Running head: RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
Racial Stereotypes in Disney’s Aladdin
Francesca Tines
Northern Illinois University
December 2, 2011
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RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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Abstract
Disney movies are most viewed by children the way that race is portrayed can have a negative
effect on children learning. This paper discus the racial stereotypes in Disney movies. The paper
will be focusing Disney’s Aladdin and how Arabian culture is portrayed in the movie. Research
shows that Aladdin does racially stereotype Arabian, through the theme song, characters and
scenery appearance. The theme song show racial stereotypes because of how the lyrics says,
“Where they cut off your ear, if they don’t like your face,” and it is offensive to the Arabic
community. The characters appearance are different depending on the role they play, good or
bad, for example, Aladdin looks more American, whereas Jafar, has a more exotic look.
Aladdin’s scenery shows racial stereotypes because there are merchant everywhere trying to sell
something and the place appears to be poverty. Since children learn from what they see they can
learn a negative perspective of Arabian. To solve this problem of children not racially
stereotyping different race is for adults to teach them about different culture.
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Introduction
“The Wonderful World of Walt Disney”, a phrase you hear when you see commercial or
any reference to Disney. Walt Disney, the founder, is a well-know man for his passion for
entertainment especial for children. He was a very successful man in creating a fantasy life for
children. He has a great influence on children through his movies, television shows, and
amusement parks. Disney is an innocent corporation, or is it? Growing up to Disney were the
happiest moments in my life, from watching movies and television shows, to fantasying of going
to Disney World. Now that I have grown up, I have heard things about the Disney and his
movies of being racist and stereotyping minority race in his movies. When hearing statement like
those I looked back and start watching some of my favorite movies over, like Aladdin, and seen
how Arabic people are portrayed. Even though Disney movies promote fantasy images I believe
that Disney movies do show racism in its movies because of how they stereotype minority race.
Racism & Stereotypes
Racism and stereotypes can relate with each other. According to Free Merriam-Webster
Dictionary (2011), racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and
capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” A
stereotype is “a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and
that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment.” These two
are related because they both deal with preconceived notions about a particular group of people.
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These notions lead to dislike or hatred of people, because of who they are from their physical
appearance, without having a chance to examine what each person is like as an individual. They
make collective judgments on groups of people. Disney movies show this through the racial
stereotypes that are presented through his movies.
Aladdin as Racism
Aladdin was one of the most successful Disney films it was released in 1992. It earned
“$ 1 billion from box-offices income, video sales and such ancillary baubles as Princess Jasmine
dresses and Genie cookie jars,” and is a winner of two academy awards (Giroux, 1999,
p.93&105). Aladdin was based in a fictional place called Agrabah, where the two main
characters Aladdin, a “street rat” and Princess Jasmine fall in love with each other, but they
cannot marry each other because by law she must marry a prince. Aladdin obtains a lamp that is
wanted by the evil sultan’s advisor, Jafar, whose is trying to take over the county. Aladdin uses
the genie in the lamp to impress Princess Jasmine into fall in love with him because he was a
“prince” and rich. In the end, Aladdin fight against Jafar and won, and the law was change so
that the princess was free to choose anybody to marry. Aladdin is view as a movie that is going
beyond it boundaries in getting a more Westernize audience into Disney. According to Lent
(1999, p. 63), “the company expressed confidence that Aladdin would appeal to children of all
ethnic origins.” Though Aladdin was one of the biggest movie for Disney and the goal for the
movie where to attract the Arabian and Muslim race; somewhere offend by the movie. People
may think that Aladdin is, “not an authentic depiction of an Oriental culture and its products, but
RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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an American cartoon depicting the Arabic world and its people as both exotic and humorous”
(Lent, 1999, p.62). Even though Aladdin is seen as a great movie in representing Arabic culture
it actual racially stereotype then instead.
“Arabian Nights”
The beginning of Aladdin starts off with a merchant on his camel singing,
“Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place where caravan camels roam. Where they cut off
your ear, if they don’t like your face. It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” The one part of the lyric
that says, “Where they cut off your ear, if they don’t like your face,” is racial stereotyping the
Arabian race because it saying that they will harm a person if their appearance is not what they
approve of. When that part of the lyric was shown in the movies it created a lot of chaos. People
were protesting the anti- Arabian theme, to the point that they had to change the lyrics to “Where
it’s flat and immense, and the heat is intense.” Howard Ashman, the writer of “Arabian Nights,”
submitted the two lyrics but Disney chose the one that was more offensive to the Arabic race.
