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. Aladdin’s unspoken message of misrepresentations is internalized as Western society continues to push European beauty standards as more desirable and attractive while mocking and disparaging anyone with ethnic features. These fabrications of Arab culture have created prolonged stereotypes of the Middle East through highly exaggerated animations and concepts in this movie, leading to a distortion in the way Middle Eastern culture is perceived in today’s society.
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? Is it 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 typical stereotype that all villains are ugly.
When watching Aladdin, even a 5 year old can come to the conclusion that Jafar is evil. As a toddler, children develop neurological pathways that then lead to the creation of heuristics so they can more easily distinguish the “good” and “bad” people. Bright colors tend to stimulate children’s brains and release more serotonin, and white in particular has immediate, subconscious relevance with goodness and purity while darker colors portray darkness and evil and will not elicit the same response. Therefore, because of these chemical changes and children’s simplified understanding of good and bad, they will be able to come to the conclusion that Jafar is the bad guy very quickly. Jafar dresses in all dark colors, mostly red and black, while Jasmine, Aladdin and the Genie are clad in bright colors such as blue, white and purple. This is not a conscious mental process, but rather one that happens subliminally based on previous experiences, making a young child’s experience very straight forward. Based on this, when seeing the different character, children will subconsciously associate the color of the character’s clothing with their goodness or evilness. Hence Jafar is evil and malicious while Jasmin, Aladdin and the Genie are good and pure. 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. The concept of white superiority is brought up as white people feel entitled to hold a greater power than minorities, in this case, the representation of Europeans rather than Middle Easterns.
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 most trusted 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 commonly viewed in the United States as an alluring woman. In the Middle East, her attire would be classified as haram, meaning it is forbidden by Allah and not respectful to wear or represent oneself. This further represents how little care and time was taken to fully respect Middle Eastern culture as these misrepresentations are catered to appeal to Western audiences. Even when Jasmine 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. Jasmine is being pursued by Jafar because she is portrayed as an attractive woman with European features, while Jafar is viewed as ugly because of his highly exaggerated ethnic Arab features. By cleverly disguising these sexual concepts and ethnic features 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.
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. People such as Jafar, who have ethnic features, should not be mocked, dismissed, or portrayed in a negative connotation simply because of the way they look. Arab people have these ethnic features, which adds on to the rich and deeply rooted culture of the Middle East; this is what makes them stand out in their own beauty standards. Jasmine and Aladdin should not be dismissed as attractive because of Western society’s beauty standards; everyone is truly beautiful in their own way. 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.
Hi Pamela, I had never put together how our minds can perceive colors and relate them to “good” and “evil.” I had never put it into perspective that the use of colors can cause assumptions about certain groups. I can attest to the fact that, as a child, I thought Jaffar was evil because he wore dark clothes, just like other Disney villains like Mother Gothel in Tangled. It was really interesting to reflect back to this moment in my life as a result of your writting. Pamela, you have a great way of analyzing evidence while also creating claims that support your argument. I appreciated how you brought your intelligence to this paper with the use of your scientific background and the fact that you are of Middle Eastern descent. Also, I loved how lovely and ethically pleasing your website was.