Pocahontas Argumentative Essay

Pocahontas is often celebrated of how unique she was compared to her predecessors especially for the fact that she was based off of a real person. Finally, there was a female lead who strayed from the norm. The story of Pocahontas displays how Pocahontas stood up for herself and her beliefs. The story was also the first that did not end in marriage. Pocahontas dismisses the conventionally glorified love interest which was unusual for a Disney princess to do. Rather than escape an evil figure or Perdue a love interest, Pocahontas wanted to bring peace and unite the Indian tribes and the English. Pocahontas is portrayed unorthodoxly when compared to previous princesses. "Pocahontas must rescue the male protagonist, John Smith. Her daring move
The Disney company attempted to jump into the progressive movement in 1988, but was unsuccessful. They released The Little Mermaid in hopes of launching their way into the progression, but her story relapsed to old “needy princess” traits which were familiar during the era of the pre-transitioning princesses. “While Belle escapes the norm as a woman who enjoys reading, speaking her mind, and acting bravely to save her father, she is reduced to a dependant character when she could have been the heroine” (Garabedian 23). Belle was also unique as her goals and story differed from other princesses. Belle’s goals consisted of exploring the world, seeking adventure, and eventually rescuing/protecting her father (similarly to Mulan). Belle, like Pocahontas, also dismissed her potential love interest, Gaston. This dismissiveness shows that these newer princesses are independant and self-reliant unlike the damsels in distress. Another remarkable thing about the film, Beauty and the Beast, is that it is written by a female writer. “Linda Woolverton, the new addition to the writing team, expressed her motivations for Belle: she modeled Belle on Katharine Hepburn’s Jo in the 1933 version of Little Women since both were strong, active women who loved reading and wanted more than life was offering them” (Hofmann 46). As heard from the opening song in the film, Belle sings about yearning for more than her provincial life and how she wants so much more than everyone else has planned. But, it is also argued that the film can be seen as a struggle between the hypermasculine Gaston and the reforming Beast making Belle a mere prop in their story (47). For that reason, Belle’s story is seen as flawed as it can be argued that to some degree, her focus is involved with the betterment of men and vice versa. So, even though messages and motives in Beauty and the Beast can be argued, it is no argument