Pocahontas – Cultural Anthropology

Writing Assignment 1 The Cultural Construction of the Idea of Progress Film chosen Pocahontas wizard of Walt Disneys most famous films, Pocahontas, takes place in the 1600s, as the British discover parts of the New World that ar inhabited by native Americans. In this film, we are able to contrast the primitive life style and culture of the Native Americans to that of the British, and are able to see how the creative hypothesiseers of progress or social evolution play a role in the ethnocentric bias held by the Westerners during this time, cau blab tabu the primitive stereotypes to be built.Disney uses the structure of the characters themselves- what they wear, how they speak, what they eat, what they swear in, etc. and the plot line of the film, to depict the cultural construction of the idea of progress, and evoke the opposing ideas of the primitive other and civilized ego. This film opens showing us the life of the British as they identity card the ship and while theyre sailing at sea. Disney starts off with the British because we as westerners relate to the British, and see their way of life as normal and civilized.We immediately relate to the color of their skin, their westernized clothing, the way they speak, and the technology they cod access code too. While on the boat, magic trick Smith (the male protagonist) refers to the Native American Indians as savages who should be killed if they get in the way. This gives us a rook peak into the mindset of the British and how negatively they view the Native Americans. loss us with the belief that the Indians are savages, Disney then introduces Pocahontas (the female protagonist) and the Indian family line that has been living in the New World.Immediately we are exposed to the primitive life-style of the Indians. We see that their way of traveling is by wooden canoes, their clothing last out of a brown cloth that covers very little while they dealwise do non progress to on shoes, they live in tents, and have nothing but nature at its purest form meet them. We see the women out in the fields gathering corn by hand, while the men are coming home from battle, with unaccompanied bows and arrows and spears for weapons.The sign reaction to seeing the culture and way of life amongst the Indians is to see them as uncivilized and savage, just as John Smith was reflection on the boat. However throughout the film Disney begins to challenge this belief and shows us that the westerners way of life may not be the best way of life for bothone. Up until this point, John Smith and the rest of the English men had been discovering new places and finding Native Americans that had been living for many years on these foreign lands.The Europeans always saying these natives as uncivilized, barbaric savages, who implyed to be taken over and westernized. John Smith makes a comment to Pocahontas almost how they could make the Indians life better, and found them roads and tall building s, and teach them how to make the most of their land. This is a perfect example of the ethnocentric bias mentality of the Europeans. They never erstwhile considered that someone elses way of living and culture could actually be a successful.They thought that their way was the best way, and anything else was just an underdeveloped, barbaric lifestyle that needed to progress into the westernized lifestyle. After John Smith makes this comment about bettering the Indians life styles Pocahontas is deeply offended and proceeds to sing the popular song, The Colors of the Wind. In this song Pocahontas calls John Smith out on his ethnocentric stance and shows him her point of view, in singing You think you own whatsoever land you land on, The earth is just a dead thing you can claim, But I know every rock and tree and creature, Has a life, has a quality, has a name.You think the only people who are people, Are the people who look and think standardised you, But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, Youll learn things you never knew you never knew. For the foremost time John Smith begins to listen to Pocahontas and realizes how ignorant him and his crew have been to think they can claim any land they come across, treating the natives like wild beasts.All this time the Europeans have looked down upon the primitive culture of the natives, idea that they were sub-human, and needed to be nurtured and tamed just like animals horizontal so in this moment John Smith sees the free spirit in Pocahontas, and he admires her connection to the nature all around her. He begins to see that the Natives are just normal human beings in their raw(a) element, a thriving off of the world around them, with no need of technology, or any of the advancements the westerners were bringing to the New World.Overall, Disneys film, Pocahontas, does a marvellous job contrasting the cultures of the primitive other and civilized self with Pocahontas and the Indians as the primitive other a nd John Smith and the Europeans as the civilized self. We are able to see through the Europeans, their ethnocentrism, and their naive attitudes that leads them to believe they own whatever land they land on and can treat the natives however they want. Disney however plays out this film in a way to show us his view on this ethnocentric bias and how he believes it to be malign and unlawful.He makes the viewer side with the Indians and portrays the Indians as the good guys and the Europeans as the bad guys. Disney was arduous to send a message that this whiteness way of thinking is not always correct and can sometimes bring harm to others even when its not intentional. Works Cited Pocahontas. Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1995. Film. Seriff, Suzanne. Cultural Anthropology ANT 302. University of Texas. Spring 2013.