The New World That Could Have Been

By James Speese

[1] Terrence Malick's The New World seems to be an attempt at a sort of verisimilitude, at least when compared with other filmic attempts at the telling of the Pocahontas story. Compared with, for instance, the 1995 Disney Pocahontas, 1995's Pocahontas: The Legend, or the B-movie Captain John Smith and Pocahontas from 1953, the new film presents a meeting between Europeans and American Indians in which the ideological battles go beyond simple misunderstandings. The Indians in The New World are, for instance, totally alien to the settlers, as seen when the English don't know what to make of the Indians sniffing them when they first meet (10:03). The film also portrays Jamestown more realistically than the other movies. The colony is not immediately successful, nor overwhelmingly greedy; the colonists are simply trying to survive. The New World, indeed, is the only one of the films that completes the story--Pocahontas, as historically reported, is kidnapped by the settlers, eventually is baptized a Christian, marries John Rolfe, sails to England, and dies. In fact, this is the only film version in which Pocahontas is played by someone likely close to her age (14, in this case) and the only version in which the character is played by an American Indian (even the Disney version of Pocahontas is, as admitted by the studio, a conglomeration of ethnicities.)

[2] With all this in mind, it's hard to figure why Malick chooses to maintain the most long-lived and perhaps egregious myth of the Pocahontas story--that of a romantic relationship between her and John Smith--a relationship that has no apparent basis in history. The answer to this question, it seems to me, gets at the heart of Malick's message in the film. John Smith--and by extension, America itself--loses not just a literal “new world” here but a romantic opportunity to found an America true to the ideals it has always preached. Malick wrenches the emotions of the audience to reflect how Smith should have faced the New World. And by doing so, he preaches an American history that should have been. He does so to remind us, within the scope of new imperialism, how we should approach the rest of the world in the 21st Century. Whether that approach is still possible is a question up in the air for Malick; much of the film seems fatalist. However, that fatalism comes from the attitude of Smith not the idealism of Pocahontas. Still, the fact that that idealism has failed at the end of the film says a lot.

[3] Smith has always seemed to represent the first true American. Of course, he was English, but he was also a rebel before the revolution. His historical notes confirm a distrust of class, a love for the individual, and a work ethic that we like to think of as quintessentially American. The fact that he came to America in chains (apparently because of that rebellious streak that earned him a reputation as a sort of mutineer to the British cause) only serves to heighten that representation. He later saves the colony, makes an uneasy peace with the Indians, and lives to explore more. As such, he seems to represent the idea of American expansion and, indeed, Manifest Destiny. Nowhere is that idea of Manifest Destiny more clear than when Pocahontas--for no apparent reason--saves him from execution at the hands of her father, Chief Powhatan, according to notes in his Generall Historie of Virginia. (Of course, the only written version of that rescue comes from Smith himself--and his version was only written after Pocahontas had already died, so no one was alive to dispute it.) Here, a young Indian girl--perhaps driven by God or fate--saves the man who saves America. With all this in mind, Smith has come to represent an American hero by many authors, artists, and filmmakers. According to Robert Tilton in Pocahontas: The Evolution of an American Narrative (1994), Pocahontas (and, consequently, Smith and their story) represents a different America to different Americans throughout time. To the South before the Civil War, for instance, he and Pocahontas represented a “safe” miscegenation, one in which her “Indianness” is assimilated by his “whiteness.”

[4] We see the elevation of Smith as a hero in movies as well. The 1953 film, for instance, portrays Smith as a clever but macho leader, a Captain Kirk going where no (English)man has gone before. In the Disney film, Smith is an environmental crusader who sees the beauty of the natural (Indian) life and attempts to colonize the Indians with kindness rather than arms. Both representations say something about the time in which the films were made. In the 50's, under the fear of Communism, people looked for heroes larger than life who could both argue and beat up their opponents. They had to win the physical battle as well as the one for the hearts and minds of the people. In the 90's, under the Clinton Presidency, the directors portray a more aware hero, one who recognizes and appears to celebrate cultural differences. The New World, however, takes this Smith a step further--indeed, further than average Americans might like--to show how America should have been--and still should be, perhaps in response to what Malick might call a G. W. Bush Imperial Presidency.

