could've been a contender

Rating: 5/10 (11 September 2006)

This movie could have been one of the great ones. Here's where it excelled. Mallick sought to wrap the viewer's senses in the wonder of the new world; the sights, sounds (and though it sounds preposterous) scents. For the colonists, the new world was a wilderness more attuned to the devil's playground than any sort of paradise we might have imagined the colonists thought they had encountered. For the Powhatan Chesapeake Indians, the invading colonists were, as Mallick accurately depicted, a double edged sword representing both a gift and a threat to their way of life. In these aspects Mallick was quite successful in his depiction of the the Jamestown colony.
Here's where the movie fell down: There was no romance between Pocahontas and John Smith; not ever. At best Smith may have looked at the girl (yes, when they met she was only 13 years old so girl is appropriate. Even though amongst her own people she may have been ready or nearly ready for marriage, Smith's culture would have frowned on a man of his stature and social standing becoming involved with someone so young. More to the point, however, was the missed opportunity in this movie to demonstrate Powhatan's political savvy and his perception of the colonists as possible allies in his own attempts to enlarge his own Powhatan confederacy amongst the Chesapeake region. More beneficial to the story and to audiences would have been a demonstration of the relationship between Powhatan, Pocahantas, and Oppenchancanough (Powhatan's war chief). It is important to remember that despite initial difficulties, the Powhatan Indians and the Jamestown colonies lived in relative peace for nearly 12 years during which the traded and intermarried; this is the real story. Pocahantas' part in it should have been just that, a part in the role of a political emissary doing her father's bidding.
As for the making of the movie, it is quite apparent that a great deal of effort went into the costumes, sets, and even the language and cultural elements of the Powhatan peoples. It is a shame that they weren't used more to the benefit of the real story.
Final comments: I would really love to see someone make movies of a couple of the "People Of" series known as the First Americans series by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear. These books are based on actual archaeological, anthropological, and historical evidence and all of the books include a bibliography to show where the authors (both of whom are professional archaeologists by the way) go their data. Any thoughts?
If you are wondering what my credentials are that I bring to the table, I am a PhD candidate at the dissertation stage at the University of Colorado-Boulder and I have devoted more than 75% of my academic training to the pursuit of studying Native American history. Does that make me a know it all? Not by a long shot; I will say however, that I recognize a wasted opportunity to tell a story when I see it and unfortunately, The New World has missed its mark.