Adaptation: Literature, Film and Society

Who is Pocahontas?

I have always been influenced by biographies of people.  Reading about a person’s struggles, accomplishments, or learning about their timeline and history fascinates me. It is a part of what inspires me to learn about what a person would consider knowledgeable and his or her teachings. It is good to learn about the history of why and how a person came to be known as who they are today and what they stand for. For that reason, I take a personal interest in a well- known historical figure, Pocahontas. Not only can I understand and learn about her, I can somewhat relate to her from a Native American point of view.

I choose Pocahontas as a subject for my classroom because of its relevancy and what I feel should be told and also so that students become interested in seeking factual information.  Unfortunately, in this topic there are still questions raised about the true facts-- what really happened, how and why it happened? These are questions are not all answered because of the different stories and the lack of written information from the period. Who is Pocahontas? The question is asked by so many writers that we begin to look deeper into what has been told. The Powhatan tribe too gives their version of what they think is the true story of Pocahontas, which is questioned by many. Two notable authors, Dr. Linwood “Little Bear” Castalow and Angela L. Daniels “Silver Star” have written about the Powhatan version of Pocahontas, The True Story of Pocahontas published in 2007. The Powhatan tribe believe that the truth is told by the tribal members themselves. This would be the first time ever that a story from the Powhatan tribe would thrive. The Powhatan tribe keep the secret of the life story of Pocahontas because of fear of corruption by outsiders to the tribe: for 400 years, the tribe has withheld the story of Pocahontas.  This was also due to the language gap, and the struggle they have endured in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s.  (Linwood, 2017).²

A different version of the Pocahontas story has surfaced in 1995, told by Walt Disney.³ This was the first time ever that Disney decided to make a film about an actual living person. The film is based on Pocahontas, but the film’s adaption was not as accurate as some of the factual information about Pocahontas.  The film was based more on a Hollywood as well as from an Anglo perspective.  The Powhatan tribe disagreed with the film and argued that the film was distorting the truth.  Many critics agreed that the film was stereotyping Native Americans so as to make Pocahontas be the “good Indian” because she saved the life of John Smith.  John Smith was an early English explorer who came with the English settlers to America in hopes of fine wealth.  In addition, the English settlers planned to build homes and settle in Jamestown, Virginia. When the Walt Disney released the film, there were many criticisms about the film. It was noted that it was based on the Western idea that Pocahontas, who was to be assimilated into the new colony. This sent a message to the audience that the way the Native Americans lived was uncivilized. In many sequences of the film, the character John Smith reinforced this statement. In the film, John Smith is portrayed as strong, smart and smashingly handsome. Pocahontas was portrayed as beautiful and almost like a princess. Also, the film depicts the character Pocahontas as a hero because she saves John Smith, a Western settler, and became a hero to the English settlers.  The film was based on a love story between two people from two different cultures.  Many reviews claim that the story this movie told was far from the truth.

Chief Roy Crazy Horse described similar misconceptions about Pocahontas in an article, The Pocahontas Myth.⁴ He believes that Disney did not tell the actual truth about the life Pocahontas and the Powhatan tribe.  He adds that the historical and cultural perspective of the Powhatan was refused by Disney, since Disney refused to base their story on factual information. He claims that Euro-Americans should find it embarrassing to be that deceitful and dishonest. Furthermore, he stated that what Disney considers to be “entertainment” is at the expense of the Powhatans’ reputation. I agree as well, that this “entertainment” was at the expense of all Native Americans. The film displayed some stereotypes of Native Americans, such as depicting Native Americans as “savages” and “uncivilized”.  The Disney film also suggested that the early Europeans were characterized as being more civilized and smarter than the Native Americans. In other stories that surfaced about Pocahontas, some say that she was captured and mistreated. We may never know whether these tales about Pocahontas are true or not.