Netflix recently added Disney's Pocahontas to its streaming list, but the site's description of the film was just a little off. If you're at all familiar with Pocahontas, you know that she was one of the most groundbreaking Disney princesses of her time: She identified a problem, followed her convictions, and took action. However, Netflix' team focused on the romantic angle of her story in their blurb, which, according to the Hollywood Reporter until recently read:
An American Indian woman is supposed to marry the village’s best warrior, but she yearns for something more — and soon meets Capt. John Smith.
Dr. Adrienne Keene, author of Native Appropriations, wasn't stoked about the line. She tweeted her displeasure at Netflix and followed up with a blog post explaining her reaction:
It overly sexualizes the film, and only positions Pocahontas in relation to her romantic options, not as a human being, you know, doing things.
What's more, even though the majority of Disney flicks contain a romantic subplot, Pocahontas' description was the only one that highlighted this element as the central plot of the movie. Films like Hercules, Tarzan, and The Emperor's New Groove all had descriptions that zeroed in on the protagonists' agency: Hercules is stripped of his god status and fights monsters, Tarzan becomes lord of the jungle, Kuzco is turned into a llama. Unsurprisingly, films with these descriptions have white, male protagonists.
Instead of ignoring Keene's response as they could easily have done, Netflix emailed her to apologize and changed the description for Pocahontas. It now reads:
A young American Indian girl tries to follow her heart and protect her tribe when settlers arrive and threaten the land she loves.
Keene later wrote that she wasn't trying to criticize the film, but to, "draw attention to the importance of the words we use, and the ways that insidious stereotypes and harmful representations sneak in to our everyday lives." Shout-out to Netflix for recognizing that even small changes can make a big difference.
