Monday, October 26, 2015

Pocahontas: Fact vs. Fiction

After Disney's Pocahontas was released, the Powhatan Nation was furious that the real story of Pocahontas was distorted in the name of entertainment. (See the Powhatan's letter here.) After exploring the different resources on Pocahontas, do you agree with the Powhatan in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly? Why would Disney have changed the facts in the first place? Give evidence from at least one source to support your opinion. (Post as ANONYMOUS, using first name, last initial and class period only!)


45 comments:

  1. I agree with the Powhatan in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly because now some people may not even know the true story and what happened. To add, its also their tribe, so if I was in that tribe I would probably take that personal since they told a fake story about something that happened in the tribe. I think Disney changed the facts because maybe they wanted to make the movie more interesting, and kid friendly instead of showing what actually happened. One piece of evidence from my Pocahontas reality to the Disney movie diagram is that they made her marry John Smith instead of John Rolfe. In addition, they made John Smith the same age as Pocahontas, but in reality he could be old enough to be her dad. I understand why the Powhatan Nation would be furious that the real story was distorted in the name of entertainment, and if I was them I would probably be too.

    Matthew L 10-11

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  2. I think that Powhatan was over exaggerating because they made that movie to inform the little kids about what it was like. That was what they were mostly going for. Also at the same time I agree with him because they should say the true story. If they did say it in the real story then the little kids would not understand as much as they do no. So in the most part I don't agree

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  3. I agree with the Powhatan in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas and the story behind her because now some people don't know what really happened. Everyone who watched the Disney movie probably now believes the Disney movie and they are misinformed. I believe that Disney changed the facts because they thought that the real story might be boring so they made it a little more interesting. Also they wanted to make it more of a love story rather than the true story. One piece of evidence from my diagram comparing Pocahontas and the Disney Pocahontas is that they made Pocahontas marry John Smith, which in real life is not true. Also in the movie they made John Smith and Pocahontas the same age but really John Smith was about old enough to be her dad. If I were the Powhatan's then I would be furious too because they told a fake story as if they did not care what actually happened.

    Jack H
    Period 10-11 B

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  4. I think that Disney was going for little kid entertainment and so they also they can get information of Jamestown. Also i agree with the Powhatan's that they should not have changed the story they should of just made it friendlier.
    Jillian M.
    P 2-3 B

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  5. I think that Disney was good for the little kid entertainment. so they also could of got some information on Jamestown. Also I agree that Powhatan's should not have changed the story they should of just made it friendlier and easier for little kids to comprehend the story.
    Gianna A
    Period 8-10 A

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  6. I agree with the Powhatans because Disney creators din't follow the Pocahontas story at all. Disney movie creators should of made the movie have some facts about Pocahontas correct. Other things Disney creators made did the best they can with a kids movie. You can't have an 11 year old be bald and have no teeth that give the children have nightmares. Some other stuff about Pocahontas being kidnapped and kill should also not be a kids movie but, I think Disney should added the character John Rolfe. In the letter Chief Roy Crazy Horse wrote to Disney headquarters shares things Disney ignored like Pocahontas's real name is Matoaka, Pocahontas didn;t really save John White and not adding anything about Jamestown and the Powhatan tribe feud with colonists. The Disney Pocahontas Movie was mostly made up of no facts unlike the second one they remade just for the Powhatan Tribe which even didn't show in theaters.
    Gavin D
    Period 10-11A

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  7. I agree be cause if you are going to tell the story of Pocahontas you should tell it right
    jake aravich p2-3 b

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  8. I think Disney shouldn't have portrayed pochantos in the way they did. I don't think they should have done this because it offended many people that are desendsants of the powahatan tribe. If the story of pochantos the movie she fell in love with John smith but at the time John smith was 30 she was 10. The way disney portrayed her way way different then the real story.
    Kieran D.
    period 2-3 "B"

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  9. I agree with Powhatan because Disney did not follow the real story of Pocahontas correctly. Also there a lot of bad things happend to Pocahontas, so I don't even know why they would make it into a movie for little kids. Also even though there was some info in the movie correctly, the creators lied about the most important parts, like Pocahontas marring John Rolfe who brought tobacco to Jamestown, and not John Smith. Also in the letter by Chief Roy Crazy Horse , Pocahontas at the age of 17, was held hostage for 1 year, and died at the age of 21
    Abigale C
    Period 2-3 B

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. I think the only reason that Disney changed the story for Pocahontas is because it was for little kids and they wouldn't really get the real story. But since the movie people don't know the real story of Pocahontas they have it all wrong. Like in the movie Pocahontas falls in love with John Smith, but in real life they are complete different ages and didn't like each other. Pocahontas really married John Rolfe and they made a lot of money with their tobacco farm.
    Gianna R
    Period 2-3B

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  12. Powhatan is obviously overreacting because the movie was not made to be factual because kids don't learn factual things at their age. The movie was made to entertain children, and adults, and others who watch it. It wasn't made to inform.