[5] So we see that John Smith seems continually re-invented by subsequent portrayals in film; however, that re-invention is not, as one might expect, an attempt at verisimilitude--an attempt to get him “right.” Rather each film seems to create a “new” hero that represents the qualities that we, as Americans, view as heroic (or, more to the point, particularly “American”). Of course, that representation is one based on the view of the director. In the case of The New World, then, one can see that Terrence Malick wants an America to be fair, poetic, innocent, but not naïve. In short, in Malick's version, Smith is Adam as he represents America in Paradise. Smith is America before it knows sin. He presents to America the choice it got wrong. Unfortunately, Smith is also the one who chooses the wrong path--by not accepting that the “wise” path is ever possible. He is undone by his cynicism.

[6] The movie begins with Pocahontas's prayer to the Great Spirit. She prays, essentially, for the filmmakers to get the story right: “Help us sing the story of our land” (00.40). This, then, is what The New World claims to be--not the story of Pocahontas or Smith, but the story of “our land.” The “our” is ambiguous. Obviously, Pocahontas is speaking for American Indians, but this land is also, simply, America. The New World, then, is the story of America. The next scenes are dreamlike. Indians float through the water, apparently happy in their Paradise. The sails glide into the shoreline, something new and alien. This is the meeting between the two--here is Paradise visited by outsiders. The Englishmen are the snake; in this morality play, it will be Adam who offers Eve the Apple.

[7] As noted before, it's important for our view of Smith as a revolutionary American hero to come to America in chains. He's given another chance, however. So long as his “mutinous remarks” don't continue (07:54), he will be allowed his freedom. So he keeps quiet, but he can't quiet his thoughts.

[8] One of the most remarkable aspects of The New World is the voiceovers of Smith and Pocahontas (and, later, Rolfe.) They allow the audience to define Smith and to see the lack of understanding between the two characters. Early on, they allow us to deepen our view of Smith as the archetypal American Hero--one driven to explore, and one whose destiny is, well, manifest: “How many lands behind me? How many seas? What blows and dangers? Fortune ever my friend” (11:47: italics added), he intones. But we also see with more depth his view of the New World's inhabitants. Indeed, he's the only Englishman who truly seems to see the Indians for what they are--unspoiled, innocent: “The savages often visit us kindly, timid like a herd of curious deer” (10:57). Later, after his rescue by Pocahontas, he takes this theme even deeper, to show that the Indians are what we all should strive to be. But before we get to that scene, we must look at Smith's ideological view of “America” -- that is, how he believes it should be. This will allow us to see what Malick believes an America--at its best--would be. That view is given in the scene in which he takes men up the river to search for Powhatan's village.

[9] As Smith begins his expedition, leading men on a boat up the river to search for and parley with Powhatan, beautiful, natural, unspoiled imagery is juxtaposed with the anxious men on the ship and in Jamestown, as well as Indians watching with curiosity. Newport notes that Smith has the “makings of a leader” (16:43), though he wonders if he can be relied upon. Here is an establishment voice noting that this former mutineer could be a great leader, but he fears that Smith may not live up to his ideals. (This last will be important when Newport later makes his own speech about his view of America.) Meanwhile, Smith speaks in a poetic voiceover that describes his reaction to this New World and what it can mean for mankind (16:32).

[10] First, Smith speaks of that very poetry itself, wondering where this “voice” is that comes to him; given the context--particularly when this scene is juxtaposed with the earlier scene of Pocahontas in voiceover praying to the Great Spirit (of the Earth), the viewer draws the conclusion that Smith has made a connection to that Spirit (or, perhaps, to Pocahontas herself). Smith, then, has a poetic connection to the natural, the unspoiled, the New World: Paradise. And he also is trying, like Pocahontas, to “sing the story of our land” correctly.

