Gender Communications Final Paper: Disney & Aladdin

The Mickey Mouse Monopoly documentary reveals the obscure social messages behind the animated films created by the Disney Company. Although we are conditioned to believe that these movies are pure forms of entertainment, further examination has proved that there are hidden messages concerning gender, race and class that Disney is instilling in the minds of children. The speakers in the documentary argue that Disney is extremely political and hides its ideas behind innocence, magic and fun. When masked by features that are appealing to a younger audience, it is difficult to realize these ideas without taking a closer look.

In the year 1992 Aladdin was released by Disney, making it one of the fastest growing films. The movie is based off of a young thief whom seeks a better life in Agrhaba, a city that very much resembles those of Arab countries. Aladdin ironically was being produced “during the 1991 Gulf War under the Bush administration. The war lasted six months. It was conflict between Iraq and 34 countries in the U.N., including the United States, trying to return order to Kuwait.” (Nelson, 2009, p.1) With the release of this movie coming just one year after the end of the war, it is safe to say that perhaps Disney considered some current issues in the making of their films. Disney films have been around for more than 60 years; children of all ages have watched these movies and have looked up to many of the characters being portrayed. Ever since I was a child I have watched the classic Disney films, such as The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Mulan etc. As I get older, and watch these movies again, I start to view things much differently. I start to notice the many similarities that many of these movies have. Disney films are filled with gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, and even comments about sexual orientation. “Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films”, an article written within the Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, analyzed 26

Not only are there movies, but there are also stereotypical points made in the form of cartoons. Some graphic novels, and comic books emphasize Middle Eastern people as villains. If Hollywood action movies are to get the attention of the adults, the cartoons are targeting elementary and secondary students. Indeed, through reading these books, school students may be exposed to the wrong emphasis and ideas. Since common stereotypes involving the violence of Middle Eastern countries are made, the students learn indirectly. In addition, many of the computer games involve the character of ‘villains’; and these characters are often the Arabs. The video games feature Arabs as the enemies and give the players game points once they kill the Arabs. If this problem were only in one game, it would not be a “big deal”, however there is more than one such game, involving the existence of the Arabs as the bad side. One of the biggest Disney movies also contributes to stereotypical ideas of Arabs. ‘Aladdin’ was one the most popular film. This film was watched by almost all of the children around the world. However, there were some parts of the movie, which might have concerned some people. For example, it was said that some Arabs were embarrassed and frustrated by the films (Arab Stereotypes and American Educators). They just hoped people would not pay much attention to the lyrics of

Influencing our youth and future world leaders, Disney can create a racist society. Disney’s films have the capability to create a racist culture in the near

The way in which Disney films help maintain a respectable name for the hero is through justifying the characters negative actions. This is present in Aladdin as he is portrayed to be a thief as he steals a loaf of bread, just before he was about to eat the bread he then sees two children scratching through trash to feed themselves. Aladdin in turn, gives the children the bread therefore justifying his actions of thievery. The reasoning behind his actions help to reduce his Arabic decent and the stereotypes related with

Aladdin is one of the most memorable Disney movies ever made. Full of songs and jokes that get stuck in your head for many nights after. No one would ever expect to believe that it was full of rotten gender stereotypes that make you take two looks when watching this movie. In the movie, they make your body structure coincide with the amount of power you have in society.

The exploration of the 1992 children’s film Aladdin turns up many stereotypical and racist implications regarding orientalism and the divide between Western and Eastern cultural constructions. My goal is to bring to light the various ways in which this film encourages a negative portrayal on Eastern society, and to discuss the many detriments that come from inspiring this generalistic approach of thinking onto our youth. The movie starts out with a song during the opening credits titled “Arabian Nights.” The original version of the song describes the fictional city, Aghrabah, as a place “where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face. It’s barbaric, but hey it’s home.”

Disney as a producer of films and tv programs is one of if not the most known media brand in the world, everyone either has seen or knows about a Disney movie. This is quite a large audience for a company to have the ability to influence. These films do all have positive messages that come from them but unfortunately due to this large audience critics have began to notice a pattern in the presentation of the films and believe that Disney's seeming innocent nature is not just that when these films are viewed more in depth. It is seen that the genders in the film are all portrayed in the same manner, females having to be kind caring, built with a small waist and that their sole purpose is to find a man and succumb to his needs. Males must be

Hollywood, film and televsion shows pollute our minds with a negative image of the Arabian community. Hollywood discriminates against the Arab community and portrays these people as villains. This is made evident in the 1944 film, “True Lies” that depicts that Arab community as violent people. This shows that hollywood films can often prejudice against Arab people. Also in “Arabian Nights”, the opening song of the 1992 Disney film “Aladdin” the lyrics state “ Oh, I come from a land. From a faraway place. Where they caravan camels roam. Where they cut of your ear. If they don’t like your face. It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” This shows that the movie Aladdin, also discriminates against the Arab community in the lyrics of it’s opening song. This makes evident that Hollywood, film and televsion shows perpetuate people with a false image of the Arabian community.

