Erin Nienhuis February 24, 2010 Trapped: The Role of Western and Arabian Discourses in Disneys Aladdin

Introduction The movie Aladdin is a Walt Disney Classic film produced in 1992. As many of the Disney films are, Aladdin is popular with its younger intended audiences. The movie came out when I was the impressionable age of four, and I remember it with pleasure. Even as a college student on the verge of graduating, it is one of my favorite and mostwatched Disney movies. Considering this, and assuming that the movie had as much of an effect on others of my generation, I wanted to analyze the ideological stereotypes that the movie reinforces through the discourses of class, ethnicity, and gender. I will be using the ideas of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to identify and describe the ideologies portrayed in Aladdin. Such an analysis is necessary because it can reveal how power structures are constructed through the language of the film. Lexical, semantic, and grammatical patterns, as well as semiotics and intertextuality, can reveal the language ideologies subtly weaved throughout the film by Disney. Viewers of animated films intended for young children often forget that all movies are created by peoplepeople with prejudices and specific agendas. Disney has often been criticized for messages of racism, sexism, and other manipulations hidden throughout their movies which are taken in and unconsciously acted upon by its young, impressionable audience. In Aladdin, the interjections of Western ideas and the eventual triumph of Western ideas over Arabic traditions make suggestions about ethnicity, gender, and class which are inevitably and inviolably absorbed and permeated by its young, American audience. In the next section, I will describe the methods by which I analyzed these linguistic ideologies portrayed in Aladdin. Methods For those who have had the misfortune of not having seen Disneys Aladdin as a child, who are without the nostalgic remembrances of the delight instilled by the many colorful characters, the exotic yet sing-along-style music, and the talking animal sidekicksrelax. Though I stoutly stand by my favorite Disney film, after this analysis those who missed out may in fact be better off from a worldly standpoint. Aladdin is based off of a tale told in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights, a book of tales of medieval Arabian origin. The Disney version centers around a boy named Aladdin (saw that coming, didnt you?) who is a common street rat, a thief. Aladdin meets Princess Jasmine in the marketplace, and they eventually fall in love, brought together by their commonalities. Aladdin becomes ensnared in a plot by the evil Jafar and through a set of circumstances gains possession of a magical lamp from which a genie appears, offering him three

wishes. Ideologies ensue, identified through linguistic features such as lexical patterns, semiotics, and intertextuality. By viewing this movie three or four times (recently); by recruiting my roommates during one viewing for keener sets of eyes, ears, and perspectives; and by perusing the written transcript of the movie, I have developed a deeper understanding of the movie and the ideologies woven into it. Findings and Analysis The movie Aladdin reveals a juxtaposition of discourses, some which reveal ideologies about Arabian culture and others which show Western ideologies. The Arabian discourse is often conveyed through the neutral or bad characters, while the Western discourse is infused in the good characters. Neutral characters include the peddler, Gazeem (the humble thief who is eaten by the Cave of Wonders in the beginning), the palace guards, and the various bystanders and marketplace vendors. The bad characters include Jafar, Iago, and Prince Achmed. The good characters are Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, her father the Sultan, and the genie. I will illustrate how the Arabian discourse conveyed through the neutral and evil characters is dominated by the Western discourse of the good characters. The discourses of ethnicity, gender, and class are my focus. Ethnicity The first markers of ethnicity in the film are accent and the accompanying physical appearance. Most of the characters associated with the Arabian discourse speak with an Arabic accentall of the neutral characters do, as do Jafar and Prince Achmed. This association immediately puts the Arabic ethnicity into a bad lightif the only characters who speak in that style are either characters that the audience cares little about or characters who are evil, what does that say about the discourse? The ideology becomes that Arabic characters are bad, so all Arabic people must be bad. In direct contrast to this ideology, the good characters speak only with an American accent. The only other character who speaks with an American accent is Iago, but since he most often parrots what Jafar is saying, I must conclude that rather than associating the American accent with evil, Iago is actually acting as a translator for Jafar to the young audiences who might not be able to understand Jafars speech. Aladdin, Jasmine, the Sultan, and the genie speak with American accents, representing the Western discourse, and constructing the ideology that American-ness equals goodness and righteousness. Additionally, the Arabian discourse is often accompanied by an ethnic appearance, while the Western discourse is accompanied with more European features. Compare two images, one of Aladdin (left) and one of Jafar (right): Aladdin has a straight, prominent nose, with rounded eyes, large slightly arched eyebrows, and an unobtrusive, boyish grin. He has a square jaw and an oval facial shape. Jafar, on the other hand, has a bulbous, slightly hooked nose; squinted, slanted eyes; thin and extremely arched eyebrows; a protruding mouth, pointed chin, and facial hair, including a twisted beard. Even the skin colors

