Why Pocahontas Speaks English!
Jeff Watson
well, the because is obvious, the question is how and how is this
communicated in the film?
1. She tells John Smith "Pocahontas" and then reaches for his hand.
At this point, she does not speak English.
2. When she touches his hand, a "magic" allows her to say "My name
is Pocahontas." The magic is love, or the wind, or whatever device
you would like to attribute it to.
3. This is the point where she speaks English because both Meeko and
Flit have this stunned look at this point.
4. When she stands on shore with John Smith, there is a swirling leave/
magic bit going on around them. This symbolizes their ability to
"connect".
5. No other Native American/Englishman can communicate other than these two.
Or something like that. It's a love story. IMHO, but feel free to
correct me ;)
Jeff
Matt Robinson
phant...@aol.com "Phantom015" writes:
> You mean to say that the VHS hasn't been released there yet? No way!
It's true, blue. =) It's not out in Australia either, or Sweden or France, in
fact I think the only ones out are in English and Spanish (to cover the
Americas)
Chaka
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Phantom015
-Ryan
(sig temporarily gone due to another great idea that only occurs at about
3AM such as "lets swap out my motherboard!". I'm sure my hard drive will
forgive me.)
Stephanie da Silva
Jeff Watson <jwa...@gpu1.srv.ualberta.ca> wrote:
>For all of you wondering, Pocahontas speaks English because...
>well, the because is obvious, the question is how and how is this
>communicated in the film?
>
>1. She tells John Smith "Pocahontas" and then reaches for his hand.
> At this point, she does not speak English.
>2. When she touches his hand, a "magic" allows her to say "My name
> is Pocahontas." The magic is love, or the wind, or whatever device
> you would like to attribute it to.
Why is it everyone misses this?
It was the wind spirit. I don't know exactly what the wind spirit's
role in Pocahontas understanding English was, but it the spirit was
all through the movie. It helped John Smith understand Grandmother
Willow. It was there at the end and spoke to all off the natives and
Englishmen and they all heard it, even if the Englishmen weren't aware
of it. And it was what spoke to John Smith at the end and caused him to
look up and see Pocahontas on the promontory.
Lori Coulson
: Why is it everyone misses this?
: It was the wind spirit. I don't know exactly what the wind spirit's
: role in Pocahontas understanding English was, but it the spirit was
: all through the movie. It helped John Smith understand Grandmother
: Willow. It was there at the end and spoke to all off the natives and
: Englishmen and they all heard it, even if the Englishmen weren't aware
: of it. And it was what spoke to John Smith at the end and caused him to
: look up and see Pocahontas on the promontory.
The "wind spirit" is entirely appropriate. In many occult traditions,
East or "Air" is the quarter of communications--there for the "wind"
clears away the barrier to understanding.
--
Lori R. Coulson Zone 5
*****************************************************
* Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination... *
*****************************************************
RoxDe
>It was the wind spirit. I don't know exactly what the wind spirit's
>role in Pocahontas understanding English was, but it the spirit was
>all through the movie. It helped John Smith understand Grandmother
>Willow. It was there at the end and spoke to all off the natives and
>Englishmen and they all heard it, even if the Englishmen weren't aware
>of it. And it was what spoke to John Smith at the end and caused him to
>look up and see Pocahontas on the promontory.
The wind spirit, in theory, is Pocahontas' mother. (When the wind blows
through the trees, I feel her presence.) It may be representational of
Pocahontas herself, too. (She goes wherever the wind takes her.) Anyway,
it's a wonderful metaphor, and it's everywhere in the movie. (Colors of
the _wind_)
Sherline Lee
Stephanie da Silva <ari...@bonkers.taronga.com> wrote:
>In article <3skttd$i...@rover.ucs.ualberta.ca>,
>Jeff Watson <jwa...@gpu1.srv.ualberta.ca> wrote:
>>For all of you wondering, Pocahontas speaks English because...
>>well, the because is obvious, the question is how and how is this
>>communicated in the film?
>>
>>1. She tells John Smith "Pocahontas" and then reaches for his hand.
>> At this point, she does not speak English.
>>2. When she touches his hand, a "magic" allows her to say "My name
>> is Pocahontas." The magic is love, or the wind, or whatever device
>> you would like to attribute it to.
>
>
>role in Pocahontas understanding English was, but it the spirit was
>all through the movie. It helped John Smith understand Grandmother
>Willow. It was there at the end and spoke to all off the natives and
>Englishmen and they all heard it, even if the Englishmen weren't aware
>of it. And it was what spoke to John Smith at the end and caused him to
>look up and see Pocahontas on the promontory.
