>In the case of Pocahontas, however, the real story of her life is so full of dramatic highlights that it's a bit surprising to see the folks at Disney reduce it to a simple, formula romance, especially since there is greater potential for compelling cinema in the facts
>While the movie depicts Pocahontas as a late teen-young adult vixen, in reality she was about 10 years old when the English settlers at Jamestown first met her. She went completely naked, as Native American children up to the age of 11 generally did in warm weather, and shocked the Englishmen by cavorting about in the buff--older girls and women wore a loincloth but still went about topless.
>In truth Pocahontas was never romantically involved with John Smith, who was about 17 years her senior, and probably did not save him from execution by the Powhatan and definitely not in the dramatic way claimed by popular myth where she threw herself across his body as he was about to be beheaded. She eventually married a different Englishman, John Rolfe, and bore him a son Thomas--she also learned some basic English, converted to Christianity, and adopted the Christian name Rebecca before succumbing to a respiratory infection in 1617, aged only 21. Thomas Rolfe went on to become the patriarch of Virginia's "First Families."
>Irene Bedard, the part-Native American actress who provided Pocahontas's voice in the movie, noted ""I'm proud of it, but let's remember that this is a fairy tale. I hope people who see the movie will look at the true story, which is a very sad one. For 500 years, Native Americans have had to live down Pocahontas - you know, `Why can't you assimilate like she did?' I mean, when I was a little girl, I used to be called Pocahontas in a derogatory way. But now I see the movie and I think it's a gift to the children. My niece can watch it and cherish Pocahontas again."
>While the movie depicts Pocahontas as a late teen-young adult vixen, in reality she was about 10 years old when the English settlers at Jamestown first met her. She went completely naked, as Native American children up to the age of 11 generally did in warm weather, and shocked the Englishmen by cavorting about in the buff--older girls and women wore a loincloth but still went about topless.
>In truth Pocahontas was never romantically involved with John Smith, who was about 17 years her senior, and probably did not save him from execution by the Powhatan and definitely not in the dramatic way claimed by popular myth where she threw herself across his body as he was about to be beheaded. She eventually married a different Englishman, John Rolfe, and bore him a son Thomas--she also learned some basic English, converted to Christianity, and adopted the Christian name Rebecca before succumbing to a respiratory infection in 1617, aged only 21. Thomas Rolfe went on to become the patriarch of Virginia's "First Families."
>Irene Bedard, the part-Native American actress who provided Pocahontas's voice in the movie, noted ""I'm proud of it, but let's remember that this is a fairy tale. I hope people who see the movie will look at the true story, which is a very sad one. For 500 years, Native Americans have had to live down Pocahontas - you know, `Why can't you assimilate like she did?' I mean, when I was a little girl, I used to be called Pocahontas in a derogatory way. But now I see the movie and I think it's a gift to the children. My niece can watch it and cherish Pocahontas again."
