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Ashley Brodnick

Mr. Phillips

Cultural Media Literacy Honors

May 16th, 2018

Stereotypes In Disney’s Pocahontas

Remaining truthful to old folktales has never been Disney’s strongest suit, however in

the film “Pocahontas” the portrayal of the relationships between 1600 English settlers

and Native Americans, as well as Native American stereotypes, remains fairly accurate.

Throughout frequent misrepresentations of Native Americans in this childhood classic,

Disney aids in the regression of truthful representations of Native American culture,

influencing parents and children alike to believe these harmful depictions rather than

refuting them.

The film follows the tale of a Native American woman named Pocahontas and her

relationship with a colonizing English settler John Smith. Throughout many adventures

through the Virginia landscape, the pair grow to love each other; all the while, their

opposing cultures clash with unyielding hate, and it becomes their responsibility to teach

their people to live in harmony. A progressive film for the time, Pocahontas gave rise to

a new era of empowerment to colored women. Sophie Gilbert describes pocahontas’s

diverse success;

“[The studio] had, for the first time, based an entire picture around an adult female, let

alone a woman of color. It was also the first time the studio had produced a film about a

real person. [...] The film also seemed to embrace an environmentalist message, with

Pocahontas showing Smith the absurdity of relentlessly taking things from the Earth
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instead of seeing its potential. It was a radical story about female agency and empathy

disguised as a rather sappy romance [...]”

However in Pocahontas’s success in progression for women, many problems are

created through her character and its actions. The Powhatan Nation detail their troubles

of the character, describing her “[to] embody the trope of the “Good Indian”. This

stereotype usually depicts a Native American who gives up their life or heritage to a

white settler, and has come to symbolize America’s ideal Indian hero (Aleiss). Many

examples of this stereotype are easily identifiable in the film; Pocahontas lies to her

tribe in order to provide Smith with food and safety, sacrificing her fiancé, and offering

her own life to save John Smith. This trope is common in Hollywood’s depictions of

Indians, reinforcing the idea that good Indians are the ones who will embrace white

culture as their own.

Disney’s use of hollywood stereotypes is present in the film’s supporting characters

as well, Kocoum (Pocahontas’ Indian fiancé) and Kekata (previous chief) display

behaviors identifying of the Bloodthirsty and Noble savage. Kocoum’s behavior as brute

and silent as well as being the greatest warrior of the tribe are apart of the ignoble

savage trope hollywood has been implicating since the eighteenth century. Kocoum is

no exception to the fate these stereotyped characters often meet, his demise ultimately

contributes to the success of the white hero and is of little loss to the overall story

(History). Kekata is one of few words, his dialog usually consisting of very simple and

spiritual references to nature. Although unimportant to the plot, his addition to the film

strengthens many stereotypical ideas about Indian culture such as their lack of reason,

civilization, and intelligence. The culmination of these trops fabricates a false history of
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the behaviors and culture of Native Americans, and prevents modern culture from

understanding the true nature of these people.

Disney does little to hide their blatant abuse of these stereotypes, many reoccuring

themes in Hollywood’s Indian films are expressed through dialog. Woven within award

winning songs and mediocre animation include quotes similar to other successful Native

American films. Chief Powhatan states it would “make his heart soar” if Pocahontas

married Kocoum, a remark almost identical to the character in Little Big Man, Old Lodge

Skins, whose heart “soars like a hawk”. Chief Powhatan also states “[Kocoum] is loyal

and strong, he could build you a nice house” another recurring theme about Native

ideas of masculinity repeated in many of Hollywood films (Smallbone). Although

considered progressive in many areas, Disney’s extreme dependence on hollywood

tropes makes for a problematic film full of mistruths and misrepresentations.

By continuing to depict Native Americans in this manner, Disney ultimately fulfills

Hollywood’s classic stereotypes and distorts Native Americans to millions of children

across the globe. In doing so, the culture will continue to express these stereotypes,

misrepresenting thousands of Native Americans and their history.

Bibliography
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Aleiss, Angela. “Community Comment : Maidens of Hollywood : 'Pocahontas' Is the

Pure Expression of Filmmakers' Fantasies about Indian Women.” Los Angeles

Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 1995, articles.latimes.com/1995-06-

24/local/me-16519_1_indian-women.

Gilbert, Sophie. “Revisiting Pocahontas at 20.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company,

23 June 2015, www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/ revisiting-

pocahontas/396626/.

“Native Americans & American Popular Culture.” History,

www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/diversity/native/is1-demon/index.html.

Smallbone, Chris. “Film Review:Little Big Man Arthur Penn,1970.” Film Review:They

Died with Their Boots On, Raoul Walsh, 1941, www.nativeamerican.co.uk/

littlebigman.html.