To continue the theme of the feast, we watched “Aladdin” made in 1992. In my opinion, this movie is probably one of the last good Disney films, even though I’m not quite sure which culture or country they are trying to portray (possibly general middle east?). So while watching the film, my friend (an east Asian studies major) and I tried to decipher this enigma.
There are two things that I would like to address about "Aladdin." One, the film was an advancement because of the exposure to new cultures and promoted new ideas about the definition of a Disney princess or identities for girls to form at an early age. Two, the oversight was that the films were not made to establish a real culture.
If we want to be really serious about animated films,"Aladdin" was an advancement for culture and gender diversity. People have complained quite often about Disney's lack of race representation, even though I feel we really do not need to read too much into animation choices. If we want to look deeper, why did Disney choose to do Aladdin in 1992? America was embroiled in the Persian Gulf War and the exposure to the Middle East probably started an interest.
Or had they just come to an end of classic story lines from the West? The latter seems more likely to me, since Jasmine was followed by Pocahontas, Mulan and finally Tiana. Slowly, the predominantly Asian and other diverse princesses were introduced as we neared the millennium. America was gaining a more diverse population and Disney needed to account for their various audiences and fresh story material.
Jasmine's role as the first diverse princess and an empowered modern women is a very noticeable trait. She stresses that she is not "a prize to be won" because she wants to fall in love and make choices concerning her own life. During the '90s, girl power was at its height (yes with help of the Spice girls) because we were now allowed to have it all like Murphy Brown or choose between work and the home if so inclined. I grew up with
a stepfather that worked for Nike, and their "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" definitely instilled a very powerful example of treasuring female power and creating your own destiny. Jasmine creates her own destiny by deciding to explore and acquire knowledge about her kingdom. Culturally speaking, Jasmine's strong character
promoted empowerment for groups that realistically did and may not today have a voice; nevertheless, she is portraying positive ways to embrace her freedom.
If we want to be really serious about animated films,"Aladdin" was an advancement for culture and gender diversity. People have complained quite often about Disney's lack of race representation, even though I feel we really do not need to read too much into animation choices. If we want to look deeper, why did Disney choose to do Aladdin in 1992? America was embroiled in the Persian Gulf War and the exposure to the Middle East probably started an interest.
Or had they just come to an end of classic story lines from the West? The latter seems more likely to me, since Jasmine was followed by Pocahontas, Mulan and finally Tiana. Slowly, the predominantly Asian and other diverse princesses were introduced as we neared the millennium. America was gaining a more diverse population and Disney needed to account for their various audiences and fresh story material.
Jasmine's role as the first diverse princess and an empowered modern women is a very noticeable trait. She stresses that she is not "a prize to be won" because she wants to fall in love and make choices concerning her own life. During the '90s, girl power was at its height (yes with help of the Spice girls) because we were now allowed to have it all like Murphy Brown or choose between work and the home if so inclined. I grew up with
a stepfather that worked for Nike, and their "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" definitely instilled a very powerful example of treasuring female power and creating your own destiny. Jasmine creates her own destiny by deciding to explore and acquire knowledge about her kingdom. Culturally speaking, Jasmine's strong character
promoted empowerment for groups that realistically did and may not today have a voice; nevertheless, she is portraying positive ways to embrace her freedom.
Jasmine might have shown us "a whole new world" (I know that pun was painful!) with her actions that gave women more freedom; however, the question remains about the cultural identity she is fostering. I honestly find it quite silly when people get offended by Disney movies, because there seem to be bigger issues to dispute with more controversial movies. The double edged sword is, we can relax and enjoy a kids movie while taking it with a grain of salt, but truthfully, children do take on the roles of the characters they see in films. When I re watch animated films, I recall how many things went over my head as a child. Even when I catch the jokes or reflect on the undertones that the film is portraying, I remind myself that it is a form of entertainment and unrealistic. For example, Tiana is living in an extremely tolerant South in The Princess and the Frog and Jasmine is very forceful for a woman living in the South or Middle East. So should we base a film on a pretty real place to teach children about culture and the people that inhabit that culture? Confusion could occur, especially if as adults we are trying to figure out the accuracy of a story's setting.