[11] That Garden of Eden reference seems to grow as Smith talks of a “new start, a fresh beginning” (17:55). Certainly, there's no reason to doubt that Smith (historically speaking) wanted a new start; after all, as shown in the film, he came to America in chains. He (and others) certainly saw the New World as an opportunity. As noted before, Newport makes a similar speech later in the film where he speaks of a “new start” and calls the New World “Eden.” However, while the historical record seems to show that that opportunity is one of commerce, and while previous films show that opportunity as one of adventure and environmentalism (Disney's Pocahontas) or a colony that conquers by assimilation rather than arms (Captain John Smith and Pocahontas), this film--through Smith--shows that opportunity as an America that truly lives up to its ideals. Malick, in essence, reinvents the concept of “America” as it once could have been.

[12] That “lost” America of Smith's (and Malick's) dreams is one of economic prosperity without the backbreaking greed of capitalism. Indeed, when placed next to the scene that comes just before it (14:05) in which greed has driven the men of Jamestown to steal and kill and not trust one another, Smith's poetic voiceover stands in dramatic contrast to the America that capitalism--or, perhaps, unbridled greed -- has created. In that previous scene, people steal food and drink, and an Indian, with no concept of ownership, is shot and killed for picking up (stealing) a hatchet. Here Smith intones, “We shall build a true commonwealth. Hard work and self-reliance our virtues” (18:30). Who would argue that this is what we--from a 21st Century standpoint--want from an American Dream?

[13] However, Smith takes this a step further. With no knowledge of Marx, he says, “We shall have no landlords to wrack us with high rents or steal the fruits of our labor” (18:40). It is at this point, strangely reminiscent of communism, that one of the crew members notes, “We haven’t the draft to go any further” (18:50). But, in his thoughts, Smith does go further--as far as Malick seems to wish he really would have: “None shall eat up carelessly that which his friends got worthily or steal that which virtue has stored up. Men shall not make each other their spoil” (19:02). Here, the description of this America is clearly an ideal, one ruined in intervening years by greed, which, for instance, with slavery, did make men “spoils.” Here he seems to question the basic ideals of capitalism--ideals which founded the nation. It's interesting then, that at this moment, a crew member tells him that he's “gone too far” and that we're “lost” (19:25). While Smith may see this ideal America, the men he leads--the average man--does not.

[14] What's interesting is that Smith does find this New World where men will not steal and where hard work are his virtues, only it's not the new colony. In fact, he finds it among the Indians.

[15] After his capture by the Indians (19:35) and his rescue by Pocahontas (22:06), Smith is assimilated into their village as he falls in love with her. Scenes of them touching, smiling, teaching each other their languages are interspersed with scenes of Smith learning the Indian ways and becoming one of them, playing with the other warriors, joking with them. As in the earlier scene, his voiceover is particularly interesting. Much of it is expressing how he falls for Pocahontas, noting her beauty and wisdom. However, much of it is also describing the Indian way of life, a “new world” to Smith: “They are gentle, loving, faithful, lacking in all guile and trickery. The words denoting lying, deceit, greed, envy, slander and forgiveness have never been heard. They have no jealousy, no sense of possession” (32:31). Here, then, is the dream that Smith had for his “new world,” a dream that already exists. Indeed, at the end of this scene Smith acknowledges that the Indians are already living his ideal. “Real,” he says, “What I thought a dream” (33:07). Smith has come to the New World to create an ideal society only to discover it already exists. But even as it exists, Smith will soon deny its veracity.

