@ddlovato I'm being pocahontas. YOU can be John Smith if you want. [10/5/09]
Cyrus, 16, who is rumoured to be dating The Last Song co-star Liam Hemsworth, recently watched some of the company's classic films, such as Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid.
She wrote on Twitter: "Have you ever noticed that sometimes when Prince Eric (Little Mermaid) speaks his mouth doesn't move. Hmm. Whatever, he is still hot."
She later added after watching Pocahontas: "I don't know who I love more.... Prince Eric or John Smith. Ughh these Disney movies are so romantic."
The Hip Chick :: Shop by Celebrity :: Miley Cyrus :: Wildfox Indian Brave Pocahontas Dress
Comment: Cyrus sounds as if she doesn't have a clue that Disney's Pocahontas is mostly fiction. Did she really want to date a 27-year-old when she was 11 or 12? Does she want to convert to a new religion and marry her second choice after her first choice leaves? Does she want to die at the ripe old age of 22? If not, then Pocahontas may not be a perfect role model for young women.
For more on the subject, see Marriage or Bust for Disney's Women.
Then there's the whole issue of wanting to dress up as any Indian. In other words, the issue of being a wannabe. What is Cyrus going to do...put on a black wig? A sexy buckskin dress? Maybe some rouge, face paint, or a tribal tattoo?
None of these things will make her an Indian. They'll make her a mockery of a 400-year-old Indian--probably a Plains Indian. Today Indian woman are more likely to look like Cyrus as she is than like someone in a faux Indian Halloween costume.
For more on the subject, see Tricking or Treating Indians.
This is a fine example of how romantic images and movie images distort our understanding of reality. The same thinking applies to our view of America as a whole. We've been inundated with glorious fairy tales about the Pilgrims, the Founding Fathers, and the pioneers who "tamed" the frontier. Therefore, that's what we believe.
We don't think of our history as a clash of civilizations. As villainous Euro-Americans vs. heroic Indians defending their land against invasion. We think of it as a wide-screen epic of Manifest Destiny: "How the West Was Won."
4 comments:
Some responses to this item on Facebook:
Corine Fairbanks: OMG! She is growing up to be a little Jessica Simpson! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWW! And another thing, why do people dress up as Indians for Halloween? How is that scary?
Eric Jojola: Damn, I looked up to her as a role model, ha ha. Curiously, while her celebrity is entirely a Disney invention, the story of Pocahontas was something Disney appropriated, in its selective way, and rendered into a consumable fantasy. Kind of interesting to hear her want to dress up as another Disney "brand" as it were.
This helps pave the way for Justin Timberlake playing Sequoya in the long-awaited biopic of the great Cherokee man-of-letters, to be followed by a sweeping epic "Battle of Little Bighorn" movie, with the Jonas Brothers playing Crazy Horse, White Bull, and the other Plains Indian leaders.
it's funny how people claim that they are native american yet, they use that to put down others. Just like the old "crabs in a bucket" parody...lol
I think every native american is mixed to some degree.... even the ones claiming they look more so...
This person needs to calm down...
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