Poahhontas, And Boutique Multiculturalism In 'The Other'

The first factor that we shall discuss is the concept of ‘The Other’ and ‘Boutique Multiculturalism’ in order to understand how Disney's portrayal of Pocahontas in its film has misrepresented the actual historical account. The notion of The Other is defined as, ‘An individual who is perceived by the group as not belonging, as being different in some fundamental way’ and at the same time, ‘The Other is almost always seen as a lesser or inferior being and is treated accordingly’. (Melanie 2010). In the case of Pocahontas, she was considered The Other because her Native American world was considered to be fundamentally different to the explorers of the New World, who were physically similar yet different, speaking another language and using distinct signs (Coppi Agostinelli 2012:2). Through the understanding of The Other, we begin to understand how Pocahontas and her tribe are seen as The Other in the eyes of the colonists who considered themselves to be from a more civilised culture. Similarly for the Powhatan’s tribe, the unwelcomed colonists are considered to be The Other as they are seen to come from an unknown culture. As Melanie has suggested, The Other is often treated as the inferior group, especially in the face of what is considered to be backwards and tribal versus civilised and modern. According to Ono and Buescher, while Pocahontas’ story is meaningful in the Native American history, it is not told as such because of its inferiority in comparison to colonists’ account of the turn of events (2001: 25). From this brief look into the notion of The Other, we can begin to understand how Disney's portrayal of Pocahontas in its film has misrepresented the actual historical account.

Boutique Multiculturalism on the other han...

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...it their primary audience- children. This statement can be supported when Ward states ‘Disney chose to blend history with legend and entertainment values.’ (Ward, 2002:54). In addition to that, Disney tried to justify their action by stating ‘Although the Disney version of the Pocahontas story takes liberties with regard to her actual age at the time she met Smith and speculates about their friendship, it remains true to her spirit and enhances her acknowledge role as a peacekeeper.’(Pocahontas Press Kit, 1995). From the following statement, it can be concluded that Disney tries to establish positive morals for children to take away as they have acclaimed themselves to be ‘The world's largest producer of wholesome family entertainment.’ (Verberg, 1996) and subsequently it shapes Disney's portrayal of Pocahontas and thus misrepresented the actual historical account.