Pocahontas from a Feminist Perspective

Rosalind 2022-03-26 09:01:03

In 1937, Disney created the world's first feature-length animated film "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and became the first "Disney princess" in history. Over the next 90 years, Disney created dozens of impressive female characters of varying identities.

In 2000, Andy Moody, the then president of Disney's consumer goods department, officially proposed the "Disney Princess" project, selecting 11 classic female characters from Disney's production over the past few decades to form the "Disney Princess" series of consumer brands. These characters become "princesses" not simply by virtue of their superior background or noble status, but because they have the Disney brand purpose of "truth, goodness and beauty", and their positive and healthy images can play the role of model and growth guidance for girls.

The people of the moment do the things of the moment. In this 90-year-old film series, the characters selected have a distinct brand of the times. From the perspective of patriarchy in the 1930s, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, who were innocent and kind, ignorant of world affairs, and only knew how to wait for the prince to save them, to the influence of feminist ideas after the 1980s, they created a group that actively broke down hierarchical prejudice and racial discrimination. "Princesses" of colored ethnic groups, such as Princess Jasmine in "Aladdin", Pocahontas in "Pocahontas", Hua Mulan in "Mulan" and other new women who pursue independent personality and have a rebellious spirit. Entering the new century, the "princesses" are more independent and free, actively thinking about the value of women as independent individuals, and bravely pursuing the spiritual pursuit that only men should enjoy in the traditional patriarchal society.

In 2016, the twelfth "Disney Princess" series of "Moana" attracted much attention, and the heroine Moana also became the first "princess" from Oceania in history. The film is adapted from the mythology of the Polynesian Islands in the South Pacific. It tells the story of the mischievous demigod Maui who stole the heart of the sea goddess Tephti, and the goddess fell into the magma devil Eka, and Maui was sealed on a desert island. . More than a thousand years later, Moana, the daughter of a chieftain on a small island, accidentally picked up Tefiti's heart. Tefiti, who lost her heart, was gradually destroying all living beings in the world, but her father forbade Moana to go to sea. From her grandmother, Moana learned about the tradition of their family's voyages. In order to save her homeland, Moana sailed alone on a boat, went out to sea to find Maui who was sealed, and returned the heart of the goddess Tefiti together through hardships and dangers, bringing new life to the world.

The "princess" in the story is no longer a weak woman waiting for the prince to redeem her, but is braver than her father, more determined than a demigod, and takes the initiative to shoulder the burden of protecting her homeland; she is no longer a young girl who only sees love in her eyes. Realizing that there are still many things worth pursuing in the colorful world, after the task is completed, he parted ways with the demigods and resumed his family's tradition of adventure at sea. As the most feminist film in the "Disney Princess" series, "Pocahontas" deserves serious treatment from critics. This article will analyze the embodiment of his feminist thought from the following aspects.

1. Feminist outlook on life - changes in the image of women in history

(1) Women as goddesses

There are three female characters in "Moana" who can be called the soul of the whole film, and they also happen to represent the three stages of the recognition of women's value in human history. They are: the sea goddess Tephti, who represents the goddess worship of the matriarchal clan era, the gentle and wise tribal prophet, the grandmother who is a good wife and a good mother, and the heroine Moana who bravely and independently guards her homeland and "who said women are inferior to men". The stories of the three women and their mutual karma, intertwined into conflicts, constantly promote the development of the story.

Goddess Tephti

And as the goddess of the origin and end of this film, Tefiti is a very interesting character. Her identity is the goddess of the sea, creating islands and humans in the vast ocean. It can be seen that the legend of the goddess of creation in such ancient myths is the same motif as the creation of the Japanese island by Nuwa in China and Izanami in Japan.

Tefiti also has the ability to control the "reproductive power" of the earth. When the goddess is healthy, nature is full of vitality, and the fish is harvested well. After the goddess degenerated into a demon, the climate became harsh, the ecology was destroyed, animals began to die, humans could not catch fish, plants withered, and the whole world was dying. The image of the "Goddess of Fertility" is found in the myths and legends of many peoples in the world. Inada Hime, the goddess of harmony between husband and wife, and the goddess of fate, the earth goddess in Celtic mythology and the prolific Madb, etc.

