Aladdin as the Contemporary Example of Orientalism Essay

Introduction

Widely known as one of the most diverse animated movies presented by Disney, Aladdin has become a tremendously popular example of orientalism in modern culture. On the one hand, it depicts and popularizes the life of Arabs who have always faced discrimination and xenophobia throughout the world. On the other hand, the majority of critics argue that Asia and the Middle East are demonstrated as regressive, innately opaque, and bizarre cultures in this work of art. Taking into consideration that Disney movies have a considerable effect on the development of children, the wrong demonstration of minority groups can result in a potential increase in discrimination against other racial communities. Thus, Aladdin is a contemporary example of orientalism, as this movie is filled with racist and sexist tropes, which creates an improper image of Asia and the Middle East.

Specific Features of Orientalism

Nowadays, Edward Said’s Orientalism can be considered one of the first books discussing the importance of the problem of orientalism. Published in 1978, this book was initially misunderstood by other scientists and researchers, as it was the only source related to the meaning of a new term. According to Said (1978), orientalism can be defined as a prejudiced representation of the Arab-Islamic world by Western civilization in different kinds of art. The main characteristics of orientalism are a tendency towards despotism, aberrant mentality, the habit of inaccuracy, and backwardness. The author of the book highlights that the development of orientalism was not an accidental process but rather a well-planned operation aiming at enabling the political, economic, cultural, and social domination of the West. To protect the languages, lifestyles, art, cultures, and values of the representatives of Asia and the Middle East, it is essential to avoid the biased image of different population groups in literature, cinematography, and art.

The History and Significance of Aladdin

Aladdin has become one of the most tremendously popular animated movies in the entire world since 1992 when it was released by Walt Disney Pictures. Even though Aladdin is portrayed as an Arab in the movies, historians state that this character has Chinese origins. Early 19th-century versions of the story provide information that this tale was set in China (Romano, 2018). At the same time, there was no information regarding the author of this tale until the 18th-century translation of 1001 Nights. French writer Antoine Galland revealed that he had the opportunity to meet a Syrian storyteller who was the original author of this story. In turn, Ḥannā Diyāb doubts the honesty of the French writer, as Diyab was the first one to tell this story in 1709 (Romano, 2018). Accordingly, Aladdin has a long history that still should be explored. However, it is a well-known fact that an author with a European colonial view of the world contributed to the literature with the original Aladdin.

Examples of Orientalism in Aladdin

The first examples of orientalism were noticed in this animated movie in 1992 when the soundtrack was criticized for the racism against the Arab-Islamic world. Its original lyrics included the phrase “They cut off your ear if they don’t like your face” (Shaheen, 2014, p. 23). Consequently, it encouraged Jack Shaheen to open negotiations with the representatives of Disney. Even though these lyrics were removed from the final version of the soundtrack, it still had the phrase “It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home” (Shaheen, 2014, p. 23). In turn, this song created a negative impression of the Arab-Islamic world from the first minutes of the movie.

Moreover, it is essential to pay attention to the physical appearance of the main characters of this movie. Even though Aladdin and Jasmine represent Arabs, they are depicted as whitewashed individuals with European versions of Arabic names (Alhassen, 2018). In addition, they have European facial features, although these characters are brown-skinned. When it comes to their language, the couple speaks with white American accents, whereas the antagonists of this movie speak with an Arabic accent, which makes some words confusing (Alhassen, 2018). Furthermore, antagonists are described as darker individuals with black beards. As a result, the intention of filmmakers to make Aladdin more European is a direct example of discrimination against people of other races and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, children watching this movie are most likely to associate Arab-Islamic culture with cruelty and aggression, whereas the representatives of the European world can be perceived as positive characters.

It is also important to consider how the movie transmits the role of women in Arabic society. Jasmine is the only female character in Aladdin, who is the discrimination itself. At the same time, her life is demonstrated as an addition to the life of the male character, Aladdin. The role of this woman is completely dependent on men who surround her, thereby demonstrating the inability of women to become independent individuals with the same opportunities as men possess (Alsultany, 2019). One of her main functions in the film is being a sexualized object. Therefore, this work of art demonstrates specific features of sexism towards females.

In 2019, it was decided to create a remake of the animated movie and release a new version of this tale throughout the entire world. On the one hand, the cast of this film included representatives of the Arab-Islamic world, such as an Egyptian-Canadian actor who played the main role (Romano, 2018). On the other hand, the rest of the characters are represented by Asians and African Americans. The combination of actors with different racial and ethnic backgrounds demonstrates that filmmakers consider all brown-skinned people as representatives of the same minority group. In turn, this movie is expected to create a false idea that there are two main races, while the world is populated by the representatives of 4 main races, such as white/Caucasian, Mongoloid/Asian, Negroid/Black, and Australoid.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is essential to note that animated movies have a great impact on the development of children and their perception of the world. It is the reason why filmmakers should take the responsibility for the content which they produce and release on the big screen throughout the world. Nowadays, Aladdin is frequently described as a tale that has been inspiring millions of people for several decades. In turn, the inability of this film to represent the information correctly results in numerous examples of orientalism. For instance, racist lyrics, the inaccurate physical appearance of the main characters, and the wrong representation of their language result in the development of orientalism. The failure of filmmakers to learn from the criticism makes this movie one of the major works of art associated with orientalism today.

References

Alhassen, M. (2018). Haqq and Hollywood: Illuminating 100 years of Muslim tropes and how to transform them. Web.

Alsultany, E. (2019). How the new ‘Aladdin’ stacks up against a century of Hollywood stereotyping. Web.

Romano, A. (2018). The fraught cultural politics of Disney’s new Aladdin remake. Web.

Said, E. (1979). Orientalism. New York, NY: Vintage.

Shaheen, J. (2014). Reel bad Arabs: How Hollywood vilifies a people. Northampton, England: Interlink.