Pocahontas – Cultural Anthropology

Writing Assign ment 1 The heathenish Construction of the Idea of Progress withdraw chosen Pocahontas One of Walt Disneys close to famous films, Pocahontas, takes place in the 1600s, as the British discover parts of the modernistic World that are inhabited by native Ameri piece of asss. In this film, we are fitting to contrast the unmannerly animatenessstyle and husbandry of the autochthonic Americans to that of the British, and are able to uplift how the ideas of shape up or social phylogeny play a role in the ethnocentric bias held by the Westerners during this time, cause the primordial stereotypes to be built.Disney uses the structure of the characters themselves- what they wear, how they speak, what they eat, what they trust in, etc. and the plot line of the film, to fork over the cultural construction of the idea of pass on, and evoke the oppo prate ideas of the native stresser(a) and civilized self. This film opens demo us the existent of the British as t hey board the ship and while theyre sailing at sea. Disney starts off with the British because we as westerners relate to the British, and manipulate their direction of lifespan as normal and civilized.We right away relate to the color of their skin, their westernized clothing, the way they speak, and the engineering science they check access too. While on the boat, stern smith (the male protagonist) refers to the Native American Indians as ferociouss who should be killed if they purport in the way. This gives us a raise peak into the mindset of the British and how negatively they outlook the Native Americans. Leaving us with the belief that the Indians are savages, Disney then introduces Pocahontas (the feminine protagonist) and the Indian tribe that has been living in the New World.Immediately we are exposed to the primitive lifestyle of the Indians. We agnize that their way of locomotion is by wooden canoes, their clothing brood of a br knowledge cloth that covers genuinely little while they also do not have on shoes, they function in tents, and have nothing nevertheless nature at its purest form surrounding them. We see the women out in the fields gathering corn by hand, while the men are access home from battle, with only bows and arrows and spears for weapons.The initial reply to seeing the culture and way of life amongst the Indians is to see them as uncivilized and savage, secure as John metalworker was saying on the boat. However throughout the film Disney begins to challenge this belief and shows us that the westerners way of life may not be the outdo way of life for allone. Up until this point, John smith and the rest of the English men had been discovering new places and finding Native Americans that had been living for m any geezerhood on these foreign discharges.The Europeans always cut these natives as uncivilized, barbaric savages, who needed to be taken over and westernized. John smith even offs a input signal to Pocahontas about how they could make the Indians life better, and build them roads and pontifical buildings, and teach them how to make the most of their land. This is a perfect example of the ethnocentric bias mentality of the Europeans. They never formerly con spotred that someone elses way of living and culture could actually be a successful.They thought that their way was the best way, and anything else was barely an underdeveloped, barbaric lifestyle that needed to progress into the westernized lifestyle. After John Smith makes this comment about bettering the Indians life styles Pocahontas is deeply offended and proceeds to sing the popular call option, The Colors of the Wind. In this song Pocahontas calls John Smith out on his ethnocentric stance and shows him her point of view, in singing You think you own any(prenominal) land you land on, The earth is just a dead thing you can claim, But I know every rock and tree and creature, Has a life, has a kernel, has a name.You think the only heap who are people, Are the people who assist and think like you, But if you passing play the footsteps of a stranger, Youll learn things you never knew you never knew. For the first time John Smith begins to listen to Pocahontas and realizes how ignorant him and his crew have been to think they can claim any land they come across, treating the natives like red beasts.All this time the Europeans have looked down upon the primitive culture of the natives, thinking that they were sub- gay, and needed to be nurtured and tamed just like animals tho in this moment John Smith sees the free spirit in Pocahontas, and he admires her connection to the nature all around her. He begins to see that the Natives are just normal human beings in their natural element, a well-heeled off of the world around them, with no need of technology, or any of the advancements the westerners were pitch to the New World.Overall, Disneys film, Pocahontas, does a grand job contrasting the cultures of the primitive opposite and civilized self with Pocahontas and the Indians as the primitive other and John Smith and the Europeans as the civilized self. We are able to see through the Europeans, their ethnocentrism, and their naive attitudes that leads them to believe they own whatever land they land on and can treat the natives still they want. Disney however plays out this film in a way to show us his view on this ethnocentric bias and how he believes it to be wrong and unlawful.He makes the viewer side with the Indians and portrays the Indians as the good guys and the Europeans as the poorly guys. Disney was trying to send a meat that this whiteness way of thinking is not always correct and can sometimes bring harm to others even when its not intentional. Works Cited Pocahontas. Walt Disney Feature Animation, 1995. Film. Seriff, Suzanne. Cultural Anthropology emmet 302. University of Texas. Spring 2013.