The reason is that the anthropologist Fraser believes in his book "Golden Bough" that primitive human beings have the thinking of "same effect must cause" or "same kind" thinking. Because women have the ability to conceive the next generation, they are considered to be in charge of the reproductive power of all things in the world, and can bring good harvests to agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry. This is also the reason for the ancient reproductive worship. At this stage, women are often objectified as walking reproductive machines, such as the Paleolithic statue "Venus of Willendorf" unearthed in Austria. Godhead is not recognized.

In the film, Tephti was degenerated from a goddess into an ugly demon Eka after his heart was stolen, causing harm to one side. Coincidentally, the same story also exists in ancient Egyptian mythology. The ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor was the goddess of fertility, love and beauty. She was generous and loving, but was sometimes confused with Sekhmet, the goddess of war and destruction.

This duality of the goddess-witch represents the contradictory views of women in ancient times: on the one hand, women's reproductive ability is equal to the "divine power" that makes the earth harvest, and is admired and loved; on the other hand, women's reproductive ability The relationship between menstruation and the phase of the moon is also considered a sign of evil. Folk customs around the world have the concept that a woman who bleeds is unclean and unlucky. This contradictory mentality creates the contradictory image of the goddess-witch.

But in this process, women have always been watched, pushed to the altar, and slandered, losing their subjectivity as human beings, unable to control their own destiny, and have no right to speak. Judging from the film, Tefiti can't speak, whether as a goddess or a demon, and to some extent symbolizes the "aphasia" of women at this stage.

In the later part of the film, Moana and Maui had a battle with Erka, only to find that the "Heart of Tefiti" in her hand was the same as the vacant pattern on Erka's body, and understood that Tefiti and Erka were two sides of the same body. Male demigods steal treasures - goddess loses her heart - goddess degenerates into demons - girl returns her heart - the process of goddess restoring her original appearance is also a microcosm of the oppression of women in a patriarchal society.

From a feminist perspective, the male social structure is problematic because it associates men with aggression and competition, reinforcing patriarchal, unequal gender relations. Maui's plundering of Tefiti's heart symbolizes the oppression of women by men for thousands of years. The patriarchal society has stolen the historical achievements and social status that should belong to women, resulting in women being humiliated and damaged for a long time.

To a certain extent, the film also gives the main creators' thinking and countermeasures: it will never be men themselves who take the initiative to save women's plight and strive to improve women's status. This change must be sent from within women from the inside out. The most important thing is the new generation of young women, who bear the double burden of rewriting history and confronting the present. They need to improve their quality and gain a firm foothold with their own efforts before they can help their predecessors.

After realizing that Eka was Tefiti and that the enemy they faced was never the real enemy, Moana summoned up her courage, used the power of opening the sea, split a path in the sea, and stepped forward step by step. The heart of Tefiti was given back to the goddess. The goddess who returned to the original owner finally regained her original appearance and burst into a bright smile.

At this time, the audience discovered that Tefiti's appearance and Moana look exactly the same, and they have the same identity (female), today's Tefiti is tomorrow's Moana, and the goddess is a girl who has faded away. Appearance, the girl is the appearance of the goddess not yet grown. All women in the world, no matter what status, status, family, appearance, age, they all have the same name: female. The young girl and the mature goddess looked at each other and smiled, symbolizing the understanding between the two generations.

The girl Moana - the goddess Tephti - the witch Eka, like different branches on the same road, seems to warn people what a pure and innocent girl will grow into in the future, whether she will become a goddess or a demon , the key lies in the influence of current society. A girl can grow into a goddess who brings happiness to the world, but if persecuted by a patriarchal society, it is entirely possible for a girl to grow into a negative demon.

(2) Women as mothers

Moana's grandmother is the most intelligent character in the film.

When Moana was inspired by the sea but was prevented from going to sea by her father, she stood firmly on Moana's side and encouraged her to stick to her ideals. And take Moana to understand the lost sailing tradition of her family, so that Moana understands that she yearns for the sea only because of the blood of sailors, and identifies herself as a "navigator".

When Moana couldn't find the island where Maui was and was frustrated, the soul of her deceased grandmother turned into a giant ray to guide her forward; Moana and Maui tried their best but still lost to Eka, Depressed and ready to give up, the grandmother who turned into a ray appeared again, accepted Moana's lost emotions, and comforted her to get back on her feet. It can be seen that Moana's grandmother is the most reliable life mentor and the closest family member in her adventure. Throughout the whole film, Moana's grandmother has the characteristics of firmness, wisdom, protection, inheritance, etc., which are also the qualities that the ideal "good wife and good mother" in the traditional patriarchal society should have.