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  13. After exploring the real Pocahontas and Disney’s Pocahontas, I do agree with the Powhatan’s in saying that Disney should have made there Pocahontas more like the real person. For example in the Disney production Pocahontas was the same age as John Smith, but in real life Pocahontas was twelve when she met John Smith. I think that Disney changed the facts because they wanted to make it more interesting for the younger minds of Disney fans. But instead what they are doing is telling children wrong information about a real life person and that could affect kids later in life.
    Grace I. p 2-3

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  14. I agree with what Powhatten said. The movie gives incorrect information and does not tell the truth of who Pocahontis was. If you made the movie on real facts that happened all you would have to do is switch the rading up if it wouldnt be approipiate for children. There are many facts that didnt get put in the movie like ages and the fact that her hair wsnt perfect or her teeth. Also in the movie John Smith was a herioc person soemtimes. Not in real life though. Te movie is wrong and incorrect.
    Matthew Corey
    Period 2-3 B

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  15. I agree with the Powhatans. Back when Pocahontas and John Smith were still alive, the Native American's lived much differently then portrayed in the movie. Now, we don't expect to show the Native children running around with no clothes, but there are other things that they could have gotten right like how Pocahontas is not her late teens when she met John Smith, and that was actually around the time that she died. They could have also made John Smith older, and most of all, Pocahontas and Smith should not have been attracted to each other romantically. There is a lot more, but if Disney had just fixed the little details, the Powhatans living today would not have been as upset.
    Lauren R period 10/11 B

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  16. I think that the Powhatan people made to big of a deal about Disney not making Pocahontas historically accurate, because even though Disney's Pocahontas is fake, I believe that they were attempting to attract more of a younger crowd, or funnier crowd. Not a professional crowd. I do not think that the young crowd would like main character to be bald, and on the edge of death.

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  17. I agree with the Powhatan in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly. Many children grew up believing in the story that they saw on the screen. The movies wrongness is unfair to the Powhatan. The movie was mostly about the love story between Pocahontas and John Smith. However the real story of what Pocahontas really did was not included in the movie.
    Stella s Peroid 1/2 A

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  18. I agree with the Powhatas when they say that Disney did not portray Pocahontas correctly. In the Disney film, Pocahontas was much different then she was in real life. According to the Powhatan Nation, her name was not even Pocahontas, it was Matoaka. I think Disney made the changes because they wanted to make the film interesting for young children. It would not be a very good movie if Pocahontas was bald, had bad teeth, and was 12. They did not want the film to be about history, they just wanted to make people like it.
    Allie O. Period 1-2 A

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  19. I agree with the Powhatas when they say that Disney did not portray Pocahontas correctly. In the Disney film, Pocahontas was much different then she was in real life. According to the Powhatan Nation, her name was not even Pocahontas, it was Matoaka. I think Disney made the changes because they wanted to make the film interesting for young children. It would not be a very good movie if Pocahontas was bald, had bad teeth, and was 12. They did not want the film to be about history, they just wanted to make people like it.
    Allie O. Period 1-2 A

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  20. I think that Powhatan is incorrect, I do not agree. Many stories or movies have been changed around from the real story, but many people seem to over-exaggerate about this story. This version of Pocahontas was made to be a Disney movie for kids to enjoy, and if they showed the real whole story, many people may not have enjoyed it as much. They mainly made the movie about the love story between Pocahontas and John Smith, (In reality, her love was John Rolfe) they left out many other details, they may have gotten many facts incorrect, but Pocahontas is just like any other Disney movie, just changed around from the real story. Pocahontas was meant to be a Disney movie for kids to enjoy, And I don't agree with the Powhatan Nation.
    Kimberly L. Period 1-2A

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  21. I believe that Disney should have not portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly, because now when the name Pocahontas is said everyone thinks of the Disney movie and not the real person. Children will grow up thinking that Pocahontas was a fictional character , when in reality she was a real person and now her story is completely changed in children's minds.
    ErinS Period: 1/2 A

