Pocahontas is an animated film. The aspect of child development is evident in theories like cognitive developmental, ecological systems, psychosocial, psychoanalytic, sociocultural, and social learning theories. These theories are well blended into the theme of the film to shape the perspective of a child as the target audience. Characterization introduces the viewer on what to expect and also guides them in differentiating the roles of each character. Through characterization, a child can track the social life, changes, and death of a character. Such a systematic flow bundled with light action makes clear the role of each character. The portrayal of love is also essential in assessing child development in this film. The producer uses it as one of the major themes. The film, however, is beyond a child’s understanding of basic concepts. The ones included in this film require an adult audience. However, by understanding child development theories, it is possible to acknowledge the film’s intent for child development.
Child Development Review of Disney’s Pocahontas
Disney’s Pocahontas is an animated feature film, which builds on the story of Pocahontas. Pocahontas is reputedly the first Native American woman to marry an Englishman and to visit England. By the time most children reach six years old, they always have developed an awareness on varieties of concepts. The reason being, they are fed on more media content than anything else. These concepts are essential in developing and shaping their behaviors. Most films, like Disney films, blend child development theories in their storylines to help shape children behaviors. The messages portrayed to children through the Disney film, Pocahontas revolve around body image, gender roles, and portrayal of love (Johnson, 2015)-which will help reinforce the arguments on child development theories like cognitive developmental, ecological systems, psychosocial, psychoanalytic, sociocultural, and social learning theories.
The role and characterization of family members in Pocahontas introduces children viewers to understanding gender roles. Children learn through observation- an ideology that is well reinforced by Bandura (2006) in his social learning theory. Children tend to associate themselves with what the society presents to them. For instance, by looking at Pocahontas as a character, it is possible to note her role in the family as a child, the gradual changes in roles as she becomes a teenager and as she turns into a wife and mother to John. Children get the perception that as they grow up, the society expects them to adhere to their gender roles. Even though the critical race theory is not listed as a child development theory, it is worth mentioning it because it builds the understanding of children’s perceptions. The critical race theory (Cappiccie, Chadha, Lin " Snyder, 2012) raises consciousness and facilitates dialogue on microaggressions among children. Probably, children may not perceive it in such terms because the film is a fascination, but their understanding juxtaposes what the theories propose. Having clearly defined family roles is essential for children to understand what is expected of them and work towards contributing to the wellbeing of the community. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (cited in Marginson " Dang, 2016) is also exhibited in this film because it shows the two levels of s child’s cultural development: social level and individual level. In the film, there seemed to be constant wars between Indians and Englishmen. However, Pocahontas plays a vital role, especially when she gets married to John. The marriage brokers peace between Indians and Englishmen and creates an avenue for funding the local communities in Virginia.
However, the portrayal of love in this film presents another perspective. Critics find it awkwardly positioned because it presents an ill-informed agenda among children. Pocahontas falls in love and gets married to an old man his father’s age. The only viable explanation befitting this portrayal of love lies in Skinner’s operant conditioning theory (Cited in Staddon " Cerutti, 2003). According to this theory, Pocahontas’ portrayal of love encourages children to misbehave, which can be destructive not only to their self-esteem but also future choices. Getting married to an old man while she is a teenager can only show that Pocahontas missed a stage in her childhood development stage. Nobody guided her towards understanding love. She exploited and found it by herself. The same happens with children since they tend to associate what they see in films with reality, experiment and construct their understanding of what they see. Such instances come back to an implicit recognition of the Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (1976), which posits that children assimilate and accommodate their schemes. In the film, Pocahontas’s decision to love an old man can be a sign of desperation; or rather, done in good faith to save her community from the endless wars. However, what does such an act perceived by children viewers? They tend to see it as normal or a way of submission to a superior race or an easy way to secure a place in a wealthy family. However, another person could perceive Pocahontas as a sapiophile because she was interested in seeing the ship but found herself in love with John. Parents are the first people to guide their children in understanding love and helping them as they approach their teenage years.
Even though the film depicted a real picture of the Virginia Colony in the 15th
century, the message does more harm than good to the modern child. The producers forcedly fed children with information that they thought could be useful in understanding American history but it did not. The European conquest of the Americas is not something you can display as children’s entertainment. The film forced child development theories down the throat of viewers. There is little left that a child can relate to because of its stereotypic portrayal of women as servants who serve dominant males. Critics consider Pocahontas as a horrific display of a heroine because it presents a false reality. Children ought to understand the basics of the movie because they tend to interpret and understand information differently from adults. The fictitious characters do not have historical backing, which seems to be the main objective of the film. That then means, they do not learn as per the expectations. Children would find it entertaining because of the creativity employed in the animation film, the great sound effects, the fighting scenes, and theme music.
However, after covering the developmental theories, it is possible to note the producer’s intentions. The producers had a concrete idea of what children’s learning entails. Their choice of Pocahontas as the main character was a strategy to deliver their intended message home. The intentional inclusion of love scenes and the stages of change that Pocahontas undergoes from a teenager to a mother is meant to enhance children’s views on sociocultural issues.
Conclusion
Pocahontas is an animated film that revisits the Americas history. Children must learn about their country’s history. Using the European Conquest as the setting of the story, the film introduces a child to a package of child development theories that have been explained above. For instance, the film uses love and family to define gender roles and guide children in getting a societal perception of relationships. The heroine also gives children a chance to learn about the importance of advocating for peace and standing up to defend their society and its resources. However, a critic would perceive the film of having misplaced priorities because the content requires parental guidance. The European conquest, though a landmark in Americas history, cannot serve as a theme for children’s entertainment. Getting the producer’s main agenda requires a keen eye and a thorough review of the information. Such an analytical scheme is possible if one has prior knowledge of children development theories. There is a need, however for producers to minimize complicating information that has children as the target audience.
References
Bandura, A. (2006). Toward a psychology of human agency. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 31(2), 164.
Cappiccie, A., Chadha, J., Lin, M. B., " Snyder, F. (2012). Disney constructs diversity: A construct for baccalaureate human behavior in the social environment curriculum. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 32(1), 46-61. Doi: 10.1080/08841233.2012.640252
Johnson, R. M. (2015). The evolution of Disney princesses and their effect on body image, gender roles, and their portrayal of love (Masters Research Project). Retrieved from https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/" httpsredir=1"article=1003"context=edspec201019
Marginson, S. " Dang, T. K. A. (2016). Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory in the context of globalization. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(1), 116-129. Doi: 10.1080/02188791.2016.1216827
Piaget J. (1976) Piaget’s theory. In: Inhelder B., Chipman H.H., Zwingmann C. (Eds.) Piaget and his school
(11-23). Berlin: Springer Study Edition.
Staddon, J. E. R. " Cerutti, D. T. (2003). Operant conditioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 115-44. Doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145124