However, there is a crucial problem or omission in this key character: Moana's grandmother has no name from beginning to end. Her identity in the film has always been the mother of the chief, the grandmother of Moana, the prophet of the tribe, and others have always called her a social role. Her identity can only be a vassal of a certain person, and her words are only for the service of a certain person, not the choice of the id, and she still has no subjectivity of her own.

French feminist critic Helena Cissou believes that "in a patriarchal society, women are always in a position of repression, all their normal physical and mental abilities, all their due rights are suppressed or deprived, They were forced to keep silent." Even with her great intelligence, Moana's grandmother had no decision-making power in the patriarchal tribe.

In the few clips in the film that show her grandmother's personality, Moana's grandmother always sings and dances to the sea alone, entertaining herself alone, and no one watching or understanding. Does a woman's own happiness need to be viewed by others? The answer is probably inexplicable. But it is an indisputable fact that thousands of women like grandmothers in history have always been exiled and neglected in the process of life. They can only raise their children and grandchildren silently and die silently.

(3) Women as self

As the heroine of this film, Moana is very unique in every sense.

First of all, her appearance does not actually conform to "beautiful" in the popular sense. Moana's complexion is a healthy wheat color, and she wears a natural curly "exploding head". Not only is she not skinny, she is also slightly fat. If you look closely at the facial features, the nose and mouth are wide and the skin has some freckles.

Such a female image will keep people at a distance no matter what work she is in, not to mention that she, as one of the "Disney princesses", has to compete with traditional beauties such as Snow White and Cinderella with red lips and white teeth. Disney, as a commercial company, dares to launch such a female image as the first heroine, which is to recognize that today, when feminism is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the public is open enough to accept a female who is less perfect and closer to ordinary people as the protagonist.

In the history of feminism, the perception of beauty has gone through three stages. In the first stage, in the 1960s and 1970s, feminism was just emerging, and the participants were committed to criticizing women's alienation and fashion beauty complex. Women's pursuit of physical beauty and physical beauty was regarded as the objectification of the female subject, which contained discrimination against women. The feminist movement opposes beauty pageants, arguing that it demeans women and turns them into soulless sexual objects.

The second phase was from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. At this stage, the feminist view of beauty goes one step further. They juxtapose beauty with factors such as gender, race, and class, arguing that different bodies, skin colors, sizes, and weights can be recognized.

In the third stage, there was a beauty debate, discussing whether feminism should be for or against beauty? A system of democratization of beauty has been proposed, that is, it is up to each individual to decide his own choice on the issue of beauty.

The issue of Moana's appearance coincides with the debate on beauty from a feminist perspective. Is Moana's brown skin and imperfect body a kind of beauty? Is Disney obligated to create yet another heroine who is perfect like a dummy everywhere? Will heroines who are not so in line with mainstream aesthetics be accepted by mass consumer culture? At least on the last question, the answer is yes. The audience was impressed by Moana's kindness and courage in the film, and no one criticized her appearance. If Moana is regarded as a real person, the only person who has the right to judge whether she is beautiful or not is Moana herself. Does Moana want to make herself beautiful? Does she think she is beautiful now? Is there anything more important in her life than "dressing up beautifully"? Only Moana has the right to answer these questions.

Secondly, in the adventure stories of the past and present, the protagonists are often male, as far as the Greek mythology as the ancestor, as close as the endless Hollywood action movies. In history, there have been very few adventure stories with women as the protagonists. It was not until the rise of feminist ideas that heroines gradually appeared on the screen. In Disney's "Disney Princess" series, which is mainly aimed at younger audiences, it is only in recent years that such attempts have been seen: for example, "Rapunzel", which is out of the family shelter to find herself, or "Brave", which is bold and wild and pursues freedom of marriage and love. ".

From the perspective of story type, the lonely Moana ran away from home and looked for a way to save her home, which belongs to the one-man show wool in the "Golden Fleece" genre in the screenwriter genre.

A Golden Fleece-type story requires three elements: First, a road. A clear purpose, a growth experience with clear phases. Second, a team. Most of the team members are complementary to the character of the protagonist, have skills, qualities, experience, etc. that the protagonist lacks, and need to guide the protagonist on the road. In this film, Moana has the hero Maui, who is equally skilled in martial arts and navigation, a pet who can occasionally help out in an active atmosphere, and turns into a grandma who provides intellectual support for rays. Third, a prize. What it needs is the satisfaction of a primordial desire, in this case the return of Tefiti's heart to bring life back to the homeland.

