Here it is! Pocahontas (1995) is about a free spirited young woman that is caught between her freedom and an arranged marriage, until sails comes on the horizon. John Smith (Mel Gibson) and the Virginia Company come to the New World in search of gold and will kill any Indians in their path! John Smith comes across Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) and this hunt for gold eventually becomes a quest for love against all odds. Can the power of love conquer the hunger for gold?
This episode is a complicated review because I loved this movie as a kid! You will hear me go back and forth about the right and wrong of this movie, and where I stand on it. As I unpack this moral conundrum, I shed light on some post production interviews conducted by Russell Means (Chief Powatan) and Irene Bedard that reveal they were proud of the native representation in this film. Also this is the first Disney princess that didn't need rescuing, however...despite these positives, will it hold up as a movie that depicts natives positively? Come listen and find out!
