Pocahontas

The movie Pocahontas was mostly inaccurate. Even though the movie based its plot on the true history of Pocahontas, It wasn’t consistent with the historical documents in its plot and characters. The death of Kocoum while fighting with John Smith, Pocahontas flying from uphill and falling into the water, and the scene of her talking to her grandmother’s spirit that resembled a tree, and the way John Smith got wounded were all fiction.
The movie started when John Smith started his journey from Great Britain. He departed from king of England with a little ceremony hoping to find gold in the new world. On his voyage, due to high water wave, one of the crew members fell into the ocean and John Smith swam and rescued him. His fellow crew members admired his job. While John Smith was on his way to the New World Pocahontas was dreaming in the New World. She dreamed about meeting a new man and talked to her grandmother’s spirit and her grandmother told her to follow her heart and she declined her father’s offer for a husband Kocoum who was one of the great warriors of the Powhatan John Smith arrived in the new world eager to find gold. He met Pocahontas in the New World. He asked her where he could find gold, but she didn't know what is gold. Pocahontas fell in love with John Smith. While Pocahontas was having an affair with John Smith, Kocoum saw her and got jealous. Kocoum fought with John Smith. While he was fighting, One of John Smith’s young crew member shot him with a gun killed him instantly. The natives caught John Smith to kill him. Pocahontas begged her father to release him then he was released. The English army and the natives confronted to fight. The general of the English army shot to kill Pocahontas’s father, but John smith saved his life. The bullet hit John Smith and wounded him. Then he was sent to England.
According to history, John Smith with other fellow sailors traveled to Virginia looking for gold. The purpose of their voyage was clearly seen on the movie. While on voyage the sailors’ conversation was about gold. They joked about getting gold. Even though it wasn’t proved by historians, the story that Pocahontas saved john Smith’s life was recorded in John Smith’s historical journal. This incident was the main story of the movie.
On the other hand, the movie has a lot of inaccuracies compared to historical documents. In the beginning, the movie showed Pocahontas flying and falling into the water like a bird. It is impossible for a human being to fly like a bird.
The movie also showed Pocahontas talking to her grandmother’s spirit that resembled a tree. This story is not accompanied by the historical documents. The movie also showed her having romantic time with John Smith in the beautiful jungle, kissing each other before John Smith was kidnapped. This story was not consistent with the historical document.
At the end, the movie showed the English sailors and the Indian Army comfort to fight and the Natives were about to kill John Smith. Pocahontas saved his life by asking her father to release him. While her father was releasing him, the general of English Army shot to Pocahontas’s father. John Smith rescued him from the gun shot. This incident was not in the historical document. It was a fiction. The movie also showed that John Smith got wound while he was trying to save Pocahontas’s father. This contradict the history that John Smith wounded by explosion while he was in English’s sailors camp.
In history, we have learned that Kocoum died war when he was fighting with other Indian tribes in the new World but the movie showed Kocoum and John Smith fighting because Kocoum got jealous while Pocahontas was having love affair with John Smith. This led John Smith and Kocoum to fight. While they were fighting, the young sailor from England killed Kocoum with gun. This is not in history.
Most of the characters in the movie are wrong. For example the movie showed many times Pocahontas asking advice from a talking tree like spirit named “Grandmother Willow” and Grandmother Willow advising her. This story was not in historical documents.
According to history, Pocahontas was so young. Historians believed she was between the ages of 10-12 years, but the movie showed as she was as old as John smith. This was inaccurate John Smith was way older than her.
Children shouldn’t watch the movie because the movie mostly contradicts the true history. Children should learn accurate history that is written based on primary historical documents. Cartoon movies are the best way to teach history to children. As it is being said since children learn from the past and know what to expect in the future, cartoon movies shouldn’t change history. History should be preserved; therefore Disney shouldn’t arbitrarily change history.