Sunday, September 7, 2008
Indian Women as Cultural Mediators
As children, we were all influenced by the various Disney movies including Pocahontas, the story of a Native American girl who has a significant impact on the Jamestown colony. Pocahontas, Sacagawea and Done Marina are three Indian women who are characterized by myths in our history. As the article demonstrates, “The voices of Indian women are not heard in written documents or in the history books,” (55). The tales of these three women are cut and pasted illustrating only what society wants us to know about. We are programmed to believe that Pocahontas was a beautiful young woman who befriended an English settler and showed him the ways of her world. Despite just being a cartoon, those images are engraved on the youth of today’s world. The actual story of Pocahontas must be revealed and shared to show her true existence and identity. One the same page, Sacagawea was more than just a pretty face, but an insightful communicator and interpreter for explorers. “Her importance in history is to show us how she was valued by two cultures: translators and as a sign of peace,” (59). The importance of her life and how she helped various groups of people has influenced the course of history.
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3 comments:
It is interesting how the media and pop culture can manipulate the minds of young people. Young people are impressionable, and therefore, their views on different cultures are obscured, by for example, Disney movies, such as Pocahontas.
The disney relationship you used was perfect in capturing the moment. You were perfect in the explaination that the native women voice is misunderstood, and somewhat misrepresented by disney
I completely understand your views on the portrial of these women. We are painted a picture of the "white" idea of these natives yet dont fully understand the true story. Not only that but as children we have been exposed to these materials that end up molding our minds to that idea.
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