Disney's Aladdin

    When you first watch the Disney portrayal of Aladdin as a child, the things that stick out are the amazing flying carpet, the strange blue man that lives in a lamp thing, and the protagonist wins by being himself. You do not see the odd occurrences throughout the movie where things seem quite off from reality like when you watch it later when you are older.

    The first thing that stood out was the lyrics for the "Arabian Nights," and how much of the blatant racism I did not catch as a child, such as “It’s barbaric, but hey it’s home.” This trend continues with the accents of the characters in the movie. The so called ‘good’ characters all seem to have an American accent (Aladdin, Jasmine, nice townspeople, etc.) while those who are ‘bad’ townsmen, shop keepers, or guards have an arabic accent. Then, there are the characters that have an english accent like Jafar and the sultan who are both portrayed in a not so good light with one being the conniving villain and the other being the slightly dim witted and easily manipulated. It also is shown through the outfits of the the people in the movie, with the scarcely dressed women (including Jasmine herself), the oddly dressed guards, and the pompously dressed suitor. Each of these portrays different connotations for the characters, and seem out of place in most scenes. This racist tone continues to be seen throughout the rest of the movie and even to the other cultures during the popular song “A Whole New World.”

      Another thing that pops out when watching it again now, is that there is a distinct degrading tone towards women. From the stereotypical fainting when noticed by a guy, to being forced to marry, to even the scene where Jafar has taken over and is now holding Jasmine and her father captive. Each painting women in a not so great light. There are portions of the film that do emphasize that women are smart and capable, such as when Jasmine tricks Aladdin into admitting he was the one from the market or when she pole vaults after him, but these are overshadowed by her ineptness at the market or how many times she needed to be saved in the movie. Plus, keeping in mind that the main issues in the movie seem to stem from Jasmine’s unwilling to marry without love, this portray Jasmine as the cause of the problems. This trend continues as it is Aladdin the ‘knight in shining armor’ that comes to save the day, and magically everything is better, leading to a happily ever after.

     All of this that is apparent to me now paints a whole different view of the movie than before. Instead it is one strife with racism and misogynistic views. Do not misunderstand me, I still enjoy the tale and the animation, but there are major issues that stem from numerous aspect of the movie that I did not catch as a child.