It May Be Art But…It Isn’t Reality

Disney’s newest animated feature “Pocahontas” is scheduled to be released nationwide on June 23. Members of the Native American community throughout the United States are already beginning to protest. In a recent Washington Post article, the Powhatan Indian woman who served as a consultant to the film says now “I wish they would take the name of Pocahontas off that movie.”

Native Americans object to the way Disney rewrote history and the “sexy” way Pocahontas is portrayed. Disney has defended the film by saying that it never intended to do a history film. A Disney executive told the Post: “We simply set out to make a beautiful movie about the Native American experience.” As you’ll see from the essay below, these Indian writers think Disney failed miserably.

The woman on the screen spoke in a soft, seductive way. Her eyes were directed admiringly at the hero in the story. Big, strong hero! Her waist was tiny in comparison to her large, sexy bosom and round buttocks. Her long black hair blew in the wind. She wore a very short dress, decorated with metallic-looking fringe.

Sounds like the sister of Barbie, doesn’t it? No, it wasn’t Barbie or Cinderella. The heroine swooning at her handsome hero was none other than Pocahontas, Disney-style, in the movie of the same name to be released June 23.

In the movie version, Pocahontas and John Smith are in their 20s. Historically, Pocahontas was about 11 when she first met Jamestown colonists. John Smith was in his early 30s. This would make Smith more of a pedophile than a dashing young colonist, if a romance had truly developed between the two. (Disney made that up, too.) Pocahontas was also held captive for a while by British settlers and died of smallpox at 21, yet another victim of a disease white men introduced to the Indian people.

In the 1995 transformation, Pocahontas is suddenly part of Barbie’s culture - a culture that relies on sexism, capitalism and lookism. A culture where a woman is evaluated only on her appearance. A culture where a girl heroine lives only for approval from men. In this case, John Smith.

Let’s look at all of this from a Native perspective. No doubt, Pocahontas would have been banished from her tribe if she showed up in a fringe mini-dress. Modesty was, and continues to be, a value among Native American people. What about her body structure? Native people are not built like Disney’s Pocahontas. They do not, as a rule, have tiny waists and big buttocks. Disney seems to now be advocating that not only should Indian people behave like white Americans, they must also be shaped like them!

We wish to educate the public that Indian people have strong feelings. We are intelligent people and have a strong commitment to have our history told in our own words and through our own perceptions. We do not want the entertainment industry to continue to define and imply what our value system is about. Our main concern is that our Indian youth know that our people do not promote the exploitation of body images for the sake of romance.

We want Indian youth to know that Disney’s Pocahontas rates an F from the Indian community. Our children, and children of all ethnic groups, live in a society where young people are often powerless. Paradoxically, they can gain power through sexuality.

Native American women, and other women of color, must stand up and say we will no longer allow the white males in this society to define our body image. We will not allow their standards to set up our young girls for a lifetime of suffering. Research shows that girls act seductive at younger and younger ages. The issue was brought home for Martina, one of the writers of this essay, when her 4-year-old daughter fell in love with the beautiful, dark Jasmine of “Aladdin.” Martina was pleased that her daughter had a young woman of color to look up to, until her daughter lamented that she didn’t have breasts like Jasmine!

It’s interesting that the only female Disney character that does not receive the same demeaning treatment is the white European Belle of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” You find her modestly dressed with a personality to match.

Belle was a surprise, considering that white America has already done a big disservice to its women. For instance, there is an ad in a women’s magazine that pictures a beautiful woman with this caption across her body: “This woman’s body isn’t as good as it looks!” The ad goes on to say that her tummy isn’t really flat and her bust isn’t really that shapely. The advertised products are making them look that way. Is it any wonder that anorexia and bulimia are epidemic among white girls?

Thank you very much, but we do not want the same disrespect shown to Native women. In our Indian communities, women are finally being restored to the sacred roles of lifegivers and nurturers.

The portrayal of Pocahontas, like many other Disney figures such as Ariel of “Little Mermaid” is a symptom of disrespect and oppression. What our culture doesn’t like or understand, it tries to kill or change.

This portrayal of Pocahontas would be unacceptable at any time, but it’s even more so in an age when America is trying hard to accept diversity. Writers and producers are saying that cultural diversity is OK as long as it is translated through white middle-class values. What kind of message does that send to our children?

We invite women of all races to make a contribution to restore women to their rightful places of respect. Do this by boycotting the movie and refusing to buy the products that the movie spawns. Maybe then Hollywood will get the message.

The Native American community is planning a protest when the theaters release Pocahontas toward the end of June. We will meet to organize this protest today at 2 p.m. at Franklin Park. Everyone interested is welcome and encouraged to attend. xxxx

Faith Spotted Eagle, a Yankton Dacotah tribal member, is selfemployed as a private consultant specializing in dispute resolution, organizational leadership and cultural diversity development. She lives with her husband and two children in Spokane.

Do you have any thoughts about the movie “Pocahontas” or the views expressed about it on this page? We will return to the topic after the movie is released, if we get enough response. Let us know your thoughts by contacting interactive editor Rebecca Nappi at The SpokesmanReview, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615. Fax a message to (509) 459-5098. Or call (509) 459-5496. Or send e-mail to bfqt60f@prodigy.com