POCAHONTAS IS ONE of Disney’s most iconic movies.
The 1995 movie tells the story of the legendary Indian princess Pocahontas, and her quest to prevent war between English colonists and her father’s Alogonquin settlement in 17th century Virginia.
Basically, she stops an invasion and talks to animals, making her one of Disney’s notably ass-kicking women.
Until recently, this was the plot summary on Netflix:
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.
What?
A postdoctoral fellow in Native American studies at Brown University in the States took issue with the description.
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She explained in a blog that the description “overly sexualises” the film and” only positions Pocahontas in relation to her romantic options, not as a human being, you know, doing things”.
Netflix were quick to respond to the concerns, and sent Adrienne an email explaining they had changed the description.
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.
Result. She wrote:
From an angry tweet to an actual change in the description. Sometimes I’m still amazed by the power of the internet.
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