misery, a ruine, a death, a hell” (Lepore 25), indicating
a dissatisfaction with Smith that was conveniently left out in Disney’s
account.
An early scene of
Disney’s Pocahontas depicts the voyage of the Virginia Company from England to
the new world in which Smith is on deck commanding his men through a dangerous
storm. Smith takes charge and keeps his men organized under life or death
circumstances, even saving his crewmate Thomas from drowning after being thrown
overboard by powerful waves. Ironically, when we examine more historical
accounts we find that “for much of the voyage to Virginia, Smith was confined
below decks, in chains, accused of plotting mutiny to ‘make himself king’”
(Lepore 19). Disney even goes as far as
to change Smith’s appearance, their tall blonde and handsome portrayal of Smith
is in stark contrast to the squat, dark haired, bearded man described in
Ricther’s “Facing East from Indian Country.” So, why did Disney find it
necessary to make so many changes to their John Smith characterization?
Disney’s
movie is an American retelling of an American folktale, and Smith is meant to
be one of the first real American Heroes. Smith then serves to embody American
identity and Disney does all that they can to ensure he embodies the wide eyed
wonderment, thirst for adventure, and nobleness expected in an American hero.
Smith is meant to be the quintessential embodiment of the pioneer spirit.
However, a more historically accurate characterization doesn’t fit that mold.
In order to satisfy viewers and create a true “American” hero of Smith that we
are so familiar with, a few of Smith’s select characteristics needed to be
shaved away.
To
do this Disney created Governor Radcliffe, a pompous, “dignified” Englishman to
serve as the villain of their story. Effectively Disney syphoned off the
negative aspects of historical Smith’s persona in order to create two distinct
characters. On one hand we have Smith, adventurous, bold, and respectable. On
the other we have Radcliffe, greedy, arrogant, and self-centered. By creating
two polar opposite characters Disney effectively created separate embodiments
of early American Identity. Smith represents the identity Americans prefer to
associate with, the promise of the American dream and an unconquerable pioneer
spirit. While Radcliffe is a personification of what Lepore refers to as “the
American Nightmare.” He represents the
greedy conquerors that “steal somebody else’s land (the Powhantans’) and reap
huge profits by planting and harvesting an addictive drug (tobacco, whose sale
were responsible for the boom) while exploiting your labor force (indentured
servants, and after 1619, enslaved Africans)” (Lepore 22).
The clearest
example of this divide in Disney’s film occurs during the musical number “Mine,
Mine, Mine.” While Radcliffe and members
of the Virginia Company are busy digging up the shores of Virginia singing of
riches and gold, Smith is off exploring the countryside. Radcliffe looks at the
new land as product as he sings of how “it all can be sold” (Disney).
Meanwhile, Smith is more concerned with taming the new world and making it his
own. Smith’s characterization in this case depicts the expected and accepted
pioneer spirit we associate with early settlers, while Radcilffe exhibits the
characteristic American greed and materialism we often try to sweep under the
rug. Now with a distinct hero and villain, viewers of the Disney’s Pocahontas
can cheer for their American hero without also lending their admiration to the
more distasteful version of themselves now restricted to Radcliffe.
Disney’s
Pocahontas character has also experienced a drastic change from her early
beginnings in John Smith’s journals and letters. In his written account of his
time in Virginia, Pocahontas is little more than a footnote hastily thrown in
towards the end of his work. However Disney presents us with a fully developed
characterization to the beautiful Indian princess. She is described by her
peers as wild and untamed “always going where the wind takes her” (Disney).
Throughout the film Pocahontas is instructed by her father Powhatan that she is
to be “Steady as the beating drum” and to take the path of least resistance,
but instead she continually refuses to bend her will or be conquered. Disney’s
has turned Pocahontas into a representation of rural America, or “the new
world” which has yet to be tamed before the arrival of the Virginia Company on
her shores.
The
romantic pairing of Smith and Pocahontas, though contrary to historical
evidence, now makes sense in the context of the Disney story. If Pocahontas
represents the new world and John Smith the quintessential American hero then
it is logical that only Smith (the early American) possessed the qualities necessary
to tame the untamable and conquer the heart of Pocahontas (the new world).
Their paring demonstrates the American idea of “Manifest Destiny,” the idea
that America was meant for Americans, and that it was our destiny to take this
land for our own. There are other details of Disney’s film that play to this
idea as well. In her meetings with
Grandmother Willow, Pocahontas speaks of a dream she has had where she is
running through the woods when she comes across a spinning arrow, an arrow we
later discover is pointing her toward Smith. Grandmother Willow then tells her
that the arrow is pointing Pocahontas down the right path for her, and if she
“listens with her heart” she will find her way (Disney). The incorporation of this dream into the
story as well as the way it eludes to Native American spirituality suggests
that even Pocahontas and her people knew that the future of America lay not
with them, but with the Englishmen landing on their shores.
By
changing the details of John Smiths original account of his time with the
Virginia Company and his encounter with Pocahontas Disney creates a modern
version of this American folktale that serves to reinforce our learned
perception of American Identity while reassuring the American people in our
belief that this land (North America) was always meant to be “our land.” The Pocahontas story serves as a mirror with
which to view a reflection of our national identity, though said reflection may
be skewed. It may be that what Disney chose to remove and alter in their
telling of this American myth says more about Americans and our beliefs than
the details that were included in the film’s final cut.
Works
Cited
Gabriel,
Mike, dir. Disne'ys Pocahontas.
Disney: 23 june 1995. DVD.
Lepore, Jill. Here He Lyes. Cambridge: Random
House LLC, 2002. 16-30. Print.
Richter, Daniel. Facing East from Indian Country.
Cambribge: Harvard University Press, 2001. 68-79. Print.
