Two Sides of Stereotypes

Pocahontas displayed an immense amount of native Indian stereotypes. The film also accurately portrayed the European attitudes about native Indians. The governor as a main character represented the greed and bigotry that created a general belief within the crew exploring the new world. The governor’s power over the crew made it difficult for the rest of the crew to develop their own beliefs about what to do with the Indians. The crew refers to the native Indians as ‘savages’ without having any confrontation or idea of what they represent. The native Indians know their land and lives are in danger so they are always shown with bows and an arrow which is a common belief about what people think Indians represent in battle. Although the native Indian stereotypes are obvious in the film, so are the stereotypes of Brits. The first thing the governor does when the crew hits land is stick a British flag in the ground claiming the land as “theirs”. I believe this represents how important wealth is to the crew as well as their ignorance towards the native Indian culture.