Racist stereotypes in Disney's Aladdin

Aladdin was a film that we all grew up watching time and time again. The exotic music, desert-like setting, colourful costumes and foreign characters, spun neatly and attractively into a typical Disney narrative, contributed to an ever present stereotype of Arab's. This stereotype of Arabic people, ingrained in our mind's at an early age, continues to build a division between the West and the rest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkbOGaJqJmg

The above scene demonstrates the typical features associated with Arabic people. The men chasing after Aladdin (who despite initially having a dark skin tone, ends the movie far whiter than before, signifying a movement towards becoming civilised, symbolised by the whiteness of his skin) are violent and frightening, wielding curved swords at the 'poor' Aladdin. He manages to outsmart and outmaneuver them at every turn. He dodges their thrusts and swipes, resulting in comedic relief at their expense, as their pants fall down or they are hit with falling barrels. This demonstration of violent, yet unintelligent men, falls in line with other representations of Arab's in films such as Indiana Jones (where a white, male lead outsmarts an Arab assassin easily and effectively). Another moment in the film that strengthens this negative stereotype, is when Jafar's sidekick, Gazeem, replies "I had to slit a few throats to get it" to Jafar's question about how he obtained the medallion. This dark response suggests the violent extremes he had to go to to carry out his duty to Jafar, and adds to the negative stereotype that portrays Arabic people as violent and dangerous.

However, the restrictive and inaccurate stereotypes seem relatively subtle, seeing as the film is set in the Middle East. Despite this, and as already mentioned, the protagonist of the film transitions from a poor, dark skinned boy, who is likeable yet lawless, to a lighter skinned, more civilised character. Aladdin eventually wins the girl by defeating the most vile representation of an Arab in the film; Jafar. The antoagonist in the film, Jafar is represented as both a snake, a cunning creature that we associate with danger and deception, and finally, a genie, who is chained, captured and defeated by Aladdin, who represents civilisation and good morals. These two negative representations of the Arabic antagonist contribute to embedding a negative view of Arabic people, especially men, as dangerous and ultimately, 'baddies' that need to be imprisoned.

The representation of Arabic people in Aladdin is negative and degrading. The one exception is the representation of Aladdin, who barely counts as an "Arab" at the end of the film, as his skin colour changes to a far whiter tone. Representations such as this, in children's movies, helps to set the normality of racial stereotype's in the minds of children from an early age, to the degree that we do not question their validity as we never recognised their origin.