I don't see a lot of race issues in Pocahontas myself
There is no shortage of online lists of just
what is wrong with that film (on racial terms), but we'll give a brief one:
-At several points in the film, the Native Americans and English settlers are shown as equal offenders in a conflict.
Reality: the English were undeniably the aggressors, and any fighting done by the indigenous people was that of self-defence and protecting the home and family.
-The ending shows a deceptively positive outlook for interactions between whites and natives.
Reality: If you know any actual Native American history at all, or the modern situation for their nations, this really doesn't need to be spelled out to you.
-The setting of the film bears absolutely no resemblance to the actual location where the historical events referenced by the movie occurred. This added 'scenic quality' allows things like free-fall swan dives off waterfalls into inland lakes, as a way to illustrate the heroine's... diving ability... which has virtually no bearing on the plot.
-The heroine is depicted as significantly older than she was in real life, and she is depicted as saving the life of her 'true love' figure (at least until the sequels retcon that a bit). Her physical traits clearly reflect Eurocentric standards of beauty. She is shown to be "close to nature," and while
many Disney 'princesses' have talking animal friends, this movie has no talking animals at all... no, just wild animals interacting fondly with the protagonist. What does talk? A tree. The protagonist goes to a tree for advice. What.
Historically, 'nearness to nature' has translated as propaganda to dehumanize a group or race; this is known as the Noble Savage stereotype. Just because a group of people exist for a long time without electricity, on a diet of non-domesticated meats and both wild and agricultural plants, and they show traits of non-wastefulness, innovation of resources, and the ability to survive in a location that is foreign or 'wilderness' to another group
does not make them either 'closer to nature' or less human and 'civilized'.
-The entire plot does a major deviation from the historical event it supposedly describes at a child's level of understanding. To us, that reads as Disney just taking any opportunity and excuse to say, "hey, we're culturally diverse and stuff!" Mulan reads exactly the same way. This is
cultural appropriation, and it's based around a set of misunderstandings, and it conveys a story nearly the opposite of historical record.
-The song "Savages" highlights the trope of racism between these groups, and that would almost be enough to subvert some of the previous nasty details... after all, it does portray the English as aggressively racist.
Problem: it also portrays the natives as aggressively racist, not defending their homeland from a violent invading group who possess superior firepower (albeit a total lack of knowledge of the territory).
-Finally, the name of the main character... it's not even her name. It's a nickname. It means "misbehaving little child." Her real name was Matoaka. Way to do your research, Disney.
Link for further reading, if you're interested:
http://www.powhatan.org/pocc.htmlThis is an article on the Powhatan Nation's actual opinions of the film.
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Back on topic:
All of the main characters would have at least one dead parent, and all the female main characters would have an evil step-parent.