When I first registered for this course in the summer, I was so excited to watch Aladdin for the first time, and learn more of the context behind Aladdin. When I first walked into the course, I had the assumption that Aladdin was not a problematic film. I used to think that Aladdin was the only “popular” film that represented my culture and identity. Also, I assumed that the purpose of the film was to showcase the Middle East and all of its beauty. However, after being exposed to numerous academic texts, I can now fully admit I was wrong about this assumption.
After watching Aladdin, I realized that there was a deep-rooted haterism that referred back to Western ideals and notions of what was deemed the “Orient”. According to Edward Said, the writer who coined Orientalism, he defined various misconceptions about the Middle East and where they originated from. All of my life, I’ve wondered why there was so much resentment towards Arab descent? And, after this class I learned that hatred was learned through these systemic stereotypes and beliefs of white superiority. Edward Said’s book on Orientalism has shifted my perspective towards the way I was treated with my Middle Eastern identity. All the numerous times I questioned depictions of Middle Easterners being violent, barbaric, and hostile were due to these deeply entrenched misrepresentations.
In Aladdin, instead of the focus shifting to Middle Easterners, the spotlight was designated back to the Europeans. Both of the main characters, Jasmine and Aladdin, were given features that would be considered attractive through the lens of someone from the West. Meanwhile, characters like Jafar were given highly exaggerated ethnic features and facial expressions delineating Jafar as an evil character with a violent persona. The mocking dismissal of Arab features in a film that was supposed to discuss the “Middle East” is extremely hypocritical. Once again, the concept of Orientalism is tied with eurocentric beliefs as Europeans felt obligated to entitlement and power.
Given the situation occurring today in the Middle East, I feel as if time perfectly aligned itself for our class to continue learning about the misconceptions of the Middle East. I wish it wasn’t assumed that Arabs are terrorists. And, I wish it wasn’t as hard to have a conversation about these difficult issues. I was under the assumption that this class was solely based on Disney movies. However, this first-year writing class has taught me how to use my knowledge in academics and apply it towards the on-going conflicts in the Middle East. Without understanding the fundamentals of these stereotypes, I would have never been content with my identity as a Middle Eastern girl.
I am extremely delighted that I am able to use Aladdin and connect it with problems I have struggled with my entire life. It is extremely essential to be able to relate coursework to real life situations, so that you are opening new ways of learning, thinking, and understanding. Being able to do this has been challenging, as I have been analyzing and thinking critically of the Palestine-Israel conflict. As I continue reading authors like Edward Said, Christiane Staninger, and Husain Haddawy, I am realizing that the Middle East was never the problem until the West decided it should be. I appreciate every challenge this class has given me because I am now a Middle Easterner who understands why the “Orient” exists. As I watch Western films about the Middle East, I am able to see the problematic stereotypes and internalized misrepresentations and develop my own thoughts about the films. Overall, this class has helped me immensely in learning about my own culture and identity as I am now able to differentiate between the truth and misconceptions about the Middle East.
*PS: My future kids will be analyzing the stereotypes in Aladdin, hopefully they don’t hate me. *