My thoughts surrounding Disney films have definitely changed since week one. While I was aware of race and gender issues in the films, I never really thought about the impact of these issues on our society. I had no idea how hurt some people of color were that their representation in Disney films consisted of mostly animals like Chihuahuas, monkeys and hyenas. I still remember watching Mickey Mouse Monopoly and hearing the people speak about the hurt they felt by the portrayal of people like them in these films. I learned so many new things about the films each week, but what stands out to me the most is that in Mickey Mouse Monopoly, one person talked about Disney films as a fantasy and an escape from reality. I agree that the films are definitely part of the fantasy genre. However, if they are supposed to be an escape or fantasy for everyone, then why is there not a better representation of what our society really is in terms of racial and cultural diversity? Why can’t they portray all races in a positive light so that we all can have that chance to “escape” while watching the film? If Disney filmmakers cannot portray racial acceptance and diversity in a “fantasy” world, then what happens back in reality? I think that Disney sends a strong message through films, whether intentional or not, and many young children are swayed by these messages. Their impressionable young minds then see the world through a different lens, and one that may not be particularly accurate. I still love a lot of Disney films, but I have learned to not take them so seriously and learn to accept that they are just part of someone’s

According to a documentary film “Mickey Mouse Monopoly”, Dr. Gail Dines, professor of Women’s Studies from Wheelock College, said that Disney is a mirror society, but rather constructs the notion of femininity. In short, Disney company shows femininity by implanting distorted images of women character in their works. At first, Disney describes women are weak and protective persons. For instance, in Movie “Aladin”(1991), granted that a woman has a strong power by herself, she looks to need protection by a man. Therefore, she always is rescued by a man.

Disney has been known for creating movies, television shows, and books about heroic saviors and damsels in distress, yet have you ever thought about the message it's sending to children? The princesses are all smart and beautiful, but if you are not apparently you are not worth being a princess. The princes are handsome and strong, once again if you do not fit the criteria you can not be a Disney prince. Not all of the characters fit this criteria. Such as Maleficent, she was extremely tall and skinny, but she had strong features that were not considered beautiful. Also Gaston, he had every girl in town going after him, but he only wanted the one with the most beauty and brains. What is the effect of Disney movies on American children?

The most controversial of all is opening song of the movie titled “Arabian nights”. The lyrics read "Oh, I come from a land, From a faraway place, Where the caravan camels roam, Where they cut off your ear If they don‘t like your face, It‘s Barbaric, but hey, it‘s home."(Wingfield & Karaman, 1995) These lyrics were thought to be so offensive that The American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC) got involved. Wingfield & Karaman, 1995) Disney agreed to change the original lyrics to the song. The new lyrics read "It‘s flat and immense, and the heat is intense. It‘s barbaric, but hey, it‘s home.” (Wingfield & Karaman, 1995) Although the lyrics improved many Arabs don't consider this much progress, and still see the new lyrics as racist. (Wingfield & Karaman, 1995) PG rated movies

For those who are not familiar with Disney’s, Aladdin, the movie features a princess, Jasmine, and a “street rat, Aladdin. The two characters meet in the town’s marketplace and they create an overfriendly bond. Aladdin is later captured by the villain, Jafar, who convinces Jasmine that her new acquaintance is dead. Under Jafar’s capture, Aladdin is lead to the “Cave of Wonders”, where he discovers a genie in a lamp. He breaks free from Jafar’s capture and befriends the genie. After each other’s introduction, the genie grants three wishes to Aladdin. Since the genie cannot make people fall in love, Aladdin manipulates around his restriction and requests to be made into a prince in order to gain the princess’s love. With the help of the genie, Jasmine sees Aladdin as a prince, but suspects something

Aladdin introduces the main character Aladdin as a poor man living in the streets of Iraq who falls in love with Princess Jasmine; however, he cannot marry her since she can only marry a prince. Later on Aladdin is thrown into prison where Jafar, the villain, manages to make a deal with Aladdin in which he will grant Aladdin anything he wants in exchange for retrieving the magic lamp from a cave. In this trip Aladdin encounters the magic carpet that later