#leave matoaka alone

[alinahdee]

My stance on non-Natives criticizing Avatar is the same stance I have when non-Natives criticize Elizabeth Warren: You can (and should!) criticize them because there are a million valid reasons to do so, but you can do it without being racist.

[doesthendnlive]

“This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”

Strange how Pocahontas and Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World are exempt from this disclaimer....

[the-aila-test]

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Orange Shirt Day 2020

[korracrat]

Why are you always crying about Indian costumes? I'm Jewish and I saw a guy dressed up in a SS uniform and I didn't cry about it, and that is WAY more racist than a innocent decision to where a Indian costume. Jews have gotten it up the ass way harder than Indians and get way more jokes on television and in general than Indians get. You ever see South Park? At least 3 jew jokes an episode and I don't whine about it. Lighten up a bit, perhaps people will like you more.

So I will admit, I am not of Jewish heritage and I am only Native, but I do know someone who is both, because while you’re an asshole, I do feel you brought up some valid points, but felt it was not my place to speak, so I will let them speak:

The only thing I will touch on is your insistence that dressing up as “native” is innocent, well I’ll link to another Native who spoke so well on this subject I couldn’t try to compete @lilrednacho.

Thank you for this little bit of oppression Olympics, please don’t ever ask me to compete again.

[neechees]

How about pocahontas for the possible remake? (fancast)

I still hate the idea of a remake but if I were to make it about her as a child or her youth, like I usually propose, then I’d go with Kiawenti:io Tarbell, Jashaun St. John, or Eva Greyeyes

[uzuuzuking]

things i’m angry about this morning (aka my personal thought process on some shit that makes my blood boil):

1. reposters. people who take screenshots of art/fics then upload them to their own pages without permission and/or credit. it takes a minute or less to reverse search something and check to see if the content creator is alright with reposts. if you can’t find anything, just ask. it’s simple, it’s respectful, and it lets the creator know that you genuinely care about what they do.

2. pocahontas aus in fandom. i am constatly seething over this one. d*sney already romanticized and glorified the horrors that indigenous people have suffered and continue to suffer to this day. the fact that fandom chooses to ignore indegnous peoples’ pleads to leave matoaka alone disgusts me. you can say the movie is pretty, you can say you love the music, you can appreciate the animation as animation, but that means nothing to me when you continue to disrespect and silence indigenous voices. pocahontas is not an alternate universe. matoaka was real and her life was not honored by d*sney. it’s simple to change what you call your au while keeping the content similar. feel free to call it star-crossed lovers, because that’s really what you’re going for.

this is not up for debate. this is about respect and humanity.

[beepbeep-losers]

(hey uh leave Matoaka (Pocahontas) out of your fan art)

(she was a real person with a tragic story)

(leave Matoaka alone. let her rest.)

[thedandeliondays-blog]

• sometimes you just need a few bad-ass females to perk up your day. •

1. WILD A biographical book-turned-film based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed. A recent divorcée with no prior hiking experience, Cheryl embarks on a motivational, inspirational journey of self-discovery and healing - hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

2. Colonia Also known as ‘The Colony’ -  stars Emma Watson (Hello, ultimate feminist Queen!!) as Lena, one half of the young German couple who the film is based around. During the 1973 Chilean coup d'état her boyfriend Daniel is abducted by the secret service after getting caught up in a military operation where supporters of the President Salvador Allende are being rounded up by the military. Lena tracks him to a secret organisation ‘Colonia Dignidad’ which presents itself as a charitable mission run by a preacher. She joins the organisation in hopes to find a way to Daniel, only to then realise that it is actually a cult which no one has ever left alive.

3. Bend it like Beckham A romantic comedy based in London, telling the story of Jess, an 18 year old girl who breaks the mould. Raised in a family of Punjabi Sikhs her family expect her to go on to university, secure a high-end job and become a model housewife for her Sikh husband, but Jess has other plans. Jess has a love and remarkable skill in football, her family’s worst nightmare as ‘girls don’t play football.’ She secretly joins a local girls team, meeting her best friend Jules (Kiera Knightley) and eventually falling for her coach Joe. It all seems like the perfect secret, a double life until the all important final is scheduled for the day of her sisters wedding!

4. Memoirs of a Geisha A Japanese-American epic drama based on a novel by the same name. Chiyo, born to a poverty-stricken family is sold along with her sister into a life of servitude. Satsu, her older sister is sent to a brothel while Chiyo is bought by the ‘Mother’ of a geisha house in Kyoto. Chiyo strives to become a world-renowned geisha with a lot of troubles and setbacks on her way, mostly from the cruel and jealous rival she has in older geisha Hatsumomo from the same okiya. A story of love, strength and self-worth - I recommend both the film and the book.

5. Matilda Although it’s a film aimed at the younger generation, Matilda addresses some major subject matters such as sexism, child neglect and personal identity. Matilda is a gifted child from a broken home, constantly put down by her slob parents and favoured less than her older brother. She teaches herself to read by visiting the library when her parents leave her home alone as a young child (the film and book imply that she is around four or five), her parents do not value education but she begs them to let her go to school. At Crunchem Hall elementary Matilda meets the tyrannical headmistress Agatha Trunchbull who abuses her position to bully the children in her care. Along with the help of her kind teacher Miss Honey, Matilda rids the school of Trunchbull and eventually is adopted into a loving home with Miss Honey. 