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  22. To begin, I agree with the Powhatans in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas's story incorrectly. I understand trying to make it kid friendly, but when you do that it doesn't mean changing history and providing false information. It is also unfair to the Natives and their culture. Therefore, I agree with the Powhatans, that Disney should not have changed the story line.
    Ross Benigno Period 1-2 A

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  23. Yes I definitely think that Pocahontas was inaccurately shown in this Disney movie. Besides the fact the Pocahontas wasn't even her real name! She didn't even look like she did in the movie! She wasn't the age she was in real life in the movie, and she died in England in real life from disease, in the movie she didn't even die! In real life her love interest was John Raul and in the movie her love interest was John Smith. There are too many reasons to deny that the movie did not accurately portray Pocahontas.
    Nick D. period 1-2 A

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  24. I agree in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly because now when people hear the name Pocahontas they will think of the Disney version. The Disney version is wrong so people will learn about the wrong things about Pocahontas. This is not good for kids because they will think Pocahontas is just a Disney character and not from history.

    Vincent C. period 1-2 A

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  25. In my opinion, I think the the Powhatoan nation is being reasonable because that Disney movie could have affended some people, but this movie was created just for kid entertainment. The Powhatoanshould be affended as well as complimented. The story of "Pocohantas" was at first not very "kid friendly", but the story was so inspiring that they still tried to make it work. It was meant for kids not for research, so people shouldn't take it as seriously. -Morgan N 8-9/10 A

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  26. In my opinion, I agree with the Powhatan in believing that Disney should not have portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly. I agree because the movie is giving out fictional details about true events in which will offend some people, and teach younger kids who watch this false information. For example, I watched Pocahontas as a kid and thought everything was fake because it was a Disney movie, so it made me believe that Pocahontas didn't even exist. However, I think Disney changed the facts because the events that happened back at Jamestown years ago, would not be appropriate for a kids movie. To support my claim, in the power point "Pocahontas History v. Hollywood" it talks about the inaccuracy about the movie and it states, "In the film, the characters of Pocahontas and John Smith are the same age. In reality, Pocahontas was only a young girl of 12 when John Smith and many of the English settlers came to Jamestown. smith was 28. Pocahontas used to dance naked in front of the Englishmen, something that would not have been acceptable in the family-friendly product Disney released." this quote explains how there are wrong facts, but it would be inappropriate if there were real facts in the movie. Also, they might of changed the facts so that their movie wasn't boring and more documentary like.
    ~ Natalie Z. Period 1-2A

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  27. I think that if kids saw what really went down they will make the move rated R because it had not a lot of food and sickness an wars.

    Kratz.L 8/10 A

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  29. I think that the Powhatan have a right to be mad. I believe this because Disney changed the look of one of the most important figures of their time and tribe, for everyone. Also not only did they make Pocahontas seem extremely different but also John Smith was told to be a lot younger and in love with Pocahontas. This gives the Powhatan's another right to be mad at the makers of this film. Although all this is true I believe that most of this was Disney's intentions, besides making people angry. Disney mostly wanted to let the younger children know small facts about Pocahontas in a way they can understand so that now we would know that she's there. I think that the Powhatan's took it all the wrong way, Disney wanted to put Pocahontas out there and not lock up her name until kids are in middle school but they couldn't tell the story the right way, it wouldn't have taught anything and would have been completely inappropriate.

    Maggie C. 10/11 B

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  30. I think that Disney changed the true Pocahontas story because the true story had lots of war and it wasn't kid friendly. It also had a lot of sickness. I got the information from the slides "Pocahontas Guided Reading"
    Patel L 8/10

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  31. I think that Disney was right to change the story of Pocahontas because the true story was not kid friendly. They also incorporated parts of the true story to make it kind of historicly accurate with out all the violence. I also understand why Powhaton Indians were mad because now a lot of people dont know the true story of Pocahontas and now they thinks its just some romantic fairy tale.
    Ally K 1-2 a

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  32. I think that Disney was right as to change the story of Pocahontas. I think this because the story of Pocahontas was not exactly kid friendly. It was violent and inappropriate. I think it would have been very bad for Disney to portray Pocahontas's real story. I get where the Powhatan are coming from. They feel that her story was sort of mocked in a way. They do not understand that Disney was trying to make Pocahontas's life story more interesting and making her seem like an amazing person. Although some people now think that Pocahontas was this romantic Indian hey also see her as a kindhearted person who saved someone's life even though it's fictional.
    Olivia K 8/10 A

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  33. I believe that they should not have portrayed Pocahontas incorrectly because this is just changing what the kids or viewers learn about Pocahontas. I do believe that Disney changed some of the facts about Pocahontas because they have not wanted to disappoint their viewers and some things that are in the true story may have been a bit graphic for younger viewers.

