Description
The article discusses how some Native Americans are angry about the recent Disney release of Pocahontas because they feel that the movie does not accurately portray their culture. They argue that the movie's portrayal of American Indians is actually white cultural myth, and that the actual histories of the characters were replaced by mythic narratives. This serves to reassert for whites their right to be here, easing any lingering guilt about the displacement of the native inhabitants.
One hundred members of NatChat, an electronic mail discussion group concerned with Native American issues, responded to the recent Disney release Pocahontas by calling on parents to boycott the movie, citing its historical inaccuracies and saying that "Disney has let us down in a cruel, irresponsible manner." Their anger was rooted in the fact that, although Disney claimed that the film's portrayal of American Indians would be "authentic," the Pocahontas story their movie told was really white cultural myth. The actual histories of the characters were replaced by mythic narratives depicting the crucial moments when aid was given to the white settlers. As reconstructed, the story serves to reassert for whites their right to be here, easing any lingering guilt about the displacement of the native inhabitants.
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