Disney's Aladdin

    After having read an article about the origins of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp", I found myself scrutinizing the Disney version of Aladdin, to see how the company attempted to portray the Middle Eastern city of Agrabah, and the setting as a whole. I found Disney to be quite blatant and deliberate with the use of phrases, images, ideology, and even characters in order to create a city that appears similar to Disneyworld, but in a Middle Eastern setting and with stereotypes.
    The city of Agrabah itself is clearly intended to represent a Middle Eastern city -- and the image of the city is perhaps a fair depiction of one. Nevertheless, there are many details and references in the movie that come across as stereotypical and shallow representations of the Middle East. For example, in the very first scene, we witness a merchant try to sell a hookah, which ends up not working. While the idea of a merchant is not necessarily stereotypical, the hookah certainly is. The merchant could have been selling any number of items, but the first item he has to offer is a traditionally Middle Eastern tobacco pipe. Here, the city could have been represented in a different way, without playing on the stereotype of Arabic people owning and smoking hookahs. Additionally, on multiple occasions, characters make exclamations to Allah -- either saying "praise Allah" or "by Allah". Nevertheless, there is no other indication of religious faith occurring in the city. Therefore, the inclusion of these phrases seems out of place. In fact, I interpret the lines as quotes that Disney thought a Middle Eastern person might say it. In short, these details, along with others, misrepresent Arabic people and attempts to apply surface level ideas about to Arabic people in order to foster a setting in the Middle East.
    On the other hand, the Genie brings references to Disney and American culture, which caused me to question the true image Disney was trying to create with Agrabah. For example, after Aladdin wins back the love of Princess Jasmine, the Genie attempts to secure his freedom. In the scene, the Genie asks, "Aladdin, you just won the heart of the Princess. What are you going to do next?,"while in the background Disney theme music plays. Although in the context of the movie the genie is prompting Aladdin for a different answer, the line is a clear reference to Super Bowl winners exclaiming "I'm going to Disney world!" -- a tradition that dates back to 1987, a few years before the creation of the movie. As such, it's main purpose in the movie seems to be self-advertising -- as the plot could have been advanced in a similar way without the use of such specific phrasing. Also, as a small note, at the end of the movie, just as he is freed and getting ready for relaxation, the Genie wears a hat shaped like the character Goofy. Although he is a genie and, as such, has access to such a hat, the Disney "product placement" here is unnecessary and creates a confusion given the setting of the movie. Lastly, Disney further manages to muddle the exact image of the city through the Sultan's castle. In my opinion, the castle presented in the movie is strikingly similar to the castle logo that the company uses. While I understand that this point may appear to be a stretch, I justify my opinion based on the previous evidence presented. It is entirely possible that Disney intentionally made use of this detail given that Disney self-promotes in other areas of the movie. Nevertheless, the "Aladdin castle" is not perfectly symmetrical in such a way that the tallest pillar of the castle appears offset in the same direction as the Disney logo. Furthermore, the Aladdin castle has a large archway similar to the Disney castle. Of course, the Aladdin castle, like the rest of the setting of Agrabah is dramatized to appear Middle Eastern, but this idea further proves my point: Disney was vastly more concerned with its own image than it was with accurately representing an Arabian city.

Disney Logo

   In short, Disney's use of conflicting American and Middle Eastern images and ideas contributes to the creation of a somewhat magical and unrealistic city -- a city, where some characters have thick (somewhat overly-exaggerated) accents and others sound American. For a while I struggled to determine what to make of my idea about the setting of Aladdin, but I have determined that (obviously) the main goal of the movie was likely revenue -- which accounts for the images of Disney that are dispersed throughout the movie. Furthermore, Disney has a history of misrepresenting minority characters, and the company misrepresents an entire "minority city" through the use of Middle Eastern stereotypes.