Aladdin filmed and release through the period of the Gulf War, so when this song was heard it
characterize, “a politics of identity and place associated with Arab culture magnifies popular
stereotypes already primed by the media through its portrayal of the Gulf War” (Giroux, 1995).
Maybe, Disney choose that lyric because at that time the Arabian/Muslim race where harming
people who they did not like and it was a hidden political message because the U.S. was at war
with Iraq because they had invade Kuwait . If it where the truth or not at that time it should have
not been put in a children movie. Another example where the Arabian race where shown as
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violence is when Princess Jasmine hand was about to be cut off because she gave a hungry child
an apple because he was hungry and she did not pay for it. According to Jack Shaheen, in the
Islamic culture you have the right to feed someone if they are hungry and cutting off your hand
for trying to feeding someone is uncommon and that only one country, Saudi Arabia, really
implement the idea of if you steal you get your hand cut off and that is after you get caught
stealing three times or more. (“Disney Racism Examples”, 2011). Princess Jasmine hand about
to be cut off should not have been shown in the movies because children may get an idea that
Arabian culture punishment for misbehaving will be removal of a body part.
Characters Appearance
Aladdin is based on an Arabian style environment, but Aladdin and Princess Jasmine
looks more American than Arabian. The “good” people in Aladdin image to be more American,
while the “bad” looks is more exotic. Aladdin seems and looks American, “he has an American
accent and a much lighter complexion than those who actually do portray Arabian characters. He
has dark, luscious hair with a very 90s American haircut, looks clean and well kept even though
he is poor, and is overall extremely handsome” (Joseph, n.d.). Also, how Princess Jasmine has an
American look too. Giroux (1999, p. 105) states, “Peter Schneider, president of feature
animation at Disney, who points out that Aladdin is model after Tom Cruise.” The supposed to
be a cultural change but the main character image is based off an American actor instead of an
Arabian one. This shows how Disney does not want the main character to look like the “bad”
guys. Jafar, the “bad” guy and the other “bad” characters look alike. They all have beards, large
bulbous noses, and sinister eyes (Joseph, n.d.) Also, Aladdin and Princess Jasmine have an
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American accent, while the “bad” characters have heavy accents. The images of these characters
can send false information to children because when they see people who look like Jafar they
will characterize them as a “bad person.” Yousef Salem, a former spokesperson for South Bay
Islamic Association, states that his daughter, “says she’s ashamed to be call herself an Arab, and
it’s because of things like this” (Giroux,1995); the “like this” part is talking about the image of
the “bad” characters. Hearing a child being ashamed of their culture is sad and this shows how
Disney portrayal of the Arabian race is having a negative effect on children.
Scenery Appearance
Agrabah was design based on a stereotypical Arab land, with the dessert theme,
merchants everywhere you look, people appears like they are in poverty and women are
seductive. In the beginning of Aladdin, that where you see majority of the town, when Aladdin
and Princess Jasmine are in the market place if you look at signs or buildings they use
nonsensical scribble-scratch instead of the real language. Which this can lead to the perception
that Arabic written is just scribble. In the beginning of the movie we are introduced to a
merchant who is trying to worthless objects, finding dozens of uses for objects just to convince
us to buy it so that he can make money (Joseph, n.d.). Everything he sells is fake or
useless. When Princess Jasmine is in the city you see a lot of merchant trying to sell something,
for example, fish, jewelry or nuts. Also, there appearance and behavior is model after Jafar
(Giroux, 1995). How poverty is portrayal racial stereotypes in relation to Arabs. One major sign
of poverty is not wearing shoes. Aladdin in the beginning would walk around barefoot, as does
all the children in the movie (Joseph, n.d.). This can give the wrong impression to children to
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believe that people of that culture do not wear shoes especially, the poor or children. The women
in the movie are overly sexualized. They are all portrayed as beautiful, exotic, and sexual. In the
scene where Aladdin is trying to escape the royal guards after stealing a loaf of bread, he
somehow ends up in a room full of half dressed women. The women are dressed in clothing that
reveals their body. The negative portrayal of Arab women in the movie does not match up with
the cultural reality. In Islam, women are supposed to be fully clothed to avoid sexual output
(Joseph, n.d).
