Malick's "epic" was far worse than I could have imagined. It made
Disney's "Pocahontas" seem erudite and less distorted by comparison (even
with the talking raccoon!).  Yes, the scenery was beautiful, and, yes,
dramatists have a license to lie; after all, how many of us use
Shakespeare's plays as factual English History?

What really bothers me is the manipulation and distortion of known
historical facts to make a buck--and in so doing to make the historical
illiteracy in this country even worse.  History-based films usually make
are deficient because they either miss the BIG CONCEPTS; or they screw up
the DETAILS; or they are so accurate that they fail as compelling drama.
Malick's monstrosity does all of that, beginning with the opening credits,
when he uses a MAP of the ROANOKE ISLAND area. Yes, Ralegh called
it "Virginia," and judging by the rest of the film maybe Malick was
confused. (I swear I saw a brief glimpse of "OSAGE" on the map under the
closing credits! Virginians got there, too, but not for 2 more centuries.)
Then Rolfe writes his son (NOT taken back to Virginia) that his mother dies
in 1616--NOT. Other ERRORS: Capt Christopher Newport has BOTH of his arms
back; the Indians never shot up the interior of James Fort after the
palisade was completed; Smith was long gone when Pocahontas was kidnapped
by Dale and Argall; the Rev. Alexander Whitaker did not die so that
Pocahontas could use his house--he was the one who converted her; she was
baptized before her wedding in April 1614, not later after living with
Rolfe; Opechancanough (Wes Studi) did not go to London etc etc.

Malick might as well have had the colonists firing Winchesters--like the
dynamite used in Costner's "Robin Hood."

I suggest that readers visit the official website for this atrocity and see
how pretentious (and deceptive) it is, offering lesson plans and posters
for teachers, listing scholarly sources and websites of legitimate
organizations, such as the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, APVA, etc. Absent
is any Historical Consultant that I could find--not archaeologists, not
anthropologists, but at least one HISTORIAN.  It matters. I am not
qualified to call myself an archaeologist, and if a History PhD means
anything at all, it qualifies one to access, analyze and assess documentary
sources and to impart context and meaning based on years of expertise.

We have laws against destroying rare archival material, digging up graves,
and burning down libraries.  How about some statutes that would protect
history and heritage from obvious distortion and fictionalization. No
wonder there are college students who ask why so many Civil War battles
were fought in national parks!  Ignorance isn't bliss, and a little
knowledge is truly a dangerous thing. Call this movie the X-Men or Star
Wars, or use animation, but do NOT parade this fairy-tale as history.  I
worked on two films that are valid for classroom use: "Jamestown: Beware
the People of the Sunrise" and the 3 hour PBS/American Playhouse production
of "Roanoak."  Two of my mentors, David Beers Quinn and Philip L. Barbour
are probably spinning in their graves.  At least Malick answered the
question of John Smith's possible castration. Remember when he told
Pocahontas that "I am not the man you think I am"?

Happy Viewing and Spewing,

Fred Fausz
St. Louis

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