[16] However, Smith returns to the colony only to find a remarkable contrast to the ideal world he's seen among the Indians (42:25). Wingfield has taken charge, people are dying, children are hungry, people steal from each other. It is learned that Wingfield has been taking more food for himself (due, apparently, to his higher class, of which he's not even a member, as one of the men points out: he took the name Wingfield to escape persecution in England). Here, then, Smith has no choice but to compare the two societies: the Indians, who have no “guile and trickery,” who have “no sense of possession,” and the English, who allow each other to starve so they can have more. This scene is also central to the movie, as Smith has been sent back (by Powhatan) to tell the colonists they must leave in the spring. However, he does not do this; instead, he is elected leader. It's an interesting moment. Why does Smith accept this position? He seems resigned; sent back from the Powhatan village, what else can he do? Perhaps he believes he can teach what he's learned from the Indians to the men of Jamestown.

[17] In fact, as leader, he does seem to attempt to do just that; he demands that all will work to dig the well, for instance; he criticizes the petty squabbles of the villagers (those who come to blows, for instance, over an argument as to the actual date); and he berates the men who starve while they “search for gold.” Unlike the “real” ideal life he witnessed in the Indian village, a life that lives off the country, Jamestown is “hell,” as he notes in another voiceover, “This country is to [the colonists] a misery, a death, hell. While they starve, they dig for gold” (49:19). So why does he stay? Which group does Smith belong to? In this same voiceover, he seems to confront this very question himself; perhaps he sees himself more clearly as an Englishman here. This is the world to which he belongs. Regardless, he doubts the veracity of the village life he'd seen--and, by extension, his love of Pocahontas. The two--the ideal America and his love of the Indian maiden--seem entwined. In other words, perhaps he was fooled; perhaps he never truly loved Pocahontas; perhaps he was trying to survive and discover the weaknesses of the Indians. Perhaps, to put it prosaically, he doubts his own intentions. Perhaps Newport was right; he cannot be trusted, even by himself. Thus, he does not know how to respond when Pocahontas visits with food for the colony. Should he “tell her? Tell her what? It was a dream. Now I am awake. I let her love me. I made her love me. I must. Damnation is like this” (46:46). Thus, his love of Pocahontas and his ideal America are conflated and doubted at the same time.

[18] When the two characters do meet and talk, they seem to be having different conversations. However, Smith tells her not to “trust me. You don't know who I am” (54:06). As if to simply remind him of their ideal love, Pocahontas simply responds, “Remember.” This scene is pivotal. Smith seems to suggest that their love--and that ideal America--might still be possible, but he can only see it while she is there to remind him: 'There's something I know when I'm with you that I forget when I'm away. Tell me, my love, did you wish for me to come back and live with you again” (57:35)? Then, that conflation of Pocahontas with his dream of America, is stated. The following is, as noted, a strange conversation, the two talking, apparently, on different topics while neither seems to hear the other:

Pocahontas: Free.
Smith: My true light
Pocahontas: Can love lie?
Smith: My America
Pocahontas: Where are you, my love?
Smith: That fort is not the world. The river leads back there. It leads onward too. Deeper. Into the wild. Start over. Exchange this false life for a true one. Give up the name of Smith.

Pocahontas offers her love to Smith; he recognizes what is being offered. He sees Pocahontas as his chance to be a part of that ideal New World. He briefly considers, here, going off into the forest with her. But he does not. The audience yearns for him to do so, even though it would clearly be a crazy, romantic dream. But as Pocahontas represents Smith's “America,” it is the dream Malick wishes Smith would make into a reality; it is the dream of an American that wishes had been.

[21] As the two sides prepare for battle in a later scene, however, it is clear the choice that Smith has made. When Pocahontas comes to warn him of her father's coming attack, she tells him to “come away” (1:00:14). At first, perhaps misunderstanding her motives, he asks why. Then later, he laughs at his own dream. “And where would we live? In the woods? On a treetop? A hole in the ground?” (1:01:03) He has accepted his world; he is resigned to his choice. She runs away and, of course, is banished for the help she's given the white man. It's interesting, by the way, that, while Smith cannot assimilate himself into the Indian lifestyle, Pocahontas later tries to assimilate herself into the colonists' lifestyle, even trying to get “joy from every moment.” But that is a matter for another essay.

