'Let me show you the world': Aladdin and Disney's long-standing tradition of sexism

Aladdin, Jasmine, Jafar, and Genie are beloved characters familiar to us from childhood. However, in hindsight, childish naivety is replaced with suspicion and skepticism due to the story's controversies. When analyzing the animated version of Aladdin (1992) and the recent film Aladdin (2019), one finds himself or herself noticing major traces of sexism, ageism, and racism. As Trites (2014) made clear, narratives in children's movies often contain stereotypical imagery and might in the long run be harmful in a cultural and social sense. 

This article will focus on sex- and gender-related discrimination and prejudice in two movies by Disney. I will also touch upon other major flaws in the films' narratives. The discussed matters are serious because films targeted at children, among other cultural products, convey coded messages that can normalize harmful stereotypical scenarios. Cultural products for children are a way to learn about morals and ethics. Growing up, kids get used to the norm projected onto them and spread the stances they have learned during childhood throughout their adult lives. The films are used as a parable through which the audience can recognize a deeper social projection (Turner, 1996).

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The 'maturity formula'

Trites (2014) voices the issue of the so-called ‘Pixar maturity formula’. The author claims that modern animated movies for children assume that women/girls are more mature than men/boys and widely promote this narrative. This popularized stereotype has its cultural roots in history. The narrative is “predicated on the false assumption that women will always-already mature as a result of their ostensibly maternal nature” (Trites, 2014). The pattern intensifies the cultural narrative that presents females as already mature being the figures of ‘voice of reason’ (Trites, 2014). Meanwhile, males are portrayed as emotionally unstable, needing guidance, and having a very adventurous growing up process throughout the film. 

Males in Pixar are usually portrayed as immature needing guidance, while women are mature and knowledgeable. Another problem is the portrayal of the male maturity path as more adventurous, varied, and interesting and deserves more attention than female growth. All these factors influence the society in reinforcing one cultural narrative that women are more mature than men. As a result, sexism, ageism, and discrimination are in a rising position. If we look at instances of the cultural products targeting child audience, the 'maturity formula' issue goes way beyond Pixar. 

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Film representation

The first striking aspect one notices when comparing the two Aladdin movies of 1992 and 2019 their posters (Figures 1 and 2). The works have evident similarities. In all the examples I have found on the internet, Jasmine in the 1992 version is ‘behind’ the man, Aladdin. The latter is the central figure of the posters, preparing the audience for the fact that the plot will be mainly revolving around the dominant male character. 

The amount of male animated figures is also unbalanced compared to the only female representative, Jasmine. In the examples presented below, the number of male characters varies between five and seven. Except for Aladdin, Jafar, and Genie, animals are also male. As a part of the general pattern and a year-long cinematic tradition, “everyone always assumes Disney animals are male, unless they are specifically told otherwise” (Trites, 2014). Even the magical objects, such as the carpet and the cave are men. There is no animal or mystical tool in the cartoon which is female. From the very beginning, the audience is prepared for the fact that the narrative  will be male-centered. Although having a woman in the picture, she remains a minority being the only female among five to seven main male characters.

Meanwhile, if we look at the 2019 versions of the film posters, it is evident that not much progress has been made throughout the years in this respect. Still having Jasmine in the picture, she appears in the background, surrounded by six to eight key male characters. By the way Jasmine’s narrative line develops throughout the film, she makes a lot of progress and becomes a sultan. By the end of the movie, the princess appears to be an important figure in the plot. However, judging by the cover, the audience is again presented with the male-centered narrative with Aladdin in the middle, reinforced by the significant number of men who take leading roles in the film. As in the case with the animated version of Aladdin, animals and magical objects are also male by default. Again, following the pattern of the earlier version of the film, there is not a single creature supporting the main plot twist that is female. In this respect, we could look back on the argument of Trites(2014) that “another obvious cultural narrative is being reinforced here: males matter more than females” as could be judged from both films' covers.

