Aladdin

With the enticing salesman in the first scene of Aladdin, it's hard not to become immediately entranced in the movie.  Through the environment, characters, and events depicted in the film, we, the audience, definitely get a feel for the magical life in the Middle East during Aladdin's time.  Well, "magical" is not the only word an individual would use to describe this "faraway place" after watching Aladdin.  The lyrics in the song "Arabian Nights" say it all:

"Where they cut off your ear

If they don't like your face

It's barbaric, but hey, it's home"

I think very highly of the Middle East now...

Seriously though Disney, what great features to display!  Based on subtle messages in songs and attributes of characters, it's easy to begin to associate savagery with this ancient city.  It's interesting how the song implies that the Arab people were miserable, tolerant of their home but discontented.  Also, a majority of the characters were angry, tough, and definitely barbaric.  Some children are starving and others resort to stealing food from the market to get by.  But, is this depiction of life in ancient Middle East the truth?  Maybe it was this hostile there?  I guess it is up to us whether we seek out and learn the true facts or just take Disney's word for granted.

Besides the way Disney portrays the environment in Aladdin, the way characters are portrayed do suggest underlying racism.  It's interesting how Aladdin and Jasmine are the lightest skinned characters in the movie and do not have any accents, especially compared to Jafar, the villain.  Jafar is significantly darker and has a less Americanized voice.  Was this intentional?  We may never know, but it definitely implies an association of foreigners (non-Americanized characters) with villainy.

Despite some of these negative connotations seen in the film, there are many positive features as well.  I like how this Disney princess movie is unlike most of the others, in the sense that the princess didn’t fall madly in love with the prince at first glance.  Instead it was Aladdin, “the street rat” who notices Jasmine first and can’t take his eyes off of her.  I also find it very interesting that in all the movies I have watched so far, there’s always a very strong relationship between father and daughter, and most times, the mother is nonexistent or not even mentioned. Usually mothers are known to be the more nurturing parental figures – but these maternal figures never seem to be present.  Why is this? 

Even though Aladdin does commit crimes by stealing, we never associate him with villainy because we know that he is a “diamond in the rough.”  It’s very interesting that someone could steal as often as he does and still be the “hero” of the movie.  However, we know that he does have a heart and steals because he essentially has to.  Although he works hard to steal, we see that he is morally good when he gives up his food to feed the hungry children also scrounging for food.  Even in the scene where Aladdin and Abu go into the cave for the first time, Abu (the monkey) is the infidel who is transfixed by the riches and touches the giant ruby.  Therefore, Aladdin is not seen as the bad guy and does demonstrate morals, which is why we associate him with goodness over evil.

I think that above all, Aladdin teaches a clear message that it is best to just be yourself.  Authenticity is key, and there’s no point in lying to make yourself appear better, because in the end, the truth always comes out.  Also, no matter where you live, or what your social/economic status is, there’s always hardship and because of this, you can’t always make assumptions on how people feel.  Whether you live in a palace where there are no freedoms or on the streets scrounging for food every day, you can still feel trapped.  (The fact that Aladdin has a Marketplace too, makes me feel a little trapped – there’s no escaping the Marketplace!)

P.S. I love how the genie is wearing Goofy’s hat in the last scene of the movie.  Well done, that was very clever Disney!