Topiltzin and Pocahontas: Similar Yet Different?

By William "Tommy" McNulty

[1] From watching both The Other Conquest and The New World, we can gather a plethora of similarities between the two central characters, Topiltzin and Pocahontas, respectively. One is the victim of conquistadors overtaking his culture, and the other is a Native American accepted into English culture by the settlers of Jamestown. Most notable, however, is the fact that both are removed from their native societies. The New World is certainly seen in two differing views in the different films, one the conquistador-ruled Spanish South America and the other the English-driven and severely struggling Virginia Colony. Even though the settings appear completely different (one appearing to be a paradise of sorts and the other a wintery hell), the way in which the “Indians” are treated once they are taken into the culture seem to be eerily similar. The most obvious point is that both Topiltzin and Pocahontas are baptized shortly after they come to live with the Europeans. While both are baptized, a notable difference is that while Pocahontas doesn’t seem to resist, Topiltzin struggles and seems to fight the Christian culture throughout the film. In many ways this shapes how we see the Native American of Virginia compared to the Native American of Mexico.

[2] Filmmakers Terrence Malick and Salvador Carrasco take polar opposite sides when framing their stories. In The New World, we see Malick siding with the Europeans, creating the image that they are in fact saving Pocahontas from assured death instead of forcing their culture on her. In contrast, we see Carrasco sympathize with Topiltzin and the Aztec culture that was torn down in his film. Both of these films show the central characters, both Indians, struggling with their European captors. Through two different lenses we are able to see how one director sides with the Europeans and how another sides with the Indians.

[3] The significant difference between the two characters is the way in which they are removed from their respective cultures. It is clear that neither truly wants to leave the home culture for the European way of life, yet in both films we see that this is not an option.

[4] In the opening scenes of The Other Conquest, we see the path of destruction that the Spanish have left behind after conquering the Aztecs. While it appears as though there was a fight, the sequence suggests that the powerful Spaniards tore through the culture with little resistance. Topiltzin is taken to Cortes, and it becomes immediately apparent that he has only two options: either accept his fate as a prisoner and succumb to the Spanish culture, or be killed. His mother and grandmother have been murdered, and even his brother has made the conscious decision to live and assimilate with the Spanish.

[5] In contrast to Topiltzin’s experience, Pocahontas is presented with a different type of issue in The New World. Since Powhatan sees that the English have no intentions of leaving, he decides to attack, yet Pocahontas warns the Jamestown colony. At this point, Powhatan turns against his own daughter, exiling her completely from the tribe. Pocahontas is taken hostage by the Jamestown settlers and is used as a bargaining chip against the Powhatan tribe. Malick does show Pocahontas being taken hostage, however he also seems to create the feeling that Pocahontas is willing to stay with the English because she is with Smith. She stays with Smith, and we begin to ask ourselves, is it because of desperation or love? The clear answer in the context of the film suggests that love is at play. We see the flirtations between the two throughout the film, yet her full transformation to becoming an “English” Indian doesn’t come until she believes Smith is dead.

[6] Throughout the film, Pocahontas does seem to fulfill the ideals that we generally associate with her historical character and oftentimes to Native Americans (in North America) in general. She falls in love with John Smith, an affair that carries throughout the film (even as she marries John Rolfe) and thus seems to fall in love with the English way of life. While she is neither baptized nor married before meeting John Rolfe, this shift seems to suggest that she is willing to help the English. She risks her own life in an effort to save Smith from apparent death early in the film, and this type of sacrifice does carry throughout the film. As a harsh winter during the “starving period” seems ready to wipe out British civilization, it is Pocahontas who comes to the rescue with food and clothing from her tribe.

[7] History shows that the voyage to England with her husband and child is what ultimately killed Pocahontas. She was willing to travel with her family in an effort to show how the New World was not, in fact, full of savages. By essentially changing her way of life, she was able to serve a major role in the colonization of America. As a “gentle Indian,” she represented what people wanted to see come out of colonization, and by making the trip to England she gave people that opportunity.

[8] This “gentle Indian” was willing to risk her own life in an effort to save the lives of others, others whom she didn’t know. By giving herself and loving those around her, she was able to pave the way for English development in America, even if she didn’t know she was doing so.

[9] Topiltzin, on the other hand, acts in an opposite fashion and instead of attempting to help the Spanish, seems to constantly rebel against them. He is constantly trying to regain his identity as an Aztec and thus has little reason to be helpful. Does he give up his life? Certainly the answer is yes, as at the end of the film we see him sprawled on the table next to the statue of Virgin Mary. However, his death seems to come at his own expense and doesn’t seem to have a large effect on those around him. We generally don’t look back on the conquest of Mexico and expect the natives to have been helpful, and Topiltzin certainly fits the bill here. He has no reason to love his captors. While the British did kidnap Pocahontas and remove her from her tribe, Cortes and the Spanish ruthlessly murdered Topiltzin’s family. We do not expect anything of Topiltzin other than what he provides us: a rebellion against his captors. Even as he tells Friar Diego that he is trying to accept Christ, it appears throughout the film that he is not even making that effort, but rather merely attempting to hide his true feelings. He is expected to serve the Spaniards, or at least they seem to think so. They believe they are making his life significantly better by bringing Christianity to his life. By taking away the mother goddess, what are they doing to him other than bringing him down? He has absolutely no reason to respect the Spaniards because she is important to him.

[10] In the end it is understandable why there are quite a few similarities between the stories and characters of Topiltzin and Pocahontas. Both are removed from their natural cultures and societies and are expected to assimilate into a completely new way of life. While Pocahontas seems to fit into the English/New World lifestyle rather quickly, Topiltzin is constantly dealing with the internal struggle of abandoning his past. They must both deal with the fact that the life they once knew is now a memory of the past.

[11] For Carrasco, it seems clear that his sympathies lie with the natives of Mexico. His story is framed by the struggle Topiltzin must endure to hold onto his personal beliefs and culture that was stripped of him. Carrasco’s places the blame against the conquistadors and their actions as a whole, constantly putting down the Aztecs and their way of life. Malick, on the other hand, takes a decidedly different stance in his film. In The New World, we see Pocahontas framed as an Indian ready and willing to make the shift towards a European way of life, when in reality she was kidnapped. In this view, the Europeans are seen as saviors to Pocahontas, when they too were performing similar acts as the conquistadors in Mexico. Through their two films we can see the broad ends of the spectrum regarding how society currently views Native Americans and how Europeans affected their lives in so many ways.