[22] So, the New World that Malick wishes Smith would have made is lost. What takes its place? Newport's version. In a later scene (124:10) Newport, like Smith, speaks of a New World, “a new beginning” while “Eden lies about us still.” However, his version of the New World, unlike Smith's, is couched in the language of the Old. Indeed, he calls America “our eternal birthright.” Sublimating the new land into Christianity, Newport notes that he hopes to set an “example” in the colonization of America, that “God has given us a Promised Land, a great inheritance.” For Newport, the land is already theirs, and rather than make a truly “New World,” he says, “Woe betide if ever we turn our back on Him.” Rather than turning his back on an ideal, a new way of thinking, Newport warns against turning back on the old way of thinking. Christianity, it seems, is meant to be spread. He wants to create a “new kingdom of the spirit,” one that is not really new and one that does not take into account what the New World is. Indeed, as his voice fades, the last words we can hear are “Remember what this country was,” suggesting that he wants to civilize it (Christianize it) rather than be a part of it. However, when he says “remember what this country was,” he has little experience to base that on. Smith is the one--the only one--who truly knows what “this country was,” and only he can recognize what will be lost when Newport's version conquers it.

[23] In fact, we get a stark contrast later in the film when the roles are reversed. As the American Indian Tocomoco walks through the gardens of the English estate in London, a garden shaped by men, the scene evokes desolation (1:58:36). The wind is cold, even for one used to living in nature. The trees are pruned and unnatural. This garden--the one which will be imported to America by Newport and others--replaces the Garden of Eden of which he'd spoken. And this scene directly precedes the last scene of Smith and Pocahontas together, at that same estate, walking the garden. Here Malick allows Smith (and, by extension, modern America) to realize his mistake. The scene sets up what has happened according to Malick; rather than creating a true New World, Smith, representing the colonizers, has merely ruined what he found. Pocahontas (re-named Rebecca) is now a “lady.” The natural beauty that Smith fell in love with exists no longer; she has been civilized. And like the garden around them, when compared to what was lost, she seems very cold.

[24] Smith talks for a while of nothing, seemingly afraid to face what he's given up; she is silent. Finally, this hero, this representation of what America might have been, says, as if looking for approbation, “You knew I had promise, didn't you?” (2:03:32) It's a strange question to ask her; it almost seems as if Smith is asking future (that is, present) generations--asking Malick himself. Pocahontas/Rebecca takes a moment to answer. “Yes,” she says. But what happened to that promise, according to Malick? It was lost looking for something that was already there. When Pocahontas asks him if he found his “Indies” (a reference to the historical Smith who, indeed, continued to explore looking for a passage to the Pacific), he says, “I may have sailed past them.” Here, what Smith was looking for, a Utopian dream, was missed because he kept looking when that dream was within his grasp. Smith says, “I thought it was a dream, what we knew in the forest. It's the only truth.” (2:04:40) An America that could have been was lost. But Pocahontas offers hope to 21st Century Americans, noting that Smith “shall” find what he's looking for. Perhaps America can live up to the ideals of Smith's vision. Her death soon after, however, diminishes that hope.

[25] Malick seems to create a hero of Smith--what he hopes Smith could have been in an ideal world, one who could have created a New World that lives up to the ideals (not the reality) of 21st Century America (at least from the point of view of a liberal filmmaker!). This hero represents what was lost when Smith and the other first “Americans” despoiled the New World and were cast out of Eden. How were they cast out? They never left, but they destroyed Eden because they didn't live up to the ideals of the New Age Hero, John Smith. Indeed, Smith himself didn't live up to those ideals. And as Smith represents America, Malick asks us, in the 21st Century as we again export our “world,” to look a little more carefully at ourselves in the mirror. The New World is a look at what was lost, yes, but it's also a warning that we can find it again, so we must take care and believe as Smith did not.