Images of a Legend
POCAHONTAS RESCUES
SMITH
1995,
Walt Disney Studios
With Disney's release of
the animated feature Pocahontas,
a new incarnation of her is now familiar to a vast worldwide audience. Some
critics have argued that Disney's "princess" is older than the
Powahatan girl John Smith would have encountered, that the romance between them
is fanciful, and that the depiction of her strays from historical reality in
other ways. If so, it is in keeping with a long tradition. Like other artists,
the writers and animators behind the film integrate elements of fantasy with
historical facts, and they reflect cultural biases of their own time. They both
capitalize on her legend and pay tribute to her as an individual of unusual
energy and vision who influenced the course of history.