Disney Influence on Children
Between the age of two to five children start to become aware of race, ethnicity, gender
and disabilities (Brunette, Mallory, & Wood, n.d.). This means they can identify that someone is
different from them. When Disney movies portray a certain races, a certain way; children will
label that race doing that stereotype they seen; which is a part of children’s culture. Giroux
(1995) states that,
Children’s culture is a sphere where entertainment, advocacy, and pleasure meet to
construct conceptions of what it means to be a child occupying a combination of gender,
racial, and class positions in society through which one defines oneself in relation to a
myriad of others.
He is saying that the culture of children is shape by what they see and the build up images of
what one thing looks like to them. Disney movies that portray certain races and cultures in a
negative manner can affect the children learning of accurate information about it. If children
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learn from Disney movies and without adults explaining, they will form negative biases and
prejudices toward a race or culture.
Teaching Children
Aladdin being one of the most popular Disney movies means plenty of children have seen
it. Since the movie racially stereotypes the Arabian race we need to teach our children more
about the culture. In order to help our children resist negative values, it is up to the adults to
present them with positive images including books, dolls, and toys, help them think critically
about what they see (Brunette, Mallory, & Wood, n.d.). Plan ways for children to interact with
children from different race and culture. When children have low self-esteem about their own
race such as, Yousef Salem’s daughter who was ashamed to call herself Arab, help them have
pride in their own heritage, teach them about their culture. Giroux (1995) states that,
It is imperative that parents, educators and cultural workers pay attention to how these
Disney films and visual media are used and understood differently by diverse groups of
kids. Not only does this provide the opportunity for parents and others to talk to children
about popular culture, it also creates the basis for better understanding how young people
identify with these films, what issues need to be addressed.
Giroux is stating that adults need to pay more attention to what their children watch because the
way that media and films view diverse group could be interpreted differently by children and by
talking to them can help parents to understand how to address the issue of what needs to be
change about films and media negative portrayal of minority race.
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Conclusion
Disney movies does racial stereotype minority race, some might say that it just an
exaggeration of a culture, if Disney where just showing an exaggeration of a culture then it
would not affect a certain race to the point where they feel offended. Disney’s Aladdin is one of
the most successful movie, but the way they represented the Arabian race was through racial
stereotyping. The way they portray Arabian as violent or the how the “bad” characters have a
more Arabic look as the “good” characters look more American is setting a negative image about
the culture. From viewing the movie children are learning negative inaccurate information about
Arabian culture, and it is up to use to teach them the right information. Parents and educators
should pay more attention to how movies and television shows portray certain culture. We can
start these ways by teaching them from the home and in classrooms. Recognizing these racial
stereotypes can lead to diversity in the community.
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Work Cited
47claytonic. (2011, March 21). Disney Racism Example. Retrieved December 2, 2011 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHyzAbV6nuM
Brunette, L., Mallory, C., Wood, S. (n.d.). Stereotypes & racism in children’s movies. Retrieved
from http://www.nhaeyc.org/newsletters/articles/Racism_in_Childrens_Movies.pdf
Giroux, Henry A. (1995) Animating youth: the disnification of children’s culture.
Retrieved from http://www.europeanmediaculture.org/fileadmin/bibliothek/english/giroux_animatingyouth/giroux_animatingy
outh.pdf
Giroux, Henry A. (1999) The mouse that roared: Disney and the end of innocence. Lanham, Md.
: Rowman & Littlefield.
Joseph, B. (n.d.). Disney movies and racism / FrontPage. Disney Movies and Racism / FrontPage.
Retrieved November 3, 2011, from
http://disneyandmovies.pbworks.com/w/page/17905683/FrontPage
Lent, J. A. (1999). Themes and issues in Asian cartooning: cute, cheap, mad, and sexy.
Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 61-76.
Racism - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Dictionary and
Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism
Shaheen, J. (1993, July). Aladdin animated racism. Cineaste, 20(1), 49
RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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Stereotype - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (n.d.). Dictionary
and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stereotype
RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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Annotated Bibliography
Brunette, L., Mallory, C., Wood, S. (n.d.). Stereotypes & racism in children’s movies. Retrieved
from http://www.nhaeyc.org/newsletters/articles/Racism_in_Childrens_Movies.pdf
“Stereotypes & Racism in Children’s Movies” essay writes about how Disney
movies portray difference race in their movies can affect children. The authors talks
about how children can identify different race, gender, ethnicity, and disabilities at a
young age. They break down different Disney movies such as, Oliver and Company,
Lady and the Tramp, Aladdin, Lion Kings, and more discussing different characters and
how the movies stereotype minority race. The authors then discuss how you can help the
children from forming negative bias and prejudices, by showing them positive image of
people from a different race and talking positive about cultural heritage.
