Talk:A-Lad-In His Lamp

Disruptive Edits by IP
No one may have noticed, but someone keeps putting in links to articles relating to Aladdin (Disney version) which has nothing to do with this! Every user must be on the lookout for this vandal! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Visokor (talk • contribs)
 * Agree, and he does not even replies to messages or discussion on his talk page or here, perhaps, we will need to report his disruptive edits. -- D Big X ray  12:12, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

proposed section deletion
Should the "Depictions of Middle Easterners" section be removed? It looks offensive... Visokor (talk) 08:31, 13 June 2015 (UTC)


 * I have to go along with its removal. It's clearly WP:SOAPBOXING. --Tenebrae (talk) 20:45, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

It is the only sourced content in the entire article and the source seems good to me. Dimadick (talk) 19:06, 23 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Agreed the source is reliable. Wikipedia is not censored. While the section does need more than this one source and could be cut or tightened if necessary; it neutrally tells facts pointed out by the source. Prhartcom (talk) 22:50, 23 April 2016 (UTC)

I maintain that the depiction of the middle easterners in this short is no different to antagonists in other Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies. Should Yosemite Sam's article be updated to show how it's a negative depiction of Texans? Or One Froggy Evening to show how it's a negative depiction of white people? Should all the articles of cartoons with caricatures of native americans, mexicans, medieval characters, cavemen, aliens, fairy tales etc... also have martyr complex section detailing how classic cartoon villains are actually racist agendas? Leaving this section up sets a dangerous precedent where anyone can cry racism at any comedy that they don't like.

Also if someone does need sourced content, pages 191 & 192 of Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald's book "A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros Cartoons" (ISBN: 0805008942) has a couple of paragraphs dedicated to this cartoon. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aliasfakename (talk • contribs) 04:42, 24 April 2016 (UTC)

If you can find sources which point out the racism in other cartoons, then you should add them. As it is I have yet to find any sourced information that Yosemite Sam is a Texan or a representation of one, but I have found references for stereotypical and/or racist depictions of Africans, Middle Easterners, and Japanese people. Our articles should reflect the sources.

If Beck devotes only a few paragraphs to this short, then it is no more of a passing reference. If you have access to the book, see if you can add another perspective on it. Dimadick (talk) 06:11, 24 April 2016 (UTC)

I disagree, looking for supposed racism when the tropes being complained about are a staple of cartoon villains is not only pointless but trivialises the seriousness of actual racism.

"When he discovers the magic lamp of Aladdin, his expression turns to "child-like glee" and his motive for the rest of the short is greed" is not unique to this short. Neither is "facial expressions during the pursuit of the lamp tend toward the grotesque, while he is waving a big sword and growling" as sword is interchangeable with axe or shotgun. "As do Middle Eastern villains in other Looney Tunes shorts, he has bushy eyebrows, moustache and beard which enhance his physically intimidating presence" is again, a trope consistent with villains in cartoons. Or are the Martin Brothers from McKimson's Hillbilly Hare middle eastern by virtue of having bushy eyebrows, moustaches and beards? Negatively portraying the villain as "lazy, hedonistic, pleasure-seeking, easily angered, and indiscriminately and irrationally violent" is not unique to the Caliph in this short. The assertion that "Muslim men are never depicted as intelligent, kind, rational, or wise" holds equally true for villains of literally any religious background/gender in virtually every Warner Bros. short. "Some may have harems, but they are otherwise familyless and friendless figures" needs a citation. "For all the menace of their weapons (often swords), they are inept in using them and easily manipulated by the "Western hero", Bugs" is again, entirely consistent with Bugs triumphs over other antagonists.

As for the other complaint about "lacking are depictions of diligence and productivity in the Middle East", first of all, several businesses are shown to exist in the establishing shots of Bagdad and secondly, there are only a handful of characters in the short. Other than Bugs, the genie and the Caliph, the only other characters to make an appearance are the Caliph's bodyguards and the female rabits in Bugs' harem (neither of which are even animated, only drawn in one scene each).

Lastly, it's idiotic to complain about the Middle East being shown as draconian in its punishments, you may as well be complaining about reality. Last time i checked, sharia law is still strictly enforced in several Middle Eastern countries. It's also a moot point, i don't see the words "death is the default punishment" anywhere in the short and Bugs is always the intended victim of cartoon violence in his own shorts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aliasfakename (talk • contribs) 15:45, 25 April 2016 (UTC)

Do you have a source for your analysis? Dimadick (talk) 18:17, 25 April 2016 (UTC)

--The source cited for that section just sounds like apologist for Islam, with an axe to grind. Best regards.TheBaron0530 (talk) 15:17, 17 May 2017 (UTC)theBaron0530

Ashtray
Bugs says "Well, maybe I can shine it up and use it for an ashtray or something", which is pretty much what George P. Hanley said about his lamp in I Dream of Genie, 1963. AMCKen (talk) 06:36, 10 May 2024 (UTC)