    -Abby Cimmino 8/10 A

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  34. I believe that Disney should have done what they wanted to in sense of making it as of what actually happened. People will get the wrong idea on Pocahontas and think differently about her. I do think that Disney should have added some things that aren't true so it wouldn't make the movie "boring" but more "fun." Disney is supposed to be "kid friendly" to most viewers and having the true information shown would make the amount of views the movie has, drop.
    Kyle O. 10-11b

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  36. I agree with the Powhatan to a point. Disney could have portrayed the story more accurately, however since the movie was made for little kids any violence or things younger kids would get confused by should be left out. Disney could have called Pocahontas by the right name, the letter stated how Pocahontas was just a nickname, they also could of had her marry John Rolfe instead of John smith like she actually did, finally they could have made Pocahontas the right age. However anything that had to do with people dying, or anything that ins't family friendly should have been left out since Disney's audience is typically little kids.
    Sam C 10/11

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  37. I also agree with Powhatan because it is history not Disney's invention of characters and places. I think that Disney should have made it more realistic with accurate dates and ages. Of course they could make a romance but not with people that were over 8 years apart from each other. The movie was a family movie so some parts of real history should be left out but it doesn't mean change ages and important facts about Pocahontas's life.
    Rachel R. Period 8-10

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  38. I agree with Disney when they changed the story because it was for small children to be entertained not for people to learn by so I thought it was appropriate to change the story a little.
    Jack B 10/11 B

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  39. I agree with the Powhatan Indians because I do not think that Disney should have portrayed Pocahontas differently. However I think that Disney did this to make it more appealing to their audience, it is still wrong to do. Ultimately, I think that Disney should have shown Pocahontas as she was in real life in the movie.

    - Katelyn Kennard P10-11-b

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  40. I agree with the Powhatan Indians because I dont think that Disney got the full essence of Pocahontas out to children. After watching the film kids just think that Pocahontas is a pretty girl who fell in love with John Smith. But that is actually not historically correct at all because yes Pocahontas did save him but that was the only time she met him. And Pocahontas was forced to marry John Rolfe as a sign of peace even though they didnt love each other. In addition Didney made the whole movie about Pocahontas's love for John Smith when they could of informed kids about the amazing important things and contributions she made towards America. Lastly Disney kinda showed the more perfect side of the story when in reality Pocahontas went through so much for our world. She made many sacrifices like being captured and held against her will in England, being forced to marry someone she didnt love, and her dad refusing to bring her home.
    Abby B period 2/3

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  41. I agree with the Powhatans because Disney didn’t make the image clear to children of what really happened. All the children and families must now think that Pocahontas was so beautiful. Pocahontas could be bald and have three teeth for all we know. I think Disney changed the facts because they wanted the viewers to be intrigued by their love story. I believe that disney just wanted to make more of a profit on their untrue movie rather than the old boring story. In the Disney movie Pocahontas married John Smith, which is not true. In the movie Pocahontas was the same age as John Smith, but in reality John Smith was as old as Pocahontas’ father. Pocahontas was actually 11 year old and John Smith was in his thirties. Pocahontas married John Rolfe not John Smith. If I was one of the Powhatans I would be enraged because they told an untrue story rather than a true one. Later Disney released Pocahontas two which is the true story; Disney did this because there were so many complaints about it not being the true story so they changed it.
    Lydia E 10/11 B

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  43. I agree with the Powhatan because Disney was not telling the true facts. Pocahontas was actually 12 while John Smith was somewhere in his late 20's or early thirties. Not only did Disney use the incorrect ages, they also made Pocahontas fall for the wrong guy. She was really in love with John Rolfe. Also it was believed that she really was not as beautiful as we saw in the movie. It was believed Pocahontas actually had no hair and imperfect teeth, the complete opposite of what was shown in the movie. However some things that they left out were understandable , being that Disney has to keep a family friendly rating. Back then Pocahontas used to dance naked in front of men, which clearly would change the rating of the movie, and most likely would not give Disney the best reputation. But either way I feel as if the Powhatan's have a right to be at least a little angry and upset with the creators of this movie for not showing, what really happened.
    Kayla W 1/2 A

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