Authorship/ Authority -3
Accuracy -5
Relevance/Timeliness-5
Objectivity-4
Giroux, Henry A. (1995) Animating youth: the disnification of children’s culture.
Retrieved from http://www.europeanmediaculture.org/fileadmin/bibliothek/english/giroux_animatingyouth/giroux_animatingy
outh.pdf
RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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“Animating Youth: the Disnification of Children’s Culture” essay writes about the
culture of children which is where entertainment is constructed of what children occupy
as gender, racial, and class positions in society. Giroux then writes about how children’s
culture is largely ignored, especially in animated films. He goes on in describing when he
started to question the diverse representation and message Disney movies view the world.
Then he talks about how Disney image is an icon of American culture because it is
penetrated through social life. He starts writing about is the animated films good for kids
by going into details of how certain movies portrayed gender and race. Giroux then
writes that American society is a “Disnification.”
Authorship/ Authority -5
Accuracy -5
Relevance/Timeliness-4
Objectivity-5
Giroux, Henry A. (1999) The mouse that roared: Disney and the end of innocence. Lanham, Md.
: Rowman & Littlefield.
“The Mouse that Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence” book describe how
companies like Disney are increasingly commercializing our culture, and targeting
younger children as consumers. Giroux explains how Disney portrays itself as innocent
entertainment products such as films and theme parks. Then he talks about the
corporation of Disney and how it affects society and how his products are targeting
RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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younger consumers. Giroux then explain how Disney movies promote sexism and racism.
He explains that children learn increasingly from popular culture. This book just describe
how the Disney corporation in into consumerism.
Authorship/ Authority -5
Accuracy -5
Relevance/Timeliness-5
Objectivity-5
Joseph, B. (n.d.). Disney movies and racism / FrontPage. Disney Movies and Racism / FrontPage.
Retrieved November 3, 2011, from
http://disneyandmovies.pbworks.com/w/page/17905683/FrontPage
This website describes the stereotypes of race and gender in Disney movies. The
writer of the page choose to write about five Disney movies, such as Pocahontas, The
Fox and the Hound, Aladdin, Mulan, and Dumbo and describe the how the characters in
the movies is portrayed and how it goes into the stereotypes minority culture. Before
Joseph analysis the movie he first explain what the movies is about then he goes into
details of the characters and how they are portrayed. For example, in the beginning of
Dumbo you see faceless black men setting up tents and how this can represent that black
people are lesser people and during the time period that Dumbo came out.
Authorship/ Authority -3
Accuracy -3
Relevance/Timeliness-4
RACIAL STEREOTYPES IN DISNEY ALADDIN
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Objectivity-3
Lent, J. A. (1999). Themes and issues in Asian cartooning: cute, cheap, mad, and sexy.
Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. p. 61-76.
"Themes and Issues in Asian Cartooning" discuss Asian animation, humor
magazines, gag cartoons, comic strips, and comic books. Chapter three of the book
discusses Aladdin and its representation in the Southeast Asia. Lent then discusses how
the movie was film in how America viewed the Arabic world. He described how the
movies where suppose to attract the minority race and the main focus of people they
wanted to attract where Muslim people. Aladdin offends some people of the Muslim
cultural, saying it is portraying them negatively. Lent then explain that West tradition,
values, and religious clashes with those of Southeast Asia.
Authorship/ Authority -5
Accuracy -5
Relevance/Timeliness-4
Objectivity-5
Shaheen, J. (1993, July). Aladdin animated racism. Cineaste, 20(1), 49
“Aladdin animated racism” article talks about the racism that Aladdin shows in
the movies. Shaheen first talks about how financially successful this movie was but how
it still crosses racist line. He talks about the beginning theme song “Arabian Night” and
how the song line stated, “Where they cut off your ear, if they don’t like your face,”
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which he discuss how it is rude to the Arabian race. Shaheen talks about how Jasmine
and Aladdin looks more American than Arabian and how the bad character like Jaffer
have darker skin and slanted eyes. Later on he states that the movies reinforce the image
of Arab being terrorist am and religious fanatics.
Authorship/ Authority -5
Accuracy -5
Relevance/Timeliness-5
Objectivity-4