The Eeriness of the Unnatural
By Katy Watters, with comments by Kelsey Cannon and Tatum Lawrence
[1] To emphasize the natural versus the unnatural and the desire for control over the desire for an even partnership, Terrence Malick follows a “natural,†Opechancanough, through an English garden in The New World. The domination of one’s environment is a theme throughout The New World, and it is the cold and haunting experiences of Opechancanough that allow the viewer to understand the repercussion of a society’s quest for control. (see comment by Tatum Lawrence)
[2] As we transition from Pocahontas at the royal court, we are left with an image of her staring strangely and somberly at a caged raccoon who lays still within his prison. With this image fresh in the viewer’s mind, Malick focuses on Opechancanough alone in a chapel staring at stained glass. The light shining through the glass appears unnatural as it barely illuminates the room in which Opechancanough stands. The darkness makes Opechancanough seems as if he is trapped within the chapel; no exits are visible, and, though Opechancanough is not obviously restrained, he appears limited by the blackness of his surroundings.
[3] Malick then takes us to an English garden, following Opechancanough as he walks amongst the topiaries. The only sound apart from his footsteps is the cold wind. The viewer walks through the garden at one point as if he/she is Opechancanough, seeing the eerie triangular shrubbery lined on perfectly trimmed grass. This is a stark contrast from the forests that Opechancanough knows. The English have somehow tamed the trees, and they no longer have elements that made them beautiful. Malick uses an aspect of British culture that is often portrayed as picturesque and provides the viewer with a gloomy, haunting stroll through a garden that is traditionally seen through sunny, colorful imagery. After reaching to touch one of the tree’s branches and leaves, Opechancanough lifts the skins he is wearing to cover more of himself. This seems more a reaction to the garden than to the weather. Wanting to surround himself in the comfort of the natural skins, he holds them to his body more tightly as a means of protecting himself from this synthetic environment.
[4] The manipulation of the natural to the point of it seeming unnatural leaves Opechancanough feeling strange and uneasy. His walk through the garden and the haunting feeling that accompanies it seems to mimic the dreary scenes of the Jamestown fort. The gloom of the garden and the misery of the fort seem to affirm that the “taming†of nature does not create splendor, for nature is capable of this all on its own. It instead allows for ravenousness to manifest, as men become greedy for more power, more land to conquer and to dominate. “Deforming the landscape with borders and fortifications, denuding the land around them of all trees and grasses, burning the Indians out of their villages in order to plant tobacco, the settlers degrade the ecology of forest and marshland, and in the process degrade their own subjectivities and culture, resorting to murder and cannibalism, indulging in sadistic tortures, and abandoning their children,†writes Robert Burgoyne. Though an attempt at domination of the land appears to have been “successful†in England, the settlers cannot manage the consequences of their failure to discipline their new surroundings.
[5] Though brief and wordless, the scene in the garden gives the viewer an eerie sense of Opechancanough’s confusion and discomfort. Representing the natural, Opechancanough sees the environment as a partner in survival, not a rival to be disciplined. It is the Englishmen’s control over their world that seems to make it so lifeless. The vigor and verve of the forest that surrounds his Algonquin village is absent from the orderly, controlled garden that the English have created. Though the garden is comprised of living organisms, it fails to radiate the beauty and magnificence that is often associated with living beings. The garden through which Opechancanough walks feels like a garden of zombie trees masquerading as living plants. Nature does not create through uniformity and exactness, and it is the Englishmen’s desire to control nature through these means that breaks the spirit of the environment in which they live.
[6] Harmony enhances life while domination robs it of its essence. From the image of the caged animal to the discomfort of Opechancanough, Malick makes the clash of ideologies clear. To partner with nature for survival increases the quality of one’s time on earth, while its control brings chaos and suffering as evidenced by the settlers attempt to conquer the environment of the New World as they have their old one. Opechancanough’s walk through the garden unsettles one’s idea of beauty and what it means for one’s environment to be natural. (see comment by Kelsey Cannon)
Comments
To elaborate further on the significance of these scene, I am struck by the way this analysis seamlessly moves into the next scene where Pocahontas is told, “I believe you are still in love with the man, and you will not be at peace until you see him. “ Rolfe continues, “In my vanity, I had thought I could make you love me, but one cannot do that, or should not.†The exchange between Rolfe and Pocahontas seems to heighten the idea of control versus nature that is so prevalent in the scene that comes before. If Opechancanough’s walk through the garden symbolizes an English control over nature, the following scene between husband and wife shows the compulsion for English control over humans. Not only does England seek to control the land, it also seeks to control its very subjects.
Watters mentions the taming of nature through Opechancanough's critical perspective of the pristinely shaped trees, and I have to agree with her observations. However, it would be remiss not to call to attention two previous instances in the film involving the appearance of the characters. When John Smith lives with the natives and then returns to Jamestown, his loosely fitting wardrobe stands out as a stark contrast to the tightly buttoned restrictive wool the "official" men of the settlement wear. Similarly, when Pocahontas is brought to Jamestown and dressed as a settler the viewer can see a stark contrast from the natural freedom of the land to the restrictive fenced in settlement in the clothing she wears. Formerly able to run and frolic in the open fields in clothing that allowed movement and freedom, Pocahontas is penned in by her new wardrobe as she takes her first wobbly steps in shoes. Though it may seem like a minute example, the alteration of the two characters' clothing serves as a symbol, which eventually culminates in the scene to which Watters references.
