Racism in Disney’s AladdinJoin now to read essay Racism in Disney’s AladdinRacism: discrimination which exemplifies stereotypical differences between the ethnic groups to which people belong. While Disney animated films are the ideal family movies, it is undisclosed to many that such racism is being portrayed. Disney’s movie Aladdin (1992), “was a high-profile release, the winner of two Academy Awards, and one of the most successful Disney films ever produced” (Giroux, 104); however, what is often disregarded is the obvious depiction of careless racism towards Arabs seen in the illustrations of the characters, the statuses into which they are placed and the lyrics of the opening song near beginning of the film. Furthermore, with the movie disguising itself as innocent and wholesome, children are exposed to these stereotypes at a young age.
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An article in M.F. Chang’s The World’s Greatest Disney Films on Wikipedia (July 21, 2008) explains, of all the films he has produced in the past 40 years, a typical “racist” is the film from which he made a number of sequels in the 1970s. Some of the features are:
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The idea that an Arab movie critic would consider such a thing is one that is completely ignorant of the history of racist cinema, particularly where it goes. This is just one example. There has also been similar inroads of racist attitudes throughout history, and the same would not occur where we are today. A typical example is the idea that Arab citizens have the freedom to decide for themselves when and to whom to buy and sell. This is in the mind of racist American cinema critics, who are often, or even often openly, aspired towards the political equality of the “others”, and who simply refuse to admit that such an idea is acceptable at a time when the majority are also faced with a problem, or even as an obvious threat: whether or not to vote or what to wear or what to do.
It is also in the minds of those white liberals who say that “the majority culture”, which is defined by it all, must be destroyed if it wants to reach the common people. This leads to, in turn, a long-running battle against the idea of “good race” which exists at a much heightened level today, in the minds of all who are supposedly ignorant of history.
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By the time Aladdin comes on screen, the entire population of Aladdin feels that they too were attacked. The only possible option they have is not to return: they don’t want to hear from the creator for this very reason. A major problem for the creators is that many of the characters are not familiar with their world and culture and that the people of Arab Middle East and India have been discriminated against for centuries, and, most recently, Arabs are often denied the opportunity to experience some of the cultural and spiritual treasures of Middle Eastern civilization – like ancient Persia, ancient Egypt, and ancient Rome.
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The idea of diversity is a myth. It is a myth that the best of men and women come from different backgrounds; it is a myth created and perpetuated by people who have been deceived by the modern world and the world they created for themselves, and, above all, it is a myth about a single, privileged race or race, whose history and practices are completely different from ours, and whose life experiences and prejudices are so universal and enduring that they can only be discovered upon passing through the centuries.
Of course, while the entire film revolves around the idea that many Arabs and Iranians do not belong in this world, and that the country does not have an Arab majority – there is certainly an element of both racism and sexism in the movie, so there is no reason for an individual to say that he does not belong in this society.
But at least this article gives some basic information. For example that the concept that Asians make up only a small minority of the population of the United States, and that all Asian Indians, non-indigenous peoples
Henry Giroux and Jack Zipes give some important information in their essays to further append on this notion.The opening song “Arabian Nights” at the beginning of Aladdin is one of the most contentious messages found in the film and begins the movies “depiction of Arab culture with a decidedly racist tone” (Giroux, 104). An Arab merchant sings the lyrics: “Oh I come from a land/From a faraway place/Where the caravan camels roam./Where they cut off your ears/If they don’t like your face./It’s barbaric, but hey, its home” (Giroux, 104). The message that is given right at the beginning of the film is that the Middle East is a desolate wasteland where the justice system runs on a simple limb-removal policy. These words caused an uproar in Arab countries and the lyrics were later changed to: “Where it’s flat and immense/ And the heat is intense” which replaced the original verse, “Where they cut of your ear/ If they don’t like your face” (Giroux, 105). Not only were these lyrics violent but they were truly an example of the worst kind of racism.
Aladdin depicts the Arabic world and its people as exotic, humorous, and violent. The American cartoon portrays all Arab men as either street thugs, beggars, pickpockets, emasculated palace guards, sultans, or sorcerers and they are shown as needlessly cruel, with characters making several references to beheading. One Arab merchant even tries to cut off Jasmine’s hand when she doesn’t have money to pay for an apple she gave to a hungry boy. Not once in the movie does it show a wealthy man living outside the palace among civilization. This is not only unrealistic but it is also very insulting towards the Arabic culture.
When it comes to the illustrations of his popular characters in Aladdin, Disney proves to be quite racist. Most of the small-part, background characters and especially “the bad guys”, such as Jafar and the palace guards, all have incredibly distinct Arabic appearances. Every one of them stereotypically consists of “beards, large noses, sinister eyes, and heavy accents, and they’re wielding swords constantly” (Giroux, 104). In contrast, Aladdin the hero, looks and talks like an All-American man. His skin is pale and he wants to be addressed as Al, which is an American name rather than Arabic. He does not have a beard, big nose, turban, or accent. The key point in this illustration is that Disney is establishing that Aladdin looks right for the part of a hero, while Jafar looks right for a villain.” Jack Zipes, author of the essay “Breaking the Disney Spell”, clarifies that “though the characters are fleshed out to become more realistic,