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Andrew Galvez
English 114B
Professor Lewis
27 February 2015
Aladdin: A Prince in Disguise
Aladdin is a film created in 1992 by Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Arab fairy
tale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights. The film is about a poor
young man who starts off as a peasant outside of the kingdom walls, and in the end becomes a
prince. In this film Aladdin rebels against Louis Althusser’s ideology theory and not accepting
the role society has placed him in.
QQQQsurvive. He bumps into a prince who looks down on Aladdin and tells him he is worthless
and will always be worthless. Meanwhile in the palace, Princess Jasmine daughter of the Sultan,
gets tired of being in the palace and sneaks out into the market place in the city. The princess
gets into trouble and Aladdin helps save her. Under the orders of the evil Jafar ( the Sultans
Grand Vizier) , Aladdin is thrown into jail. Jafar plans to rule the land by getting a mysterious
lamp from the Cave of Wonders but only a “diamond in the rough” can get it. Aladdin turns out
to be the“diamond in the rough.” Aladdin retrieves the lamp and inside of it is a Genie that
accepts three wishes from the owner of the lamp. Aladdin wants to marry the princess but he still
can’t because the genie cannot make people fall in love. Instead Aladdin uses one of his wishes
to make him seem like a prince and win her over. Jafar steals the lamp from Aladdin and takes
over the city, then exiles Aladdin to a frozen wasteland. Aladdin returns to the palace where he
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battles Jafar. Jafar turns into a Genie and is trapped into the lamp. Aladdin uses his third wish to
free his genie. The sultan changes the law that someone who deems worthy can marry his
daughter, the princess.
Louis Althusser’s theory justifies class inequality by producing ideologies that disguise
its true cause. The purpose of ideology is to convince workers to accept that inequality is normal
and they deserve their role in society. In the movie a prince says to Aladdin “ You are a
worthless street rat. You were born a street rat, you’ll die a street rat, and only your fleas will
mourn you.”. Aladdin was judged based off his appearance and the location he was at. Since he
was wearing dirty and ragged clothing and outside of the Kingdom walls, he was a street rat.
Aladdin sings “ Riffraf, street rat. I don’t buy that. If only they’d look closer Would they see a
poor boy? No siree. They’d find out, there’s so much more to me.” The prince went on into the
kingdom and closed the walls behind him. In this case the rich and powerful decided what role in
society he played. The rich and powerful stayed inside the walls of the kingdom leaving many
people including Aladdin out. The people outside of the walls were considered peasants and
poor. This is where Aladdin was placed in society.
Once most people have their position in society, they usually do not leave that positon.
They are convinced that is where they are meant to be and do nott challenge or question it.
Aladdin didn’t agree with this. He says “ Someday, Abu, things are gonna change. We’ll be rich,
live in a palace, and never have any problems at all.” He was not satisfied with being poor. He
was tired of the poverty and being treated as less. Not happy with the life of a thief and
struggling to survive.
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In the Disney movie Aladdin, Aladdin goes against Althusser’s theory and moves up in
society not accepting his place in poverty. He also learns to change from the person he was in the
beginning of the movie; a filthy street rat. In the fairy tale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from
One Thousand and One Nights, Aladdin also goes against Althusser’s theory and moves up in
society. In the fairy tale his role in society changes, but him himself does not change much. In
the movie Aladdin is a young man that steals and deceives people yet is not greedy. For example
when he gives a piece of bread he stole to poor children. While in the original story his greatest
vice is undeniable greed. Even though he has a palace and the princess, he wants more riches
and to expand the palace. In the movie he tries to trick the princess into loving him yet ends up
telling the truth. In the original story he refuses to accept that the sultan’s daughter is married to
another, creating an insidious plant to get what he wants. Both the movie and the fairy tale rebel
against Althusser’s theory, however only Aladdin from the movie learns to change himself for
the better.
Aladdin rebels against Louis Althusser’s ideology theory and does not accept
where he is placed in society. Aladdin is treated poorly because the way he looks and where he
lives. That motivated him to want to move up in society and become something greater.In the
movie, Aladdin learns to change and become a better person being less greedy. In the original
fairy tale he does not change who he is. He stays undeniably greedy and continues to want more
and more.
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Aladdin. Dir. Ron Clements and John Musker. The Walt Disney Company, 1992. Fpx.de. Ben
Scripps. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Lucylee79. "Althusser." Althusser. N.p., 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.