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Sexisminfused from the beginning

Another point noticeable while comparing the materials are the beginnings of both versions of Aladdin. The animated film presents the audience with five men in the first five minutes of the cartoon. The situation gets worse throughout the work with generally displaying more male than female side characters. For instance, the magical cave with the treasures was male without any evident reason. Even the horse of Jafar was also supposedly male since the ‘default’ rule is applicable for the Aladdin movie where all the animals are not female unless proven otherwise. All the characters at the market, such as sellers, police, attendees are predominantly, if not exclusively, male. The viewer gets a certain impression of the ‘male world’ in which Jasmine is an accidental encounter escaping from the castle. 

Aladdin’s version of 2019 adds slightly more diversity to the cast. The movie opens with displaying a family of heterosexual parents having two kids of different sexes. In this way, Alladin (2019) makes an attempt into outbalancing inequality. Overall, the film adds more female supporting cast characters. We can see more variety in the ways the work portrays social life, for instance at the market scene at the beginning of the movie. The film creators have also added an extra character to the plotline, Jasmine. However, despite all the efforts, women in the movie still remain a significant minority, especially among the main cast protagonists.

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Aladdin as a main character

Concerning the portrayal of the main characters, the two works of Aladdin of 1992 and 2019 are very similar. The key protagonist of both films is male (Figure 3). Although it may be argued that the newer version tries to put more spotlight on Jasmine, Aladdin is the central focus of the movie. This happens due to the character’s ability to act in various unpredictable ways, shift events, and go on adventures, while the princess appears rather still and powerless throughout the most part of the movie. 

Throughout the films, we see the maturing process of Aladdin. In this respect, we could establish a parallel with the analysis of Trites (2014) about the fact that “all of the male Pixar protagonists grow because they need to grow”. Aladdin is no exception to this general pattern. The character has a valid reason-- he is in love with Jasmine and needs to grow up and to mature to reach her level of consciousness and responsibility. 

Aladdin is a young male adult who needs to improve and change, and by spectating this process, it is evident how Disney follows its tradition of applying to dual audiences (Trites, 2014). The protagonist, although he supposedly looks like an adult, doesn’t act like an adult (Trites, 2014). Aladdin is a man who lives on his own and is ready to marry yet has a will for ongoing adventures and naivety. Like many other cartoon characters, that are “physically coded as being older than children, although they either are or act like young men” (Trites, 2014) he is not yet mature and viewers follow him in his journey. 

Aladdin is a silly, irresponsible, immature man who is satisfied with spending his days stealing bread for a living. He spends his days without an obvious purpose and urges to go into the magic cave, typically for portrayed male characters “without thinking through the negative consequences of his actions” (Trites, 2014). Aladdin, in line with many more characters of Disney world, has “the same male inability to perceive the relationship between cause and effect” (Trites, 2014) ignoring all the dangers of his adventurous lifestyle.

In the newer version of the film, Aladdin has a slightly more serious appeal than in the work of 1992. However, he still needs a crewGenie, the monkey, and the magic carpet to help him deal with his life. He likes to risk, is drawn with lies, and is only forced to mature to win Jasmine’s heart. 

Portraying the character in this way is majorly a strategy of the production company. According to Trites (2014), “in Disney’s major releases, the story frequently includes adults who need to grow as much as adolescents do in a clear bid to pull parents into theatres along with their children”. By showing helpless adults, Disney gains an extra targeted audience to profit from the market expansion. 

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The stereotypical role of Jasmine

By contrast, Jasmine has a very different appeal throughout the storyline. She is a mature young woman oppressed by the males surrounding her. Jasmine’s abusive father does not let her leave the family home throughout life and Jafar is about to ignore her will and marry her despite her disagreement. Jasmine still manages to escape once and it is a "recurrent tale: The cautious parent sees all the danger while the adventurous child sees all the opportunity" where "the child, of course, will have her way" (Turner, 1996).

There is a difference between the two versions of Aladdin. In the newer film, Jasmine proves her intellectual abilities and leadership skills to her surroundings and becomes the next sultan. However, the fact that she still had to demonstrate her best knowledge and work extra hard to be in a position of power which a male would inherit naturally does not appeal pleasantlyin terms of cultural narration. 