In Joseph Campbell's comparative literature on the myth of the world's heroes, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he argues that men always need someone to guide them into adventures, but women are inherently placed in adventures. Unlike other "Golden Fleece" stories, the protagonist of the one-man show wool basically can only grow up by his own understanding, and his companions will not provide him any help whether he has companions or not.

This is also the case in the film. When Moana and Maui were defeated by Erka for the first time and there was no way out, Maui thought of turning into an eagle and walking away, leaving behind the mess in front of her and the equally helpless Maui. Ana doesn't care, she deals with her negative emotions alone. Moana, who was left behind, faced the biggest crisis she had ever encountered: fighting with all her strength or failing, the only hope that the artifact fishing hook would be damaged soon, and the teammates who fought side by side also abandoned her When he left, the crisis in his homeland became more and more serious. There seemed to be no way out of the current predicament, and there was no one around to help.

In such a situation where both spirit and body are facing challenges, Moana can only rely on her own strength to cheer up and find a way to solve the current predicament. This episode seems to be a metaphor for the predicament that many girls have encountered when they are growing up: at a critical moment in life, no one will come to help them, even if they hope for male power (Maui), it will not help, and ultimately women are needed. Stand up by yourself and use your own wisdom and strength to solve problems.

Compared with the insulted goddess Tefiti and the neglected traditional female grandmother, what Moana does is entirely out of herself. Her parents repeatedly warned her not to go to sea, not to make trouble, and she should grow up naturally and be obedient in the local area. The tribe inherits the position of chief.

Moana, however, was inspired by her grandmother to discover her true passion for sailing. Following her inner call, she went to the sea without fear of the oppression of patriarchal power and the hardships on the road. Finally, becoming a chief also broke the thousand-year-old adherence to local ideas and actively Lead the tribe to open up new worlds. Her self and freedom are the characteristics that attract the audience, and it is also the most worthy of recognition of this character.

In a patriarchal social system, society is organized around male authority figures, with fathers having absolute authority over women, children, and property. It means that men have dominion and privileged institutions and depend on women for subordination. The famous American political scientist Carol Pattman believes that the difference between men and women in a patriarchal society is the political difference between freedom and obedience. Even though Moana's parents hoped that she would inherit the position of chieftain, this is already a privileged ruling class in the feudal society, and Moana should not complain much.

But an imposed wish, no matter how beautiful, is a kind of coercion, and it is no match for the shining light of free will. As the lyrics of the Chinese version of "Ocean's Heart", the theme song "Ocean Heart" sing: "Don't fulfill the dreams given by others, I have my own face. Although I can be exactly the same as others, there will be the same appreciation, but I have bespoke propositions."

This is also the declaration of women calling themselves in the current era. Women are not protected obedient cards. Women should have the right to education, work, vote, and the right to have a better life through labor on an equal footing with men. As repeatedly shouted in the film, being able to truly "be yourself" and gain the independence and freedom of being a human being is the voice of women as equal individuals.

Second, the feminist view of feelings - love is not the only emotion between the sexes

(1) Male roles as foils and antagonists

In the previous Disney works, the most criticized point is that the heroine (princess) always needs a hero (prince) to save. Such old-fashioned patriarchal fairy tales naturally cannot arouse the interest of the audience at the moment, so Disney is also seeking innovation and changes in new works, breaking the stereotype.

For example, the new version of the "Sleeping Beauty" live-action movie was rewritten as "Maleficent", mainly from the perspective of a witch, the male protagonist, the king, was described as greedy, selfish and cruel; the story of the time-honored "Snow Queen" was adapted into "Frozen" "In the film, the prince becomes a cunning and sinister villain, and the "true love" that can resolve Bingxue is actually accomplished by the deep love of sisters.

In "Pocahontas", although the male protagonist Maui is not a villain, and is a demigod who is supposed to save mankind, he doesn't look like a hero at all. Instead, he is a cute "stupid" with many shortcomings. Role.

As soon as he met, he kept bragging about his great achievements, arrogantly asking others to envy and worship him. When Moana explained the reason and asked him to go with him to restore the goddess' heart, Maui refused cleanly, and trapped Moana in a cave just to take her boat to freedom, ignoring Moana's fate. life and death. Afterwards, although he reluctantly partnered with Moana to complete the mission, he immediately gave up when he encountered the setback that the hook was almost damaged, and he did not have the perseverance qualities that a male hero should have in the traditional sense.

