The New World: Responding to Ryan Burns

By Courtney Brown, with comment by Taylor Kite

[1] In “An Eden Lost,” Ryan Burns’ scene analysis of Terrence Malick’s The New World, Pocahontas is compared to the Biblical character Eve and is assigned the blame for the ruin of Native American culture. Ryan concludes, “It was an idyllic world -- a Garden of Eden -- that was led to ruin by the temptation of one woman.” That is a pretty lofty comparison to make and quite a hefty stone to throw.

[2] Ryan says that Pocahontas “has been enlightened by Smith’s love and affection. She has been reborn.” True, Pocahontas is enamored by Smith. But Smith is just as infatuated with her as she is with him. In addition, these scenes of the movie in particular highlight Smith’s rebirth rather than Pocahontas’s. When Smith is first brought into Powhatan’s hut -- about to be clubbed to death by a native -- Malick inserts a blackout. The viewer might mistakenly assume Smith has been knocked unconscious or even killed. The subsequent images of Pocahontas throwing herself onto Smith and pleading her father to spare his life prove that she is responsible for Smith’s “rebirth,” and not the other way around. After Smith is saved by Pocahontas, native women surround him and place their hands over his body as they chant and moan. Smith lies on his back as his body, supported by the women, moves up and down. When the women finally remove their hands from Smith’s body, sand or grain is thrown upon him. These ritualistic actions can easily be viewed as Smith’s rebirth. He goes from a near-death experience to virtually complete assimilation to the natives’ culture. Smith is seen dancing, chanting, and learning how to use the natives’ weapons. At one point, Pocahontas pours water over Smith’s head, an integral part of a Christian baptism or rebirth. Pocahontas arguably undergoes a similar “rebirth” and assimilation when she is baptized in the English settlement and given a new name, Rebecca.

[3] Ryan cites the scene in which Pocahontas and Smith bond in the forest as the basis for Pocahontas’s comparison to Eve (and therefore her temptation that led to the ruin of her tribe). However, Malick portrays Pocahontas and Smith as equally curious and enamored with one another. Ryan writes, “[Pocahontas] feels a temptation to succumb to her desire.” This is no different than Smith’s temptation to remain with Pocahontas (and the rest of the natives, for that matter). Ryan then comments that Pocahontas sees Smith as “a gift given to her by a higher power.” This view of Smith as a “gift” completely contradicts Ryan’s previous statement that Smith is a “temptation.” If Pocahontas believes that a higher power has bestowed a gift upon her, how can she possibly view that gift as a forbidden temptation? Ryan asserts that Pocahontas is, like Eve, “tempted by an outside being that eventually leads to her demise.” Eve was tempted by the devil. Pocahontas is “tempted” by John Smith. Does this mean John Smith is the devil? Most likely Ryan views Smith as Adam, who was manipulated by Eve into eating the apple. Smith later confesses in a voiceover, “I made her love me.” He is the older and supposedly more responsible of the two. He should be held equally accountable for the consequences of their love. If anything, Pocahontas is tempted by her love, not lust, for Smith. Their love is innocent; it can hardly be described as sexual. The actress who played Pocahontas was 14 when The New World was filmed. Historically, Pocahontas was about ten when she met Smith. The relationship can hardly be described Pocahontas’s seduction of Smith (or vice versa).

[4] Pocahontas does play a part in her tribe’s demise, but that is more the result of European colonization and less the consequences of an impossible love affair. If anything, Pocahontas delayed the battle that brought about the death of her people. By saving Smith’s life she not only returned a great leader back to his failing settlement, but she also formed a bridge between the two cultures. For a time, this bridge served to keep Jamestown afloat. During the winter Pocahontas brought much needed food and supplies to the desperate settlers, which brought Jamestown back from the brink of extinction. Yes, Pocahontas arguably betrayed her own people when she warned Smith of their impending attack. But she also would have been criticized for being cold and unfeeling had she let her lover and his countrymen die from an ambush. Malick portrays Pocahontas with such sympathy and compassion that it is impossible to view her as a conniving woman who seduced Smith and destroyed Native American culture in its entirety. The New World is more of a showcase of Malick’s ethereal cinematography than it is a Biblical allusion. (see comment by Taylor Kite)

Comments

Taylor Kite 2/9/11

Courtney's argument parallels my own personal feelings on the movie, and I find it difficult to think that someone would try to compare Pocahontas to Eve in the negative, evil sense as Ryan does. Throughout the movie, Pocahontas is portrayed as reserved, thoughtful, naive, and with a child-like innocence. Yes, she falls in love with an older man. However, the side of Smith that comes out when with the Native Americans is different from the Smith we see with the British explorers and when he heads back home. My point is that the "evil" parts of Smith are not present when he is with Pocahontas, and thus it would be difficult to craft an argument saying that either of them were evil together. If anything, it is somewhat of a big-brother-younger-sister romance that blossoms between the two of them, complete with endearing moments in which we get the feeling Smith would protect her when need be. Then when he leaves her and lies about it, there is no reason to think Pocahontas is the evil one. As far as the fact that she leaves her own culture behind to modernize with the British goes, it was her father who banned her from the Native American village, so she had little choice of where else to go. This move by her father demonstrates that it was not necessarily her decision to change but rather a decision of survival. The man she loved was there, so why not throw herself into that culture to find a sense of a home again? I am quite honestly baffled by the comparison of Pocahontas to Eve, but that is just my opinion.