While we drank mango mimosas, my friend and I observed the culture that Aladdin was trying to portray. My most recent viewing of Aladdin was in 2008, after I returned from my India trip. There is much evidence indicating that Aladdin may in fact be set in India. They live in Agraba, a definite reference to Agra because Jasmine’s palace looks like the Taj Mahal. The palace has similarities to Mughal architecture since it is made of marble, has an expansive balcony, big fountains and scalloped arcs. Jasmine also keeps birds in an elegant cage, a very common pet during the Mughal era (think Pakeezah). The treatment of animals is similar to Indian culture as well, because Raja and Abu are not restrained or truly tamed; they interact with the people in various environments. The characters in Aladdin are caste conscious, because Jasmine must only marry a prince. Furthermore, when the genie must banish Aladdin upon Jafar’s wishes, he is exiled to stormy, snowy mountains, much like Kashmir, a true area of political conflict.
Though there is lots of evidence pointing to India as the setting, there are still some points to the contrary. Allah is mentioned quite often and Hinduism does not seem present (and religion is very hard to miss in India). The style of dress is the main factor that leads me to believe that this movie takes places somewhere else. Jasmine wears midriff showing tops with harem pants; but at the same time has to cover her head when leaving the palace walls. The other distant women characters are either covered in drab colors in the marketplace or peeking out of the harem balconies showing off their finery. The sultan’s attire is the most enigmatic of them all: it screams middle eastern, yet my friend mentioned that it seemed inspired by Ottoman Empire architecture, with all the blues and golds.
We did not end up at a reasonable conclusion and deemed it “The Muslim part of India.” Perhaps taking the film and characters too seriously might only result in ambiguity. Nevertheless, this film is a very entertaining film and contributes to the culture during this time.
While we drank mango mimosas, my friend and I observed the culture that Aladdin was trying to portray. My most recent viewing of Aladdin was in 2008, after I returned from my India trip. There is much evidence indicating that Aladdin may in fact be set in India. They live in Agraba, a definite reference to Agra because Jasmine’s palace looks like the Taj Mahal. The palace has similarities to Mughal architecture since it is made of marble, has an expansive balcony, big fountains and scalloped arcs. Jasmine also keeps birds in an elegant cage, a very common pet during the Mughal era (think Pakeezah). The treatment of animals is similar to Indian culture as well, because Raja and Abu are not restrained or truly tamed; they interact with the people in various environments. The characters in Aladdin are caste conscious, because Jasmine must only marry a prince. Furthermore, when the genie must banish Aladdin upon Jafar’s wishes, he is exiled to stormy, snowy mountains, much like Kashmir, a true area of political conflict.
Though there is lots of evidence pointing to India as the setting, there are still some points to the contrary. Allah is mentioned quite often and Hinduism does not seem present (and religion is very hard to miss in India). The style of dress is the main factor that leads me to believe that this movie takes places somewhere else. Jasmine wears midriff showing tops with harem pants; but at the same time has to cover her head when leaving the palace walls. The other distant women characters are either covered in drab colors in the marketplace or peeking out of the harem balconies showing off their finery. The sultan’s attire is the most enigmatic of them all: it screams middle eastern, yet my friend mentioned that it seemed inspired by Ottoman Empire architecture, with all the blues and golds.
We did not end up at a reasonable conclusion and deemed it “The Muslim part of India.” Perhaps taking the film and characters too seriously might only result in ambiguity. Nevertheless, this film is a very entertaining film and contributes to the culture during this time.
Either way, this Disney movie is one of my favorites (I did wear the Jasmine jewelry set as a kid). Robin Williams is hilariously epic as the genie, and this was before he was obnoxious or doing serious dramas. The songs are fun and well written, "A Whole New World" was nominated for an Oscar
after all. Disney definitely was thriving by using stories from other cultures ("Pocahontas" and "Mulan"). They also started off the decade right with the classic "Beauty and the Beast." The millenium movies just don't live up to my expectations.
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