Aladdin Reflection

I grew up a Disney movie junkie and how could I not with the multitude of movies that came out throughout my childhood. I never thought to criticize or deeply analyze Disney films, so for me Aladdin was just a fun, innocent movie, but Disney had me duped. Aladdin was not just about flying carpets, great music and a very entertaining genie, it was about subtly disparaging the Middle East post the Gulf War.

The movie begins with a song describing Arabia as “barbaric”. Right off the bat Disney depicts the Middle East in a negative light, and by doing so has molded dissent into every child that has seen the film.  In looking further into these disturbing view of Disney, I discovered that the original words of that song called Arabia a place where they will “cut off your ear if they don’t like your face”. Due to the outrage of the arab community, those words were eventually changed, but the term “barbaric” was left in. I believe “barbaric” was left in solely to keep Disney’s stance on the Middle East perfectly clear.  

The cruelty depicted of the arabs was further perpetuated in the character of Jafar. My first impression of Jafar is that his skin is dark and grey and his eyes glow with a devilish hue. While he appears scary with his deep set eyes and black and red clothing, he is rather feminine. It appears he is wearing eye shadow, has long hair like a girl, and has a prissy demeanor. Jafar always appears in the movie as if he is in a shadow, skulking about and making his evil plans.

Another character that adds to the clear Disney anti-arab sentiment was the Peddler. He was actually the narrator that sang the opening song, a song that spoke against Arabia. Here was a slick salesman trying to peddle his goods in any way possible.  He especially was looking to sell a lamp which held the Genie. He too appeared to always be in the shadows, also with dark and greyish skin. He is what I like to call a slimy schemer. Perhaps the most apparent trait of the Peddler was his turban. It appeared to be way too large for his head and made him look like a caricature of what an arab should look like. Even Aladdin himself is really just a street child, a thief.  We are introduced to him when he is stealing a loaf of bread.  Yet, he is both villain and hero as he gives that stolen bread to two young orphans. However, he is continually portrayed as having no value other than his good looks and the help of the Genie. All of these portrayals cast Middle Easterners in a negative light.

Lastly, it is also interesting to note the representation of arab women in the movie.  The depiction of Arab women in the movie Aladdin, especially of Jasmine, could not be further from the truthful appearance of the traditional Middle Eastern woman. These women in the movie appear with barely any clothing on in an area where women rarely show skin.  Little bikini tops and sheer harem pants make the Arabian women appear to be free and showy with their bodies. This is a clear juxtaposition of the truth since it is more the norm that an Arabian woman would be covered completely.  In the movie Aladdin the women dance suggestively in the streets, but women in Arab countries actually have very little freedom and would be condemned for such behavior.