In the film, Maui relies heavily on his artifact fishhook. Once he loses the hook, he immediately becomes timid, looks forward and backward, and doubts himself. This flamboyant, seemingly omnipotent fishhook is actually a sign of male genitalia. kind of metaphor. It can be said that Maui's "male protagonist's dereliction of duty" in this film is not only a deconstruction of male authority, but also a deconstruction of the vested interests of the ruling class in a male-dominated society.

People will eventually discover that once men in an oppressive position lose the tools of aggression (fish hooks), break their unrealistic expectations and superstitions (demi-gods), men themselves are just ordinary people, just like women, A tiny human who will encounter various difficulties, disappointments, and unease. By completing the disenchantment of the patriarchal myth, women can liberate themselves, and men can also be liberated from social pressure.

(2) Break the traditional emotional narrative method

In the traditional patriarchal society, women have no autonomy and can only rely on men to survive. For example, the liturgy of the British Christian Church believes: "A woman's will should be subject to the man, and the man is her master, that is to say, a woman cannot live according to her own will, and without a man, she can neither do anything nor accomplish anything. She should do what a man does, she should serve him as a master, she should fear him, obey and belong to him.”

Marriage and family are the most important means of oppressing women. Even today, in most film and television literary works, the male and female protagonists will eventually come together after ups and downs, regardless of whether the two people are compatible with each other or whether they have "true love". This is especially true of Disney's works that follow mainstream values ​​and are oriented towards family fun. In this film, the screenwriter took action against this situation, and even used the characters to make fun of it. Maui directly said to Moana: "You don't think we're going to fall in love and get married after only two hours of knowing each other, right?" It satirizes the weak emotional foundation and abrupt emotional development of the hero and heroine in the past Disney fairy tales.

In his book, The Mirror and the Lamp, the literary theorist Abrams argues that the author, the text, the reader, and the society are an interacting organism. The author creates the text, and the author's thoughts also affect the readers through the text. The readers read and criticize many works, and then adapt the social public opinion, and the social thought will eventually feed back to the author.

This theory is equally useful for explaining the relationship of Disney productions to feminism. When the naive fairy tales from the traditional patriarchal perspective can no longer satisfy the audience who accepted the feminist enlightenment, the creators are also seeking innovation and changes, and strive to create works with a feminist color, and these works are one by one. The drops affect the audiences who watch them (especially the younger audiences), and then complete the enlightenment of feminism in the hearts of the new generation of audiences, more or less adapting the shadow shrouded in the patriarchal ideology of the current society.

Disney is well aware that the old emotional routine of "princess saved by prince -- princess and prince live happily together" can no longer satisfy today's audience. In "Frozen", they put their magical sister Aisha on the throne, giving priority to her career in marriage; while her younger sister Aisha married a commoner boy, but there was no wedding scene in the film, making love scenes a priority. Give way to affection.

In the later "Ocean Romance", it went a step further. There was not even a love scene between the male and female protagonists. Their relationship was more like a good colleague and good partner who worked together. Maui, the male protagonist who has profound sailing knowledge but many minor shortcomings, and Moana, the heroine who has little experience but has the valuable quality of perseverance, help each other as teachers and friends, and Maui teaches Moana to sail. , Moana also used her wisdom to help Maui through the difficulties. After the Tefiti heart was finally returned and the mission was completed, the good friends just smiled at each other friendly and waved goodbye.

Maui, the "God of Wind and Sea", has his mission and his lofty ambitions; the human girl Moana needs to take on the responsibility of the chief, and there are stars and seas waiting for her to conquer. The main creators did not want the protagonists who had inconsistent outlooks on life and values, and no love for each other, to be forced together, but let them meet a friend who exceeded their previous experience and forget them like a gentleman in the rivers and lakes. It is a pioneering work for the "Disney Princess" series of movies, and it also serves as a good demonstration for future film and television works to explore new emotional modes between characters.

3. Feminist view of career - work guides women to freedom

The purpose of feminist theory is to understand the nature of inequality. Political action includes challenges to reproductive rights, abortion rights, education rights, domestic violence, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual violence, etc. Equality of job opportunities is also an important issue. In traditional society, marriage and family are the only values ​​of women, and the contribution women make in the family has been neglected for a long time.