>
It told her to listen with her heart. That was the first step
in communicating with each other. However, later on,
they use objects to teach each other words. (Watch carefully
later, you see that a lot of objects end up by Grandmother
willow)
--
Sherline Lee
sher...@nwu.edu ()_()
Northwestern University (_)
ResCon/Disney Nut Jasmine
Margaret Gerberi
>In article <DAs8J...@bonkers.taronga.com>,
>Stephanie da Silva <ari...@bonkers.taronga.com> wrote:
>>In article <3skttd$i...@rover.ucs.ualberta.ca>,
>>Jeff Watson <jwa...@gpu1.srv.ualberta.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>>2. When she touches his hand, a "magic" allows her to say "My name
>>> is Pocahontas." The magic is love, or the wind, or whatever device
>>> you would like to attribute it to.
>>
>>It was the wind spirit. I don't know exactly what the wind spirit's
>>role in Pocahontas understanding English was, but it the spirit was
>>all through the movie. It helped John Smith understand Grandmother
>>Willow. It was there at the end and spoke to all off the natives and
>>Englishmen and they all heard it, even if the Englishmen weren't aware
>>of it. And it was what spoke to John Smith at the end and caused him to
>>look up and see Pocahontas on the promontory.
>It told her to listen with her heart. That was the first step
>in communicating with each other. However, later on,
>they use objects to teach each other words. (Watch carefully
>later, you see that a lot of objects end up by Grandmother
>willow)
early on in the film, Kekato (the Powhatan spiritual advisor) says to
Cheif Powhatan that Pocahontas is like her mother...she goes where the
wind leads her. Shortly after, Chief Powhatan tells Pocahontas that she
has her mother's spirit -- a compliment that reinforces her ties to her
people. Powhatan indicates that his wife had been an admired and
respected voice among the tribe and that it is nearing time for
Pocahontas to fill her shoes and do the same. Grandmother Willow also
makes a parallel between Pocahontas and her mother's spirit...at which
point the tree-spirit draws a connection between Poca's mother and
listening to the wind....
throughout the critiques/descriptions of this film, people call the wind
a 'silent character'...and people wonder where Pocahontas' mother
is...quite easily, following Native American spiritual languages and
traditions in combination with the sequence of parallels drawn in the
film, the wind does seem to be the spirit of Pocahontas' mother serving
as a guide --- a line to her heritage and roles within the tribe helping
her to navigate her way through her dreams and questions about herself.
the one point in the film where this *really* becomes reinforced is when
the wind swirls around Chief Powhatan in the crucial moment of deciding
John Smith's fate and the wishes of his daughter....he closes his eyes,
listens, feels...as if it's a reminder of his own paths and his wife's
guidance and presence in their daughter.
mho
*Tink*
Paul McKenna
(Jeff Watson) writes:
>
>For all of you wondering, Pocahontas speaks English because...
>well, the because is obvious, the question is how and how is this
>communicated in the film?
>
>1. She tells John Smith "Pocahontas" and then reaches for his hand.
> At this point, she does not speak English.
> is Pocahontas." The magic is love, or the wind, or whatever
device
> you would like to attribute it to.
> Flit have this stunned look at this point.
>4. When she stands on shore with John Smith, there is a swirling
leave/
> magic bit going on around them. This symbolizes their ability to
> "connect".
>5. No other Native American/Englishman can communicate other than
these two.
>
>
>Or something like that. It's a love story. IMHO, but feel free to
>correct me ;)
>
>Jeff
>
Don't really need to correct you, I follow what you're saying. I'm not
really sure why so many people are asking this 'why English' question
in the first place!!! But I do have to chuckle when I read number 3.
How in the world would a hummingbird and a raccoon even KNOW what the
hell was going on anyway!!!!!!!
As for #5, didn't Pokey's dad tell Smith before departing that he was
always welcome here? :)
Paul McKenna
>>role in Pocahontas understanding English was, but it the spirit was
>>all through the movie. It helped John Smith understand Grandmother
>>Willow. It was there at the end and spoke to all off the natives and
>>Englishmen and they all heard it, even if the Englishmen weren't
aware
>>of it. And it was what spoke to John Smith at the end and caused him
to
>>look up and see Pocahontas on the promontory.
>
blows
>through the trees, I feel her presence.) It may be representational of
>Pocahontas herself, too. (She goes wherever the wind takes her.)
Anyway,
>it's a wonderful metaphor, and it's everywhere in the movie. (Colors
of
>the _wind_)
That's very beautiful, and I can't argue with it.
HOWEVER, if there was no wind spirit in the film, no magic translation
smoke, no babel fish, Pocahontas would still have spoken English. It's
what happens when English speaking people make films (primarily) for
English speaking audiences. French speaking film makers do it, so do
Chinese, German, Japanese, (pick a language)...film makers.
At least the -wind- is a lovely metaphor, and it seems obvious that
that's the reason Pokey and Smitty can suddenly understand each other.