In a way, the path towards being a Sultan is Jasmine’s way of maturity shown in the film. However, in comparison to the growing up of Aladdin, the female figure has a more linear development perspective. Jasmine moves from being mature and smart by default to gaining one extra trait of being able to ‘speak up’. Such a portrayal reinforces stereotypical sexist imagery in society. Since the primary audience of the film is still children, we can pose a question on the type of content that is provided to them in which the inability of women to speak up their point of view is set by default. Actually defending your stance for females is seen as a deviation from the norm and a big upgrade. 

Although trying to voice her opinion, Jasmine still needs the approval of her male circle to acknowledge her position in society. This is troublesome because the princess is a common Disney character: “she is active; she is strong; she is competitive; she is generous; she is, indeed, a well-rounded character who appears to be defying stereotypical scripts” (Trites, 2014). Making Jasmine seeking male approval to be a Sultan and to marry a man she wants, the animation studio acknowledges the problematic narrative of women still ‘not being enough’ does not matter how smart and educated they are. Females cannot be sustainable on their own, they need men to allow them to be in positions of power. 

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The common narrative patterns

Jasmine is a figure that contrasts with all the other people in the movie. The princess is “the only significant female character in the movie — so of course, she is also the only mature character” (Trites, 2014). Jasmine is everyone’s voice of reason. By contrast, her father, the Sultan of the country, allows being manipulated into unwise decisions. As a traditional male elderly character, he chases the “fear of death” (Trites, 2014) by forcing Jasmine to marry a royal stranger. Jafar is delusional about getting the throne and abuses magic. Aladdin is immature in the way he keeps on lying to Jasmine. Centuries-old Genie is encouraging even more lies proving that he, as well as the other male cast,  yet to grow up. This pattern is traceable in both movies and remainunchanged.

What has also remained throughout both works, is the development of the plot constructed around the need for Jasmine to marry (Figure 5). The whole narrative of the story revolves around Aladdin making attempts to win her over, else she has to marry somebody else. The plot twist and conflict narratives reach their peak when Jafar wants to walk down the aisle with Jasmine. 

The princess is, by default, forgiving, and understanding. Surrounded by powerful men, in both films, the character is still willing to marry Aladdin despite his personality flaws, lies, and manipulative behavior. Until the last minutes of the film in the newer version, and throughout the cartoon of 1992, Jasmine remains helpless and needs to be rescued from the tyranny of Sultan and Jafar. 

Another mature, wise, and educated woman in the story remains a ghost through both films. Jasmine’s mother has only positive references from her daughter, husband, and from the people of her country. She is a good role model, however, it was probably ‘too much’ to include two wise females in. 

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Children fairy tales and sexuality

What has changed throughout the years, is the degree of the sexualization of the characters in the movie. In the 2019 version of Aladdin, the personalities are more reserved with their clothes not revealing too much body. This is especially noticeable in relation to Jasmine who appeared overly body-centered in the 1992 animated film (Figure 6). 

The princess of 1992 appears as a typical 'Barbie-figure', mainly "embodied in very sexual ways" (Trites, 2014) with wide hips, breasts, tiny waist, and revealing clothes. At her wedding in the 1992 version of Aladdin, Jasmine appears wearing a strapless bra. Throughout the animated film, the princess appears overly "flirtatious" when talking to the male cast surrounding her, in line with many other Disney characters (Trites, 2014). 

Although Jasmine appears as pretty playful, Disney "always ensures that these flirtatious female characters are unthreatening and effectively chaste" (Trites, 2014). The princess, trapped in a castle for a lifetime, is supposedly a virgin, yet, just like Barbie, she seems "to be a potential anomaly" (Trites, 2014) by straight away flirting with Aladdin. Disney then handles the situation by making her trapped back in the castle until she gets married, meanwhile transporting Aladdin far from her location. The princess has another sexuality peak at the wedding which again gets restrained by the actual marriage with Aladdin. 

