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October 29, 2013
Paper #1
CA 250 – TA: Alyx
Pocahontas: How Normative Claims Advance Multiple Ideologies
Implicit ideologies are seen in film dialogue, music, and content. Through a deeper level of interpretation, viewers can understand what is implicitly implied through a films messaging. Pocahontas, a classic Disney movie, is based on a legend that surrounds a Native American woman. Pocahontas reinforces the normative ideologies of interracial relationships, the misinterpretation of Native Americans, and gender stereotypes in an effort to appeal to children of all ages and teach them morals. Pocahontas was the first Disney film to ever show an interracial …show more content…
Pocahontas made several normative claims that further advanced ideologies such as interracial relationships, the misinterpretation of Native Americans, and gender roles. Implicit ideology can be seen within the film text only through a deeper level of interpretation. Jonathan Rosenbaum, a well-known film critic, suggests that what is created to make people feel good at the movies is actually a reflection of their opinion of the world around them. When we, as viewers, form opinions of the world around us after watching something on screen, we usually come to those conclusions through the subtle messages that are thrown at us. Pocahontas is an interesting movie because it has many ideologies that are further advanced through a representation of actual history. “What we wish to highlight from the past is what resonates with the twin preoccupations of contemporary media: the transparent presentation of the real and the enjoyment of the opacity of media themselves” (Bolter and Grusin). Although the history Disney gives us is partly inaccurate from what really happened, viewers still have the ability to understand who Pocahontas was and her story. However, the normative claims that advance such ideologies that were explained above do nothing for the viewers except re-establish how we interpret various things like the way we view …show more content…
142-6, 162-77.
Bolter, J. David, and Richard A. Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. Print.
Buescher, D. T., & Ono, K. (1996). Civilized colonialism: Pocahontas as neocolonial rhetoric. Women's Studies in Communication, 19, 127-153.
COMOLLI, J.L. and Narboni, J., 1969. Cinema/Ideology/Criticism in BRAUDY, L. and COHEN, M., 2004. Film Theory and criticism. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dundes, Lauren. "Disney's Modern Heroine Pocahontas: Revealing Age-Old Gender Stereotypes And Role Discontinuity Under A Facade Of Liberation." Social Science Journal 38.3 (2001): 353. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Orenstein, Peggy. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-girl Culture. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2011. Print.
Pocahontas. Walt Disney, 1996.
SongLyrics.com [“Colors of the Wind” , “Savages”]
Stone, K. (1975). Things Walt Disney never told us. In C.R. Farrar, Women and Folklore, (pp. 42-50). Austin: University of Texas Press.
Turner, G., 1999. Film as social practice. 3rd ed. London:
October 29, 2013
Paper #1
CA 250 – TA: Alyx
Pocahontas: How Normative Claims Advance Multiple Ideologies
Implicit ideologies are seen in film dialogue, music, and content. Through a deeper level of interpretation, viewers can understand what is implicitly implied through a films messaging. Pocahontas, a classic Disney movie, is based on a legend that surrounds a Native American woman. Pocahontas reinforces the normative ideologies of interracial relationships, the misinterpretation of Native Americans, and gender stereotypes in an effort to appeal to children of all ages and teach them morals. Pocahontas was the first Disney film to ever show an interracial …show more content…
Pocahontas made several normative claims that further advanced ideologies such as interracial relationships, the misinterpretation of Native Americans, and gender roles. Implicit ideology can be seen within the film text only through a deeper level of interpretation. Jonathan Rosenbaum, a well-known film critic, suggests that what is created to make people feel good at the movies is actually a reflection of their opinion of the world around them. When we, as viewers, form opinions of the world around us after watching something on screen, we usually come to those conclusions through the subtle messages that are thrown at us. Pocahontas is an interesting movie because it has many ideologies that are further advanced through a representation of actual history. “What we wish to highlight from the past is what resonates with the twin preoccupations of contemporary media: the transparent presentation of the real and the enjoyment of the opacity of media themselves” (Bolter and Grusin). Although the history Disney gives us is partly inaccurate from what really happened, viewers still have the ability to understand who Pocahontas was and her story. However, the normative claims that advance such ideologies that were explained above do nothing for the viewers except re-establish how we interpret various things like the way we view …show more content…
142-6, 162-77.
Bolter, J. David, and Richard A. Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999. Print.
Buescher, D. T., & Ono, K. (1996). Civilized colonialism: Pocahontas as neocolonial rhetoric. Women's Studies in Communication, 19, 127-153.
COMOLLI, J.L. and Narboni, J., 1969. Cinema/Ideology/Criticism in BRAUDY, L. and COHEN, M., 2004. Film Theory and criticism. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dundes, Lauren. "Disney's Modern Heroine Pocahontas: Revealing Age-Old Gender Stereotypes And Role Discontinuity Under A Facade Of Liberation." Social Science Journal 38.3 (2001): 353. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
Orenstein, Peggy. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-girl Culture. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2011. Print.
Pocahontas. Walt Disney, 1996.
SongLyrics.com [“Colors of the Wind” , “Savages”]
Stone, K. (1975). Things Walt Disney never told us. In C.R. Farrar, Women and Folklore, (pp. 42-50). Austin: University of Texas Press.
Turner, G., 1999. Film as social practice. 3rd ed. London: