Maybe I'm just not inclined to bash Hollywood movies (too easy), but
actually I find there is a lot of educational value in looking at movies
as a form of interpretation -- a historiographical approach if you will.
 Why do "we" (okay, present company excepted) want a romantic encounter
between Smith and Pocahontas?  Smith the soldier is more romantic than
Rolfe the businessman.   That storyline obviously isn't new -- it dates
back at least to the beginning of the 19th century -- and we certainly
would look at that earlier usage of the romantic story as a subject
worthy of interest: racial views, gender stereotypes, how the native was
"civilized," etc.    As a teacher I know that much of what my students
ever think about any topic coming into class is derived from media --
but rather than just try to blast the errors from their consciousnesses,
I prefer to try to build on what they've seen and why it was made, and
to shape it into a more sophisticated understanding of the past.
I'll leave the questions of details in costumes/make-up and such to
others, but I will note that John Smith was only about 26 when he came
over in 1607 -- but that Farrell fellow looks too tall....

See you at the movies!

Dave Kiracofe

>From beginning to end, it's a dumb distortion of everything we know.
>Farrel/smith is in his early 20's!

David Kiracofe
History
Tidewater Community College
Chesapeake Campus
1428 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, Va 23322

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