6. The Help An insight into the world of African-American women forced to work in White households in Mississippi during the 1960′s. Skeeter, an aspiring writer from a White family who has been raised by her beloved Constantine, a maid who brought her up and then was cruelly dismissed by her Mother when Skeeter was away at university - works in secret with the housemaids around Jackson, collecting stories and insights from those who have experienced life as “The Help” - some accounts describe generous and loving households while others reveal the cruel, brutal lives they have faced as employees of White families. This book adaptation is not just a pivotal movement for women, but especially for people of colour too. 

7. Cadet Kelly You may have come across this one if you watched Disney Channel during the early 00′s. Starring Hilary Duff, Cadet Kelly is the story of an 8th grade girl sent to military school by her Stepfather who is a commandant of the George Washington Military Academy, where she initially has trouble fitting in, especially with her Cadet Captain who dislikes her instantly. It’s a story of growth and acceptance, resulting in a happy ending - like all Disney’s! 

8. Carrie A classic film with many remakes, Carrie tells the story of a troubled girl - neglected by her overly religious Mother who frequently locks her in a cupboard to pray for repentance. Carrie is bullied at school, one of the most cruel attacks being when she begins her period in the school showers, something which her Mother hadn’t warned her about - and thinks she is bleeding to death, causing a hysterical reaction which the other girls find hilarious, cruelly chanting at her and banging the doors to the showers until a kind PE teacher rescues her. Carrie experiences unexplained powers which she regards at first as miracles, but then researches Telekinesis and  realises that she has a gift. She uses the gift to fight back against her Mother, determined to go to prom which her Mother declares a sin. The prom is a disaster after the school bully rigs the voting of prom Queen so Carrie is up on stage in time for a bucket of pigs blood to drench her, the bucket knocking her date unconscious. Full of rage Carrie releases uncontrollable powers that kill all but 11 of her school peers, setting the gymnasium on fire and causing carnage throughout the town. 

9. Mulan A classic Disney movie based on the true story of Hua Mulan, it tells the story of a female warrior from the Han Dynasty in China. Conscription means one male from each family must join to fight against the Huns, Mulan’s father is an elderly war veteran who wouldn’t be strong enough to make it home from war, so Mulan cuts her hair and dresses in his armor so she can pass herself off as a man eligible to enlist. Mulan fights against the Huns, falling in love with her Captain but of course she can’t reveal her true identity or she faces being killed for her deception. 

10. Tracks Based the memoir of the same name by Robyn Davidson, tracks chronicles her nine-month journey on camels across the Australian desert, documented by a National Geographic photographer. The cinematography is exceptional in this film. 

11. Erin Brockovich A dramatisation of the true story of Erin Brockovich who fought against the  ‘Pacific gas and electric company’. Starring Julia Roberts, Erin is an unemployed single mother of three children who has recently been in a traffic accident and is suing her doctor. She loses the case and after a lot of persuasion her lawyer feels sorry for her and gives her a job. She begins researching the case notes in the files she’s employed to file away, eventually finding a loophole in a case against the PG&E, she takes them to court - resulting in $333 Million for the victims of the case. Erin herself receives a $2 Million bonus, enough to set her and her children up for life. 

12. Belle Both empowering for women and also for people of colour, especially those who are mixed race. Belle is inspired by the 1799 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate, mixed-race great-niece of the 1st Earl of Mansfield. She is found living in poverty by her father and entrusted to the care of Mansfield and his wife. The fictional film centres on Dido's relationship with an aspiring lawyer; it is set at a time of legal significance, as a court case is heard on what became known as the Zong massacre, when slaves were thrown overboard from a slave ship and the owner filed with his insurance company for the losses. Lord Mansfield rules on this case in England's Court of King's Bench in 1786, in a decision seen to contribute to the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

13. 10 Things I Hate about you So much more than a 90′s chick-flick! 10 things is a modernisation of Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ - revolving around Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) who plays a headstrong, feminist with no interest in social hierarchy or boys. Her sister is forbidden to date boys until Kat does, spurring off the beginning of Patrick’s (Heath Ledger) interest in her. Paid to date her by the popular boy who wants her sister, Patrick eventually falls for her and she him but this is so much more than a love story. We get to watch witty Kat verbally destroy sexist classmates, high school norms and social status, making this one of the best girl power movies of the 90′s. 

14. Pocahontas Another Disney classic based on a true story, Pocahontas is the adapted version of the life of Matoaka (later nicknamed Pocahontas) the daughter of Chief Powhatan, also the name of their tribe in North America. A free spirit, she fears being married off to Kocoum, a brave yet serious warrior from her tribe. She visits Grandmother Willow, a talking willow tree for advice - who alerts her to the Englishmen arriving in the new world. Though historically inaccurate in significant parts, Pocahontas became the first Native American Disney Princess and first woman of colour in a leading role in any Disney film. 

15. The Craft A film showcasing female empowerment and sexuality, also showing dramatic examples of what can happen when women tear each other down instead of building them up. The craft tells the story of a coven of modern-day witches, using witchcraft and black magic for their own gain, and the negative repercussions they encounter.

[alinahdee]

I try not to dwell too much on negative self-talk these days, but I do try to humble myself and go "The Aila Test isn't perfect, it's a conversation, it has it's limits, the bar to pass it is still pretty low, there are definitely bigger issues that are more important and should take priority," etc...

......and then something like this happens in 2022 and I just...

[doesthendnlive]

Not only was Pocahontas whitewashed in Wreck-It-Ralph but she is also whitewashed in almost all of her merchandise.

WHY?

[neechees]

If Disney makes another bloody live action remake of Pocahontas shall we boycott it?