A great example of a plant in film would be Grandmother Willow from Disney’s Pocahontas. The weeping willow, Salix babylonica, has a narrative character that symbolizes ancestral wisdom and serves as a guiding voice for Pocahontas. In my opinion, having a character with such a wise and experienced persona being represented by a weeping willow is extremely fitting, as the long weaving branches and leaves can show just how long that tree has been around. Using the bark surrounding her face to represent wrinkles was a nice touch, too. Throughout the movie, we see Pocahontas consistently visit Grandmother Willow for advice and insight on how to handle John Smith and the rest of the newcomers who want to invade her lands. The willow’s sage mind rooted in love and peace helped Pocahontas follow her heart and stop the hate between her people and newcomers, resulting in John Smith’s life being spared in addition to being able to openly embrace the love both he and Pocahontas shared.
Listening to our elders’ and ancestors’ stories and experiences can guide us to an easier path in life. As a child watching this film, Grandmother Willow always left an impression on me. Therefore, being the child of two immigrants, whose grandmothers were oceans away, I always found comfort in the willow tree’s character along with willow trees in general. There is something so poetic and calming about the gentleness in the swaying of their long, wispy branches and leaves. The catkins produced in the spring that later turn cottony add an ethereal charm which sadly the movie did not capture. Overall, the stories that could be told by the droopy weeping willows were beautifully captured in Disney’s rendition of Pocahontas.
Goldberg, E., & Gabriel, M. (Directors). (1995). Pocahontas [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.