Orientalism was originally formed as a concept by Edward Said who stated that the West constructed and criticized false interpretations of the Middle East. In the movie Aladdin, produced and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, many false depictions towards Middle Easterners were made influencing society’s point of view of Orientalism and the Middle East. Growing up, many watched the infamous Aladdin but racial stereotypes such as Eurocentric features went unnoticed making this movie a perfect example of Orientalism.
Throughout the movie, it is evident that Western desires have been placed into Aladdin not as a means to represent the Middle East, but rather as a chance for Western society to further fetishize, misrepresent, and vilify Middle Eastern people, culture, and ethnicity. Jasmine, portrayed as an Arab princess, was viewed with heavy lust after every man, pursued by every prince, and loved even by Jafar who was her father’s advisor. Although this may not seem as problematic or offensive to all, when examining all aspects of Jasmine’s character, it is clear that she was reduced only to a sex symbol to be ogled at while on screen and to add adult interest to an otherwise very child-directed film. Jasmine’s classic blue pants and cropped shirt place her in the stereotypical Middle Eastern belly-dancer attire that is typically viewed in the United States as an alluring woman. Even when she is kept captive by Jafar, there is an extremely uncomfortable scene that delineates Jafar making unwanted sexual advances towards Jasmine and even forceable grabbing, kissing, and inappropriately touching all while poor Jasmine is chained. There is no proper reason as to why we have to watch sixteen-year-old Jasmine get harassed and assaulted while other antics that are important to the plot occur in the mere background. This specific scene represents the West’s extremely stereotypical, misogynistic, and racist view of the Middle East, particularly our women and their complete and utter lack of respect for them. By cleverly disguising the sexual concepts of Middle Eastern people into a children’s film, the cycle of institutional and systemic stereotypes is being passed onto the next generation who will take these lessons that they perceive as normal and implement prejudiced ideals into their everyday lives. This subtle indoctrination of the youth is a prime example of how misrepresentation in the Middle East continues to progress.
The film Aladdin showcases a deep-rooted haterism that designates back to Western’s obsession with entitlement and power. This is highlighted in the characters of the film Aladdin where every character except Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie are given highly exaggerated ethnic features. For example, Jafar is the villain in Aladdin and it is distinctly noticeable in his character design. Many might describe Jafar as a character who resembles evil, but where did this description derive from? It is related to how Aladdin and Jasmine can immediately be pegged as the heroes of this story with their stereotypical white and aryan features? Or is it simply due to the Orientalist ideal that all Middle Easterners are malicious and evil people? Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie represent European features which makes them appealing and favorable to American audiences. The only character design of Aladdin and Jasmine that is classified as Middle Eastern is the color of their hair and tan skin, giving off the impression that animators simply darkened their skin and painted them as Middle Eastern. It is Jafar who truly has the ethnic features that are most prominent in the Middle East, with his large, bulging chin, bushy eyebrows, angular and elongated face, and most importantly, his hugely exaggerated hooked nose. Jafar’s “hideous” looks are continually made fun of throughout the movie and are normalized and represented as comedic. Jafar is a classical example of a villain fitting into the classic stereotype that all villains are ugly.
How do you think Middle Eastern children feel after realizing that the only character who truly resembles them is considered ugly, disgusting, and evil by American standards? The psychological effect is enormous and will only continue throughout the generations as it is passed down and watched continuously throughout history. Aladdin’s unspoken message is internalized as Western society continues to push European beauty standards as more desirable and attractive while mocking and disparaging anyone with ethnic features. Again, this brings up the concept of white superiority as they feel entitled to hold a greater power than minorities, in this case, the representation of Europeans rather than Middle Easterns.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that these racist stereotypes are prevalent, but it makes it extremely harmful because this movie is seen as a “representation” of the Middle East yet it only pushes the ideals and perspectives of the Western men who produced it. The harsh consequences of Orientalist stereotypes cannot keep being ignored, they need awareness and real attention. How ironic is it that one of the most famous representations of the Middle East, Aladdin, is based upon a story that was reworked and translated by Europeans? Representation should only be accurate if the represented group is present in the production of the product, but the Middle East has been completely erased from a story that is supposed to show the world its culture and all of its beauty. Instead of blindly following Aladdin as a true representation, a conscious effort should be made to give back the lead and voice to the very people that it is based on, but who have been denied a seat at their own table.
The distinct claim made in this draft is the unspoken message in Aladdin is internalized as western society continues to push european beauty standards as more desirable and attractive while mocking and disparaging ethnic features. One piece of evidence that could be removed or reworded is how Jafar represents how all villains are depicted as ugly because it wasn’t a strong ending to the paragraph and would be better ending on the sentence before or rewording that sentence to convey a similar idea. Overall, I like how you can hear your own voice throughout the essay and it is clear what you are writing about. I also liked how you added some questions in the second half. I thought that was creative and emphasized your important point that would give readers something more to think about.
Throughout the paper you make varied, strong, and in-depth claims that all generally relate to each other; a good sign of strong arguments. At the beginning of your first body, you claim that “Throughout the movie, it is evident that Western desires have been placed into Aladdin not as a means to represent the Middle East, but rather as a chance for Western society to further fetishize, misrepresent, and vilify Middle Eastern people, culture, and ethnicity.” as well as the claim in your second body PG of “The film Aladdin showcases a deep-rooted haterism that designates back to Western’s obsession with entitlement and power”. These two claims are strong, but more importantly, they relate to each other and play on each other’s arguments and supporting evidence to reinforce each other. The first claim, in my opinion, the stronger of the two, is a more general version of the second claim, and this gives ample opportunity to discuss the general idea of Western desires and their vilifying effects before talking about the more specific claim of the west using Aladdin for nefarious reasons. The third body paragraph begins to shy away from the aforementioned powerful claims and delves into the realm of personal feeling, which can massively discredit previous arguments. The third body could be better used to introduce a new aspect of your general argument or could be used to introduce the idea of how Aladdin affects Middle Easterners (the initial question at the start of body PG 3) in a more academic argument. Similarly, I think that more information/explanation is required for the third body PG as it poses many interesting and potentially powerful points, but falls a bit short just because of its lack of a strong claim. Good Job!