The Aladdin effect: O rientalism
and
E xoticism
in
Modern Popular Culture
Emily Krebs WRIT 1133: Writing and Research Professor Kara Taczak
When I first came to DU as a bright-eyed pre-med student, I honestly had no idea what I really
wanted to study. My long-time dreams of going into medicine were waning, and sitting in the back of an 8am chemistry lecture sealed the deal. I dropped the course and my major aspirations just two days into the quarter and—in typical freshman style—registered for one of the few courses with an open seat: Communication and Popular Culture.
To be honest, I thought it was going to be a boring “easy A” at best. If someone would’ve told
me that I would end up reading unassigned chapters in the textbook during my spare time, I would’ve laughed them off in a heartbeat. But just a week into the quarter, I was hooked. Crit-
ical media studies seemed to infiltrate every aspect of my life, and I was amazed at just how much influence media held over popular perceptions. As the taboos surrounding discussions of
race, class, sexuality, and gender were lifted, I was forced to look at the world through a series of critical lenses that utterly obliterated my understandings of power and privilege. The whole thing was gritty, nuanced, and frustrating . . . and I couldn’t get enough of it.
So two quarters later, when my WRIT professor gave free rein on choosing a research topic, I jumped at the opportunity to pair this initial academic love affair with another one: Middle East studies. What resulted was “The Aladdin Effect,” a very brief introduction into an extraordinarily
complex intercultural clash. I hope this paper will encourage readers to rethink the ideologies that affect popular media’s portrayals and prejudices.
An Introduction: Carpets and Camels and Cruelty, Oh My! Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place, where the caravan camels roam. Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face, it’s barbaric, but hey; it’s home! –“Arabian Nights” from Aladdin (Original Theatrical Version) In the opening scenes of Disney’s Aladdin (1992), children are provided with Hollywood’s quintessential image of “Arab Land”: a fictional territory of dark-skinned aggressors, barbaric injustice, and camel-riding fools, all of which went 8
WRIT Large: 2014
on to become integral parts of this animated classic. Needless to say, however, not everyone was thrilled by the film’s portrayal of the Arab world. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) was appalled by the stereotypical language in “Arabian Nights.” The group confronted Disney on the matter, and the studio agreed to change the lyrics before the film’s VHS release the following year. Despite its success, the ADC’s complaints fell largely under the public radar. In the following months, the film went on to win two Academy Awards (Best Original Score, Best Original Song); and, after grossing over $500 million