between the two contrast sharply. Aladdins is a golden tan, while Jafars is sallow and pale. Other of the neutral and evil characters share features like Jafars hooked nose, slanted eyes, and facial hair style. The Sultan, a good character, is short and round, with a large white beard and mustache, and a turban. Sounds a little like Santa Claus wearing a turban, doesnt he? Genie shares some of the Arabic features, including the hooked nose, and beard, but because he is essentially a creature of Arabian mythology, his features are more geared toward that than upholding the Western discourse. These appearances, combined with the accents, help to construct a very specific ideology: that anyone sounding or looking Arabic is essentially bad, and that the Western look and accent are desired and good. Gender When it comes to gendered statements in Aladdin, the juxtaposition of the Western and Arabian discourses results in the condemnation of Arabian culture and the commendation of Western ideas. For example, when Princess Jasmine and the Sultan are discussing her future, the Sultan says about her choosing a husband, The law says youmust be
married to a princeIm not going to be around forever, and I just want to make sure youre taken care of, provided for. This

statement is full of ideologies, taken mostly from its semantic meaning. It constructs the ideology that because Jasmine is female, she needs a male to take care of her. It also constructs the ideology that Arabic custom is forcing Jasmines hand. The sentence uses specific lexicon to convey that idea. That because of the law, she must be married in order for her identity as a princess to be confirmed, legitimate. Later, the Western discourse is portrayed through Jasmines conversation with Aladdin:
Jasmine: My fathers forcing me to get married. Aladdin: Thatsthats awful.

Aladdins line is a Western interjection, directly contradicting the Arabian custom. Notice that the Western discourse only contradicts the ideology of the Arabic custom, that by law she must be married to be legitimate; it does not contradict the ideology that Jasmine needs a male to take care of her. Jasmine is trapped by the ideologies surrounding her female role: she is unable to choose who to marry, when, and for what reasons. Similarly, Aladdin and the genie are trapped by the ideologies surrounding their roles, but it is not their gender which traps them. Class There are several different classes of people described throughout Aladdin. Aladdin himself is impoverished, reduced to stealing food from marketplace proprietors. Jasmine is royalty and quite rich. Jafar is somewhere slightly below royalty. The genie is lower even than Aladdin, as he can be characterized as either servant or slave. Arabian discourse throughout the movie clearly demonstrates that no one can rise above their class, no matter their desires. The line which most clearly shows this ideology is when Prince Achmed says to Aladdin: You are a worthless street rat. You
were born a street rat, youll die a street rat, and only your fleas will mourn you. Through its semantic meaning, the audience comes to

realize that in the Arabian ideology, class levels are static. Aladdin in the Arabian

discourse will never live in the palace and will never marry Princess Jasmine. He could never become sultan. However, through the interjection of Western discourse and ideology, the Arabian ideology is overturned:
Sultan: You two will be wed at once! Yes, yes. And youll be happy and prosperous, and then my boy, you will be sultan! Aladdin: Sultan? Sultan: Yes, a fine upstanding youth like yourself, a person of your unimpeachable moral character is exactly what this kingdom needs!

The Arabian discourse emphasizing princes and laws is no longer being used. Instead, the Western ideology emphasizing good character and happiness is being employed. Western discourse overcomes Arabian ideology, and so Aladdin is able to rise above his class level. Genies class is also static. Because of his role as an Arabian mythological being, he is part of the Arabian discourse. He is a servant, a slave. Jafar refers to him as slave several times, and the additional lexical choices emphasizing master, taking orders, and wish fulfillment, make his class clear. Genie himself confirms the idea:
To be my own master, such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world! But what I am talking about, here? Lets get real here. Its not gonna happen. Genie, wake up and smell the hummus.

But because in the end, the Western discourse triumphs over the Arabian discourse, genies class is no longer so static. The semiotics of the moment in which Jafar is defeated represent the triumph of Western (AKA American) discourse. Genie takes the lamp and goes to the balcony. He is now wearing a baseball cap. He winds up as if to throw the lamp, but opens his palm flat and flicks it out into the desert with his finger. Genie defeats Jafar, the chief representative of the Arabian discourse, with a very American gesture: the winding up of the pitcher to throw the baseball. This clear victory of the Western discourse is what allows genies class to become fluid. Both Aladdin and the genie are able to rise above their class through the triumph of Western ideology and discourse over that of the Arabian. Intertextuality-References to other Disney films A habit which Disney indulges in for all of their animated films is the inclusion of characters from their other films. In Aladdin, there were at least six direct references to other films. These references are more than Easter Eggs, as fans call them, but they are a reminder that Disney is completely conscious of every little thing that they put into the movie. In the scene where the Sultan is stacking up his toys, there is a figurine of the Beast, from The Beauty and the Beast. Also, Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid appears, along with Pinocchio. Genie dresses up in Goofys outfit at the end of the movie, and genies spell to make Abu into an elephant ends in the word dumbo. One other reference that may or may not be intentional is the use of ix-nay, which is simultaneously pig Latin, and a word used in The Lion King.

Results and Conclusion This analysis of Aladdin demonstrates the prevalence of power structures in everything that we experience. What may seem like a simple animated movie for children at first glance can be following an agenda through its subtleties that the audience will not grasp at a conscious level. What is particularly frightening is that Disney is deliberately constructing these ideologies and that as children, we have very few defenses against prejudices that are slyly introduced. Ideologies about different ethnicities can be formed without the audiences slightest awareness of it, and it is something that we need to become aware of. Did our prejudices toward the Middle East perhaps start with movies like Aladdin? It is hard to know, but awareness is the first step toward correcting our ideologies.