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--- 329:question:329--week_2_questions_comments-2022 [2022/09/01 04:23] – [So What Question:] 76.78.225.170
+++ 329:question:329--week_2_questions_comments-2022 [2024/09/05 01:30] (current) – [How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history?] 104.28.77.147
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 ====== How does this movie work as a secondary source? What does the movie get right about history? ======
-Disney’s 1995 film, Pocahontas, works well as an introduction for children to the history of conflict between European settlers and Native Americans. Its themes, while simple, are compelling and serve to teach the film’s younger audiences about the values of understanding, compassion, and mutual respect. The film does a good job of underlining the similarities between the two people groups in songs like Steady as The Beating Drum and Savages; while also underlining the differences in their cultural values in songs like Mine,Mine,Mine vs Colors of The Wind. As one might expect from a children’s film, the story does significantly simplify the nature of the historical events, packaging them in a characteristically Disney-esc romance, obscuring much of the real history in the process. I would have perhaps liked to have seen more of a focus on the Colonists’ reliance on trade for food, as it would have further helped to underscore the themes of working together and how much the colonists had to learn from the Native Americans. Overall, while essentially nothing more than historically inspired fiction, Disney’s 1995 film Pocahontas does work to convey the themes of America’s earliest colonial history.  -Lucca Crowe
+Disney’s 1995 film, Pocahontas, works well as an introduction for children to the history of conflict between European settlers and Native Americans. **Its themes, while simple, are compelling and serve to teach the film’s younger audiences about the values of understanding, compassion, and mutual respect. The film does a good job of underlining the similarities between the two people groups in songs like Steady as The Beating Drum and Savages; while also underlining the differences in their cultural values in songs like Mine,Mine,Mine vs Colors of The Wind. As one might expect from a children’s film, the story does significantly simplify the nature of the historical events, packaging them in a characteristically Disney-esc romance, obscuring much of the real history in the process.** I would have perhaps liked to have seen more of a focus on the Colonists’ reliance on trade for food, as it would have further helped to underscore the themes of working together and how much the colonists had to learn from the Native Americans. Overall, while essentially nothing more than historically inspired fiction, Disney’s 1995 film Pocahontas does work to convey the themes of America’s earliest colonial history.  -Lucca Crowe
-The movie works as a secondary source in depicting history from the colonies and Native Americans. It does not work well as a secondary source because it is not very accurate. One thing it did seem to get right about history was the English’s desire for gold, wealth, and political power in Virginia.
+The movie **works as a secondary source in depicting history from the colonies and Native Americans. It does not work well as a secondary source because it is not very accurate. One thing it did seem to get right about history was the English**’s desire for gold, wealth, and political power in Virginia.
 This movie, although inaccurate in many ways, does work as a secondary source in many ways; for starters, it explains the one of the reasonings for the English coming to America, shown in the song "The Virginia Company." In this song, the English sing, 'For the New World is like Heaven // and we'll all be rich and free // or so we have been told // by the Virginia Company.'  These lyrics describe the blessings and wealth promised by the entrepreneurs of the Virginia Company which was the main reason for attacking the Native Americans. Later on in the show, we see how the English truly viewed the Native Americans in the song "Savages." Their bigotry and disgust towards the natives is shown in the lyrics, 'Savages! Savages! // Drive them from the shore // They're not like you and me // Which means they must be evil." - Zack Steinbaum
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 Pocahontas works as a secondary source, not as an in depth one, but works well as an introduction. Being a children’s movie, it gives a watered-down version of the events. It gets a lot of things wrong, but it does manage to get some things right. The movie depicts the motivations of the English for wealth, which is correct. It also depicts that their expectations of the expedition were set forth by the Spanish. The gendered roles of the Native American community are depicted fairly well too, with women doing agriculture and men primarily being hunters and warriors. Most importantly though, it shows that the relationship between the English and Native Americans was not a good one. It was a relationship stained by conflict and animosity. The movie does a good job of portraying both sides in the conflict as well. - Taylor Coleman
+Disney’s Pocahontas works as a secondary source mainly for children. This movie works as a glorified version of the history of Native Americans and the English settlers. The main concept that is accurate from the movie is the Virginia Company and their theories of the land being filled with gold. As well as the perspective the English had on Native Americans. In the movie, the english called them “savages” and assumed the worst from them. The governor believed they were hiding all the gold, when in reality they weren’t worried about the gold. This was represented by John Smith asking Pocahontas in the movie if they had any gold and she pulled out a husk of corn. There are many inaccuracies in the movie, but this is an easily digestible version for children because it leaves out the gruesomeness of the wars between the Natives and the English, but allows them to grasp the general ideas.
+-Leah Bicknell
 ====== Problems with historical accuracy? Errors in fact? ======
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 ===== __Underlined Text__So What Question: =====
-While Pocahontas doesn’t reach me the same way that it did as a child, doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. On the contrary, there are a lot of good parts to the movie. Think about it like this: Pocahontas led the way towards more indigenous representation within movies and Disney in general. Was it accurate and respectfully done? No definitely not, but it was a boost towards gauging American interest in it for example.
+While Pocahontas doesn’t reach me the same way that it did as a child, doesn’t mean it’s not a bad movie. On the contrary, there are a lot of good parts to the movie. Think about it like this: Pocahontas (the movie) led the way towards more indigenous representation within Disney in general. Was it accurate and respectfully done? No definitely not, but it was a boost towards gauging American interest in it for example. Pocahontas (the movie) walked so the Moana (the movie) could run. Hopefully in the future Disney will make more films about indigenous culture, but put more time and effort into them. Accuracy is definitely wanted, but doesn't have to be 100%. Being respectful is necessary and something Disney needs to do a little bit better with these days.
 -Michaela Fontenot