Today, with the rise of feminism, the idea of ​​women actively working, having the courage to pursue their careers, and using the fruits of labor to become self-reliant has become politically correct, but the shadow of male-centrism is still shrouded in people's hearts. Therefore, about "leftover women" blind dates, maternity leave, Topics such as the second child and the revision of the Marriage Law will still spark heated discussions in public opinion.

In "Pocahontas", there are two main male characters, one is the main character Maui and the other is Moana's father. In traditional society, it happens that "husband" and "father" are two roles closely related to women's marriage and family. In this film, these two roles have been deconstructed at the same time. The deconstruction of Maui has been mentioned before, so I won't repeat it here. The deconstruction of patriarchy is also an interesting aspect of the film.

Patriarchy refers to a power centered on adult males who occupy a relatively dominant position in a social structure. Patriarchy in English can refer to patriarchy, patriarchal system, patriarchal patriarchy. In a patriarchal society, the clan leader of a large family would be a male elder exercising its authoritarian dictatorship, or by extension, a society where the ruling class or government is dominated by older men.

Moana's father in "Pocahontas" is also a leader in a patriarchal society, the chief of an island tribe. But in Moana's father, there is no "masculinity" that traditional society thinks of being aggressive and taking risks. He no longer dared to sail because his friend accidentally drowned when he was out at sea with his friend when he was a child. If the sailboat with its sails raised high is a symbol of the male genitalia, then the cowering chief is a metaphor for castrated patriarchy.

Men used to use sailboats to ride the wind and waves to expand their territory, but now they can only retreat in their homeland and follow the old ways. He even forgot that he was the son of a voyager, with the blood of white streaks in the waves, and ordered people to block all the ships of his ancestors into the caves, and never sang the songs of the ancestors who dared to take risks. Faced with the new crisis and new situation of the island's desolate life, the patriarchal and patriarchal society represented by Moana's father can only sit sadly and wait to die.

Compared with the shrinking and almost collapsed patriarchal rule, women's rights represented by Moana have been advancing all the way. Moana has been inspired by the sea since she was a child. The creators even gave her the special ability of the legendary "Moses to open the Red Sea", indicating that the talents and skills traditionally belonged to men, such as opening the sea and sailing ships, are no longer the patent of men. , and even a proactive and adventurous spirit can be possessed by both men and women.

In "Pocahontas", Moana stole her ancestor's sailboat without telling her father, and rode the wind and waves to complete an adventure that originally belonged to a male character. After returning the heart of Tefiti, the crisis of the homeland has been lifted. According to the habitual thinking in fairy tales, the protagonist should usually return to his hometown, and then get married and have children to live a long life.

But the ending of the film was far beyond people's expectations. After Moana inherited the position of chief, she re-established a sailing team, led the capable men, women and children of the tribe, regained the navigator spirit of her ancestors, and went out to sea to find new habitats. . From the traditional point of view, the greatest value of women lies in getting married, having children, husbands and children. Even if they pursue their own careers, they should not be too hardworking, but should focus on family life and live a leisurely and comfortable life.

However, Moana, who has the courage to explore, completely broke this mindset. The feminist spirit she represented also sailed in the ideal direction after defeating the patriarchal rule. This is a good hope and a great prophecy.

Epilogue

Virginia Woolf, the pioneering writer of modernism and feminism, called on women to "be themselves" in the 1920s. She pointed out that there is a lack of women's voices in mainstream discourse, and that most of the women in literature are actually saying what male writers want them to say and doing what male writers want them to do.

On the road to the rise of feminism, "Pocahontas" can be described as another iconic work of Disney, echoing Socrates' motto of "Know Yourself", showing the growth process of modern women's self-awareness and self-existence. The exploration and affirmation of the value and meaning of life.

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Extended Reading

Moana quotes

  • Maui: [Moana has just taken off to fight off the kakamora and retrieve the heart, taking the oar with her] Hey! What am I gonna steer with?

    [gets frustrated]

    Maui: They're just gonna kill ya!

    [Moana lands on the Kakamora boat. A large group of kakamora turn and look at her]

    Moana: [smiles bravely] *Coconuts.*

    [Moana kicks the kakamoras' butt with the oar]

  • Maui: [Teaching Moana to navigate] You're measuring the stars, not giving the sky a high five.