Aladdin

Throughout my entire childhood, Aladdin was a favorite of mine. My middle school performed the musical, and I thought it was amazing. I liked the music, and it even got my thinking about complicated topics, like morality, when Aladdin stole bread because he was poor and starving. However, I never stopped to think about the orientalism that appeared in the film.

As an American, I was not even phased by the clearly prejudie interpretation of middle eastern culture that appeared in the movie. The saddest part is, I am not alone. Alladin is one of, if not the, most popular Disney movie.

As Americans, we are not even phased by the lyrics in the song "Arabian Nights",

Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where it's flat and immense
And the heat is intense
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home

These lyrics blantantly express that the character's home is a mysterious, "faraway", place that is "barbaric". I was not phased by these lyrics, because in my society and culture, Middle Eastern and Asian culture are perceived as such. Aladdin is not the only movie or piece of art that depicts Asia and the Middle East in such a way.