Orientalism In The Film Industry

Culture is defined as a way of life, built by people on from one generation to another. In addition, it involves a wide range of ideas and meanings. Such as, values, beliefs, roles, norms, and various arts and artefacts. Culture plays a huge role on how we view the world around us, so much so that culture gives us our identity and purpose. One can notice that culture is constantly portrayed on media by interculture communication which provides the audience to encompass social norms, habits, and language skills. In the field of media, culture is usually imbalanced which causes a lot of dilemma and controversy. Watching films is a sort of amusement, but as you gain knowledge about certain subjects, you will unavoidably find yourself extrapolating from what you see on the screen. Since films are cultural artefacts, they reflect the views, ideals, and beliefs of the culture in which they are produced. We shall examine elements of Orientalism in Disney films in this post, focusing on Aladdin (1992).

 One of the most important aspects in imbalanced culture projected on the media, is Orientalism. Edward Said, who is a cultural critic, is most known for the book 'Orientalism'.  This concept is a stereotypical representation of Asia and the Middle East which is commonly used by the western perspective and this results in an imbalance perception of the West and the East. So much so, that the West is often viewed as a much more contemporary and democratic compared to the East. Whilst the East is depicted as “exotic". and "uncultured". Although Edward Said insisted on this topic years ago there is still forms of proof of Orientalism. A concrete example of this is, the Disney film “Aladdin” issued in 1992. 

The  Middle East has been portrayed  in this manner for over the past century, from the early 1920s Baghdad films to the 2019 Aladdin live-action movies. These feature Orientalism and Middle-Easterner stereotypes throughout variations of the film over time and find out how Middle-Easterners feel about these portrayals. Mariam Khalifa from Sail published an online magazine emphasising about the issues that the movie reflects. The mythical town in the movie is built upon Middle Eastern, Islamic and Asian aspects. One of the most accurate example of this stereotype is the opening song of Aladdin,  as it describes how the town will “cut off your ear if they don’t like your face, it’s barbaric, but hey it’s home”. This depicts the Middle Eastern people as cruel, uncivil, and barbaric people. However, Disney decided to remove this version out of the movie and edited the song as the audience believed that it was very racist for Arabians. 

The un-edited introduction song to the 1992 animated Aladdin.

I don't want to imply that Disney is bad for producing these kinds of films, but I do want to draw your attention to the necessity of being culturally relatable and avoiding ethnocentrism. When you have an ethnocentric viewpoint, you analyse other cultures and individuals through the lens of your own culture. Your impression of other cultures will be distorted as a result, and you may come to despise or misunderstand those that are different from your own. Movies serve as both pleasure and education since they alter the way we perceive other people, places, and events. What impressions will be ingrained in the brains of all the kids who saw Aladdin frequently throughout their childhood?

References: Christina.B.   https://wgst2013.domains.drew.edu/christina-bevianos-post/film-aladdin/#:~:text=Orientalism%20has%20been%20prevalent%20in,of%20Middle%20Eastern%20folk%20tales.