According to the discussion in class about Oroonoco from Aphra Benn I have been thinking about europeans and slaves, indians and africans and I have remembered a disney film: Pocahontas. M y question is, if the Lion King is a film based in the Shakespeare's play Hamlet, could Pocahontas be based on the arrival of english people to America in the restoration era? Well, I have been looking for some information about the tale of Pocahontas and I have found that this story is based in the XVII century.Everything starts in 1607. James I is the king of England. English people travel to America to colonize the indians. The indian tribe headed by Pocahontas' father kidnap John Smith. When they are going to execute him, Pocahontas jumps over him to save his life. This is the way in which indians and europeans start a kind of friendship, but this friendship ends soon because the english people are extending over the country and indians feel threatened.
Smith and some people returns to England and Pocahontas get married with a man called John Rolfe. He has got a tobacco field in Virginia. As many colonizers has left America, this man try to demonstrate that indians can be educated like he has done with Pocahontas.
You know that John Smith was the one who wrote that story and he was famous for the inaccurate of his tales of the New World, that always tried to portray him in the best light? In fact, the Disney movie is so inaccurate and romantised that seems that the real John Smith wrote it himself. Seriously, tall, young, and blonde; with Mel Gibson's voice? See a real picture of him, even in a portrait he looks short.
ReplyDeletewell, in fact the story has got some things which are true and some which are not. It is said the the only story we know is told by John Smith and it may not be totally true but I think he may was in loved with an indian girl and that is because he invented the story or maybe both of them were in loved and they had a relationship. Anyway,I have seen some pictures of Smith and he is not very handsome but in the films he has to be because he is like a hero
ReplyDeleteWow!! Super original! Thanks Marta for your post. I know Starla has a very critical take on John Smith's renderings of the New World, but I found the connections you make here really fascinating. Well done both of you.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it would be worth the trouble trying to find Indian accounts of the arrival of the Europeans to their land. They do exist although they are referred to a later time.
In a scale of 5 I give you a 4,5.
See my language corrections below:
Language corrections:
Oroonoko by (not from) Aphra Behn
Europeans (with a capital letter)
Based on (not in)
English (capital letter)
Kidnaps (verb tense)
return (without the s at the end. Subject/verb agreement)
Pocahontas gets (third person singular needs an s at the end)
This man tries (agreement!!)