10 Disturbing Life Lessons Disney Movies Teaches You
10. History Is Whatever You Want It to Be
This was a big issue in the past when Disney was releasing the last of their 2D animated wonders. Historically charged hits like Mulan have brought heaps of criticism upon the company as every Chinese individual in the world did little more than point and laugh. A good friend of mine from China who came here to study once told me that in his country Mulan was considered the dumbest movie ever made, a ridiculous parody of their culture in history, and only to be used as a derogatory term for a girl who acted like a man. Of course, nothing compares to the outrage thrown over their 1995 film, Pocahontas. This movie has been blasted again and again for being an historical travesty used to cover up the Native American genocide that occurred in the years after the colony at Jamestown was established. On the surface are the more obvious inaccuracies like Pocahontas' age (the real Powhatan princess was ten years old and definitely not in love with John Smith), but what is even more interesting is that evidence provided by descendants of the Powhatan nation has been provided that shows the Pocahontas incident never even occurred. According to them, John Smith was a dislikable mercenary who made up the entire thing. There is evidence that John Smith was well received by the Native Americans he met. After all, in real history he was sent to them by one John Ratcliffe in order to establish trade and befriend their people. Overall Disney's Pocahontas and their other films that rely on a historical setting are not harming children, as the truth behind the real history is something they haven't really been taught to understand yet. However, Pocahontas, when you stop to consider it as an adult, is disturbing. It is a clever piece of propaganda used to cover up a terrible genocide of the Native American people that Disney brought to life. What it taught us, truly, was that history is whatever the person recording it at the time wants it to be.
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This was a big issue in the past when Disney was releasing the last of their 2D animated wonders. Historically charged hits like Mulan have brought heaps of criticism upon the company as every Chinese individual in the world did little more than point and laugh. A good friend of mine from China who came here to study once told me that in his country Mulan was considered the dumbest movie ever made, a ridiculous parody of their culture in history, and only to be used as a derogatory term for a girl who acted like a man. Of course, nothing compares to the outrage thrown over their 1995 film, Pocahontas. This movie has been blasted again and again for being an historical travesty used to cover up the Native American genocide that occurred in the years after the colony at Jamestown was established. On the surface are the more obvious inaccuracies like Pocahontas' age (the real Powhatan princess was ten years old and definitely not in love with John Smith), but what is even more interesting is that evidence provided by descendants of the Powhatan nation has been provided that shows the Pocahontas incident never even occurred. According to them, John Smith was a dislikable mercenary who made up the entire thing. There is evidence that John Smith was well received by the Native Americans he met. After all, in real history he was sent to them by one John Ratcliffe in order to establish trade and befriend their people. Overall Disney's Pocahontas and their other films that rely on a historical setting are not harming children, as the truth behind the real history is something they haven't really been taught to understand yet. However, Pocahontas, when you stop to consider it as an adult, is disturbing. It is a clever piece of propaganda used to cover up a terrible genocide of the Native American people that Disney brought to life. What it taught us, truly, was that history is whatever the person recording it at the time wants it to be.