User:Dhabyaalsuwaidi/Aladdin (2019 film)

Directorial hegemony
controversies surrounding the generalised view and ideas about diverse Arab and Middle Eastern identities have been linked to the

lack of ideal representation behind the scenes. With only one representative of Asian heritage, the producer Dan Lin, between the eight other white male directors. It's believed that this has effected the ability to represent a singular Arab or Middle Eastern culture, and the movie has instead, homogenised the different cultures within the Middle East.

Orientalist stereotypes
Orientalism persists in how the film fails to correctly represent the different Arab identities. In terms of costume design, the film composes multiple different cultural clothing from different parts of Asia, for instance, Aladdin is wearing Moroccan-inspired clothing, while Jasmine is in South Asian style clothing. The extras, on the other hand, are defused in articles of clothing that range from Mongolian, Siksh, or Tunisian influences. The blend of styles from different cultures is an example of how Disney fails to acknowledge the different cultures within the Middle East and instead illustrated them all as one singular culture.

The movie has also been reported to reinforce Orientalist stereotypes through the contrasting accents exhibited by the characters. Characters like Aladdin and the Genie who spoke in an American accent were displayed as "good" and "heroic". On the other hand, characters who spoke in a foreign or Middle-eastern sounding accent presented negative characteristics that encouraged orientalist views about Arabs and people from the Middle East. For example, "Jaffar" was illustrated as the "barbaric" and power obsessed through his behaviour, however, his visual attributes like his accent, heavy beard, and position within the film. This characters is not only sexist but also discusses how he wants to invade neighbouring countries, which has been and continues to be a stereotypical representation of Arab leaders.