Why people don't catch this is beyond me, as it sort of hits you over
the head!
Andre Willey
> You mean to say that the VHS hasn't been released there yet? No way!
Sadly, yes way. TLK comes out on VHS in September/October in Europe.
That's part of the reason why the NTSC LD won't be released until
mid-September, rather than alongside the US VHS release, incidentally.
Andre
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Phantom015
in a country that hasn't gotten TLK on VHS yet. You send me the money for
the tape + postage, I'l mail you TLK. However, you'l have to be able to
do NTSC. If you can't, I can't help you.
I kow this takes alot of trust on your part...
Have fun!
KEVIN D. CHRISTENSEN
> magic bit going on around them. This symbolizes their ability to
> "connect".
A thought occurred to me as I saw the movie for the second time. Do you suppose
the swirling leaves represent the spirit of Pocahontas' mother? They seem to
show up at the same times a mother might give her daughter advice or confidence,
and they also show up to help guide Poca's dad to the decision not to splatter
Smith's head all over the rock... "She has her mother's spirit", after all...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K...@ALPHA.SUNQUEST.COM KEVIN CHRISTENSEN
Disney Nut * Star Wars Afficionado * REO #1 FAN * Go Patriots in 1995 * D'oh!!
'I like to reminisce with people I don't know... Granted it takes longer... SW
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul McKenna
Pocahontas speak English' really assumes too much... The real question
should have been 'Why do Pocahontas and John Smith UNDERSTAND each
other?' Of course, the wind is the answer here.
When Pocahontas and Smith communicate, it's in English for OUR
benefit...Just as when the Powhatans speak to each other. It could
just as well been that Smith could suddenly speak and understand
Pocahontas' language. Of course, this is all just fiction anyway!
mmck...@umiami.ir.miami.edu
> In <3skttd$i...@rover.ucs.ualberta.ca> jwa...@gpu1.srv.ualberta.ca
> (Jeff Watson) writes:
>>
>>For all of you wondering, Pocahontas speaks English because...
>>well, the because is obvious, the question is how and how is this
>>communicated in the film?
>>
>>1. She tells John Smith "Pocahontas" and then reaches for his hand.
>> At this point, she does not speak English.
>>2. When she touches his hand, a "magic" allows her to say "My name
>> is Pocahontas." The magic is love, or the wind, or whatever
> device
>> you would like to attribute it to.
>>3. This is the point where she speaks English because both Meeko and
>> Flit have this stunned look at this point.
> leave/
>> magic bit going on around them. This symbolizes their ability to
>> "connect".
> these two.
>>
>>
>>Or something like that. It's a love story. IMHO, but feel free to
>>correct me ;)
>>
>>Jeff
>>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Don't really need to correct you, I follow what you're saying. I'm not
> really sure why so many people are asking this 'why English' question
> in the first place!!! But I do have to chuckle when I read number 3.
> How in the world would a hummingbird and a raccoon even KNOW what the
> hell was going on anyway!!!!!!!
>
> As for #5, didn't Pokey's dad tell Smith before departing that he was
> always welcome here? :)
Yes, but it he was probably saying it in the Powhatan language. Notice
that when he speaks to John Smith, Smith doesn't "vocally" respond to
him. This made me believe that although he knew that he was being cordial
to him, he didn't really know what he was saying. The same thing happens
with Pocahantas and Thomas: When he talks to her, she responds by putting
her hand on his shoulder. It's all in the body language.
Melissa
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Melissa McKnight Regalado Otto G. Richter Library
mmck...@umiami.ir.miami.edu University of Miami
74354...@compuserve.com Coral Gables, Florida 33124
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PL+
Eric J. Henwood-Greer
In a previous article, k...@alpha.sunquest.com (KEVIN D. CHRISTENSEN) says:
>A thought occurred to me as I saw the movie for the second time. Do you suppose
>the swirling leaves represent the spirit of Pocahontas' mother? They seem to
>show up at the same times a mother might give her daughter advice or confidence,
>and they also show up to help guide Poca's dad to the decision not to splatter
>Smith's head all over the rock... "She has her mother's spirit", after all...
kYEP they do!! In the "art of Pocahontas" book it said the mother figure
she'd talk to in the stars was replaced by swirling leaves...
Eric
David G. Martin
English with John Smith... as she says later, 'We listen with our
hearts'. That was pleasantly realistic, which really added to the adult
and serious overtones of the film.
Cheers!
Melissa
FDCMuck Pocahontas
Pocahontas Archive Maintainer
alt.fan.pocahontas FAQ Maintainer
Esme Longoria
keep their attention span. My friends and I asked the same question. I
guess it is the same as characters in the lionking with different
accents. I mean they were from Africa, right? How could we understand
the animals from TLK? Did we learn to understand animal talk?
