Arab Stereotypes in the Movies


There are many stereotypes in the media, but one I looked at in specific were the stereotypes of Arabic people. And what I found was that stereotypes begin when we are smaller and as we get older they're just reinforced. For example, Aladdin is a classic Disney movie that many of us may have enjoyed when we were younger. However, the movie was full of stereotypes we might have been unaware of at a younger age. So i watched the movie again, purposely looking for indication of stereotypical behavior. I took note of things such as the exotic women, Jafar who is a villain,  and Aladdin himself is a thief who lives a poor life.  Also Jafar is depicted as clever using dark magic to get his way with the Sultan. Also Jafar's guards were seen as dumb and incompetent at times in trying to catch Aladdin and Abu'. Jafar could be thought of as amoral because of the great threatening lengths he went to in order to be able to take over Agraba. Aladdin was dehumanized when he was called a "street rat." Also in a sense Princess Jasmine was treated like an object instead of a woman. In the movie she mentions she is "not a prize to be won."

In my content analysis I looked counted the incident of exotic women, how many times they were participants in stealing (thief), how many times they were clever in trying to get their way, and how many times they were portrayed as villains.

Underneath it all I think the true story here is that Arabic men are good con-artist. Both Aladdin and Jafar used magic to help them try and win Jasmine over. Neither one of them were truthful about their intentions or identities. Jafar hid the fact that he was a dark soccer and Aladdin hid the fact that he was poor and homeless. Through clever tricks and the use of magic they both tried to get what they wanted. In general after watching Aladdin more closely, people might come to believe a few things. One that all Arabic women are exotic and beautiful. And also that Arabic men are sneaky con-artist.