Other than Aladdin, Jasmine and the Genie, who were the only ones with fully developed characters, the rest of the characters in the film were either portrayed as meek and oblivious, such as the Sultan, or simply cunning and evil like Jafar. It seems as though it is extremely difficult for Hollywood to admit that there were other positive and progressive things going on in the Middle East and Asia in the past, which they failed to even slightly include in the film. American and European writers or filmmakers continue to depict Asia and the Middle East as something alien, bizarre, backward, and impossible to understand, as Said once argued. Surprisingly, Edward Said’s 1978 book Orientalism still holds relevance until today, despite of the fact that globalization and multiculturalism is taking place more rapidly. Yet the end result seems to be just a live remake of the original animation with only a little twist to Princess Jasmine’s character – portraying her as more independent and ambitious – while ignoring the problematic presentation of the Eastern world as nothing but a ‘mysterious’ land of magic and sorcery. They also took a long time to cast actors and actresses to play the roles, as Egyptian-Canadian actor Mena Massoud (Aladdin) and English-Indian Naomi Scott (Jasmine) beat nearly over 2,000 others who also auditioned, which on the whole points to Disney’s recognition of the importance of this film in respecting other cultures and fighting negative stereotypes and narratives. We are told that in order to avoid controversy, Disney sought advice from a Community Advisory Council comprising Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim scholars, activists and creatives, and that director Guy Ritchie had ‘cultural advisors’ accompanying him throughout the process. The song lyrics to ‘Arabian Nights’ in the 1992 film Though the new live-action remake proves that there is still an unbothered attitude towards knowing the history of other countries, to the extent that the film takes place in a fake city named ‘Agrabah’ – no one knows what it is, where it is or what it represents, but it is just full of darker skinned people with exotic cultures, and that’s all that matters. Though the song as it is represents just everything you need to know about the film: an exoticised and romantised fantasy of the ‘East’ that is detached from its own history.Īfter more than a decade with dramatic events like 9/11 and the Iraq war, one would expect that Disney’s producers would make some kind of effort in digging just a little deeper to study other cultures, particularly after the backlash it received from the 1992 film due to its racist undertones. It is quite different this time from one in the 1992 animation, as they decided to remove the racist and offending remark of ‘barbaric’ in the song. ‘Aladdin’ Review: The Mystical East Hollywood Loves But Does Not Understandįor Disney, one of the biggest media companies in Hollywood, there is no better way to start a film like Aladdin than with the old classic and controversial song: Arabian Nights.
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