Esme
Esmeralda THBoND
:)
Paul McKenna (pmck...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
:
: When Pocahontas and Smith communicate, it's in English for OUR
Gregory Norz
: Paul McKenna (pmck...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: :
: : When Pocahontas and Smith communicate, it's in English for OUR
: : benefit...Just as when the Powhatans speak to each other. It could
: : just as well been that Smith could suddenly speak and understand
: : Pocahontas' language. Of course, this is all just fiction anyway!
Think about it. It's a DISNEY Film. It is FICTION. How many times how you seen
101 dogs that can talk? Have you ever seen a bunch of cats pick up instruments
and do a dixieland jam? I don't mean to make this sound like a flame, but
everyone seems to try to come up with a 'magical' reason why it's in English.
What about when they show the movie in Germany of France. Are we going to
wonder why it's now in French or German? The reason for Pocahontas speaking
English is that the movie was made in an English speaking country as pure
entertainment, not as an absolutely accurate historical reference.
Paul McKenna
writes:
Now that just cracks my sides!!! You missed it entirely!!! You
actually agree with me, but don't know it!!! (Note my use of the word
FICTION, and the phrase 'English for OUR benefit')
Here' s my point, and it's subtle: Everyone was saying that Pocahontas
could suddenly speak English, when what was really happening (in the
context of the film, of course) was that Pokey and Smitty could
UNDERSTAND each other. That's all. Magic or not. It's English to our
ears, because that's the current audience. It will sound like Spanish
when the movie is dubbed for Mexican release. We already know that.
The actual language doesn't matter, what's important is that they
communicated, and understood each other.
To be historically accurate, I doubt the English spoken by these
settlers in 1607 sounded anything like our English of 1995. I doubt
the people of Jamestown sang 'Mine Mine Mine', as that song was written
decades later. Tongue in cheek, but I would never argue historical
accuracies of this film; they are numerous, but they really don't
matter. I consider this film 99% fiction. Don't you?
David B Waller
Smith's uniform is equipped with a universal translator.
This makes it a hell of a lot easier for the Powhatans to get into the
Federation.
-Dave
Yakkette
>> This makes it a hell of a lot easier for the Powhatans to get into the
>> Federation.
>
>"the Powhatans"? That was the Chief's name, not the tribe's!
>
>>
>> -Dave
Yakkette
>> This makes it a hell of a lot easier for the Powhatans to get into the
>> Federation.
>"the Powhatans"? That was the Chief's name, not the tribe's!
nation.
Carrie Miller
>In article <3tp4sg$5...@nic.umass.edu> DBWA...@phobos.oit.umass.edu (David B
>Waller) writes:
>> This makes it a hell of a lot easier for the Powhatans to get into the
>> Federation.
>"the Powhatans"? That was the Chief's name, not the tribe's!
>nation.
Well actually that is wrong also. The Powhatans was the name of "The Nation"
about 30 tribes made up the Powhatan Confederation.
Carrie
Zac Bertschy
>
>"the Powhatans"? That was the Chief's name, not the tribe's!
>
>>
Actually, The name of his "kingdom" was the Powhatan Nation, so I guess
The Powhatans could be used, seeing as how they were called "The Powhatan
Indians"...Even if it sounds like a band name. Oh, and Pocahontas speaks
english because the spirit of the wind {her mother's} helps her.
Jim De Arras
> Smith's uniform is equipped with a universal translator.
>
> Federation.
"the Powhatans"? That was the Chief's name, not the tribe's!
>
> -Dave
Yakkette
>>.The tribe's name was the Powhatans as well, and they belonged to a larger
>>nation.
>Well actually that is wrong also. The Powhatans was the name of "The Nation"
>about 30 tribes made up the Powhatan Confederation.
have with Alquonquins? (Alquonquin (sp) is the language that they speak in
Poca)
Olve Askim
: In article <3umu63...@clem.WestLab.com>, Jim De Arras <j...@WestLab.com> says:
: >In article <3tp4sg$5...@nic.umass.edu> DBWA...@phobos.oit.umass.edu (David B
: >Waller) writes:
: >> This makes it a hell of a lot easier for the Powhatans to get into the
: >> Federation.
: >"the Powhatans"? That was the Chief's name, not the tribe's!
: >nation.
: Well actually that is wrong also. The Powhatans was the name of "The Nation"
: about 30 tribes made up the Powhatan Confederation.
Chief Powhatan was actually called Wahunsoncock and he was chief of the Powhatan tribe(s).
Olve
DISNEYNUT
>: >> Federation.
As if the Klingons and Romulans weren't giving us enough grief about the
Federation...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K...@ALPHA.SUNQUEST.COM
"Gurgi not let his friend die. Taran has many friends; Gurgi has no friends" TBC