The European conquesters were known to be particularly ruthless, killing many people, and altering the truth of the history they claimed they created. They constantly spread their version deep into most school textbooks, scholarly texts, and media. Now, scholars and students alike look at these texts and understand the incomplete story it tells, and recognizes the controversy. One such media portrayal that caused heavy controversy was that of Pocahontas. This disney movie, which depicts a moment in the lives of the Native American tribe, Powhatan, and the relationship that the Chief’s daughter has with a white colonist, John Smith.
In the movie, many themes of colonialism similar to what the Incas had to go through exist. For example, the white people and the Native Americans are quick to fight one another. Pocahontas’ father doesn’t view the white people as peaceful or worthy of making a treaty with. Interestingly enough, when the Indigenous people tried to be peaceful, as seen in both the movie and in reality with the Incas, the white people respond rather harshly and not agreeing to notions of peace. That part of history was accurate. However, the movie is another example of history that is told in the eyes of the victor.
One of the sources told of the conquest of the Inca was written by Francisco de Jerez, a white man who retold the terrible conquest in a perspective that doesn’t recognize the various aspects of colonialism that should be acknowledged. As Dr. O’Toole stated, “colonialism is a negotiation among multiple actors over economic resources, cultural capital, and political force. The location in which a colonized person and community lives in a place of struggle and violence, but also a place of persistence and survival.” This definition is completely missing in Jerez’s recount of the retelling of the Incas and is also missing in the disney movie. According to Bodenner of The Atlantic, “Pocahontas misses the mark when it comes to representing the tragedy and sorrow that the Europeans brought with them”. It instead focuses on a benevolent interaction between the two which misses the struggle, violence, persistence, and survival that the victims of colonialism have to experience. Similarly, the retelling of the Inca conquest as told by Jerez misses the real interaction between the indigenous people and the Spanish, instead it makes their interaction seem legal, and the Spanish justify their conquest as being a “favor” to the Inca people.
Furthermore, this misinterpretation can be related back to Orientalism. Orientalism and Pocahontas both have one thing in common. It doesn’t focus on the whole story, but rather lets the Occident, or the white Europeans define the narrative. Within Orientalism, they are subjugated and seen as lesser than by the Occidents. This is similar to the real story of Pocahontas, as the white people came to the Powhatan tribe, and their leader John Smith “ terrorized several native villages for their food and resources by holding guns to the heads of village leaders (Indian Country Today).” However John Smith is portrayed as a kind man with only pure intentions. If there was an interpretation that existed that was similar to the other source we read with Titu, then we would have probably gotten a different interpretation.
The innacuracy of the movie is also shown here. It would be “nice” and “idealistic” for Pocahontas to be how she was portrayed in the right, and the white people would have wanted to portray her that way. But the harsh truth was that she was taken away and forced to assimilate. Similarly, I can relate to the misinterpretation that can happen. There has actually never been a story of my ancestors, told through their eyes. I am Indian, and all stories are continuously told through the eyes of the British. This portrayal is anything but accurate, as it again misses Dr. O’Toole’s definition of what colonialism actually is. Interestingly enough, my experience with representation and accuracy, Pocahontas, and the Incas all fits the Oxford definition of colonialism. This definition states that the “policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.” Certain aspects of Pocahontas are true, as the violent, often deceptive nature of the colonists are brought to life in times such as when Ratcliffe doesn’t listen to Powhatan’s cry for peace. Similarly, in the Inca representation that was written by Pizarro also recognizes the harsh, and sometimes violent nature of the settlers. In my case, movies such as Mangal Pandey recognizes the terrible intentions that the European people had when wanting to conquer another place.
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