Colors of the Wind ---Music and the Fictive Dream

"Colors of the Wind" written by Stephen Schwartz (America, 1995) 

  The film Pocahontas was directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Jim Pentecost, from a screenplay written by Carl Binder, Susannah Grant, and Philip LaZebnik. 

The Plot Of The Movie: 

  The 1995 Disney movie Pocahontas is loosely based on the life of Powhatan woman Pocahontas and the arrival of English settlers from the Virginia Company. The English settlers talk of adventure, finding gold, fighting "Injuns" and settling in the new land. Meanwhile, in the Powhatan tribe, the daughter of Chief Powhatan Pocahontas, fears that she is to be married off to the tribe's best warrior Kocoum. Pocahontas thinks that Kocoum is too stern for her free will spirit. She then goes to Grandma Willow (a talking willow tree) in hopes of making sense of her dream of a spinning arrow which Grandma Willow makes known of the English settlers that were coming.

  The voyage's leader Governor Ratcliffe, who was only there for the wealth and status convinced the men to start digging for gold. He also told them a single story about the Powhatan tribe saying that they were savages hiding the gold and that they would kill anyone who came to their lands. While Ratcliffe was sending his men off to find gold one of the settlers John Smith went off to explore the lands. While John explores the land he ends up finding Pocahontas. As they introduced each other John talked about how her people are uncivilized which leads to Pocahontas song "Colors of the Wind". 

John Smith: We've improved the lives of savages all over the world.
Pocahontas: Savages?
John Smith: Uh, not that you're a savage.
Pocahontas: Just my people
John Smith: No. Listen. That's not what I meant. Let me explain, uh...
Pocahontas: Let go!
John Smith: No, I'm not letting you leave.
Pocahontas: [jumps out of her canoe and climbs up into a tree]
John Smith: Look, don't do this. Savage is just a word, uh, you know. A term for people who are uncivilized.
Pocahontas: Like me.
John Smith: Well, when I say uncivilized, what I mean is, is...
Pocahontas: What you mean is, not like you. 

  After the song, she and John Smith fought for peace between the English settlers and the Powhatan tribe.

Musical Analysis:  

  "Colors of the Wind" written by Stephen Schwartz (America, 1995) and sung by Judy Kuhn has a peaceful serenity, wonder, tranquility, and soothing feeling to it. This is because of the blend we can hear from the timbre that emphasizes wind instruments, both woodwind, and brass, as well as stringed instruments.

  The song "Colors of the Wind" is played in multiple keys, including C major, A minor, C sharp minor, and D flat major:  The song is set in two keys F major for the first part and D major for the second part. The tempo is fairly slow with 130 beats per minute. 

  The melody for the song has a major sixth interval between the first two notes, and an eleventh interval overall. The dynamics of the song start off quiet then quickly build louder. It also has emphasize points in the song.

Here is a direct link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcmpj5HPue0

Social Commentary: 

  This is one of my favorite Disney songs because of the message it carries. I understood it as how we should have an open mind about other people's culture and how we shouldn't believe everything we hear right off the bat. 

  The song is a pop ballad with lyrics about respecting nature and animism. The song's message is a call to recognize the shared humanity that binds everyone. 

  The song is also about how you can't assume that people who don't like you are ignorant. In the song, the character Pocahontas tells John that she knows how to live just because she has a different skin color. She then points out that everyone lives in the same world and things mean more than they appear. Pocahontas tries to make the point that you can't live with a single story and that there are many perspectives to what we see. 

Citations:

Wiki, C. to D. (no date) Colors of the wind, Disney Wiki. Available at: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Colors_of_the_Wind (Accessed: 13 November 2024).

Beyond, T. (2019) Why colours of the wind has so much meaning, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@thinkbeyond101/why-colours-of-the-wind-has-so-much-meaning-6327501b1063 (Accessed: 13 November 2024).

Colors of the wind by Disney Chords and Melody (no date) Hooktheory. Available at: https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/disney/colors-of-the-wind#:~:text=Colors%20of%20the%20Wind%20has,Minor%2C%20and%20D%E2%99%AD%20Major. (Accessed: 13 November 2024).

Pocahontas (no date) IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114148/quotes/ (Accessed: 13 November 2024).

 Pocahontas (1995 film) (2024) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas_(1995_film) (Accessed: 13 November 2024).