According to Trites (2014), the Jasmine's sexuality keeps fluctuating by constant revelations and restrains adds "the final piece of the [...] maturity formula". The princess appears sexual and then isolated until her appeal reaches its peak at the wedding which follows with another restraint  being rescued by Aladdin. In the maturity formula of Disney products, "females are mature when they can accept and control their sexuality" (Trites, 2014). 

The older version of the film also has traces of this unequal sexuality distribution. At the party, Jasmine is the only person managing to behave compared to the males her age surrounding her, namely Aladdin and the prince. By looking at the female character, we can see how "the mature body recognizes the power of sexuality and controls itself — and only women are capable of this type of sexual self-control" (Trites, 2014). 

The most concerning part of the narrative is that the woman in both films cannot even say 'no'. Predominantly, both Jasmines struggle with getting their message across to the males that they are not interested in marrying the person they don’t like. Such a representation is a worrying message for young girls and boys alike-- the opinion of a woman does not matter. Her position towards her body, concerning marriage and sexual encounters, is not heard in the world ruled by the males. 

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Aladdin and politics

Overall, Aladdin films of both years carry a metaphor for politics and society. Sultan, the ruler of its people, is portrayed as a delusional man without a sense of what has to be done and completely leadership qualities. The poverty in the city flourishes, yet Sultan and Jasmine fail to see it. The princess, barely having experience with the outer world, takes on a country in the 2019 movie. Apparently, she has enough education but fails to understand how basic market relationships work by not being able to pay at the beginning of the film. All the major political decisions, in the meantime, are carried out by the dark and mysterious force in the name of evil whose presence is not evident to society. The figure who has the most influence does not wish anyone well and is driven by greed. 

Another reinforced narrative present in both versions of the film is the guilt feeling projected onto the younger generation. According to Trites (2014), this is a spread formula where “Several subplots of [the] film combine to create a guilt-laden cultural narrative: that the young are responsible for ensuring a safe future for their elders”. Aladdin and Jasmine feel all the pressure of saving their kingdom, and, eventually, the world from evil Jafar, misled Sultan, and unstoppable magic. This narrative is a metaphor for preparing younger generations to be ready to rescue society from being drawn into sexism, racism, economical instability, climate change, nuclear programs, and many other present evils of the world. Young adults are "responsible for the environment, for standing up to unjust tyranny, and for calming their elders’ fears of becoming obsolete. These cultural narratives about responsibility, however, are mixed because, at the end of the day, only women are truly mature in this film" (Trites, 2014). 

At the end of both films, saving the world, and ruling the country is put on the shoulders of two young people. One of them grew up as a thief and another one is detached from reality because of the lifelong lockdown. However, apparently, the competence of the political ruler does not matter as long as he or she has a pleasant appeal also known as a 'kind heart'. 

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Aladdin and internet culture

Aladdin movies had a broad online media response. Internet users have picked up Aladdin's new storylines in discussing and comparing the films reactions signified responses to the changes . The striking difference between the 1992-2019 Aladdin memes is the most evident in relation to Jasmine. In content related to the animated film, the princess is mostly portrayed as silly and naive (Figure 8). Jasmine is portrayed as a figure trusting the man and following him. One of the memes captured the scene from the movie criticizing the heroine: "Wears golden bracelets, says she has nothing to pay with". The phrase is applied to the cartoon version of the film meaning the silly nature of the female character. However, this pattern is different in the memes relating to the 2019 movie. There, Jasmine’s appeal is knowledgeable (Figure 9) and independent, as in making her own rules and not following anybody. 

Another  amount of memes related to the male cast’s appearance. Many of the memes of 2019 refer to the physical appearance of the actors playing Aladdin and Jafar in the movie (Figure 10), objectifying them, which is quite unusual for the presumably children’s film. Numerous tweets overlap the actor with the fictional character, interfering with the plot. "I hope Jafar wins" is one of the popular users' reactions. This, of course, is not the case with the content related to the 1992 version. The memes about the older version of Aladdin refer to his adventurous character and willingness to show the world to Jasmine (Figure 11). Jafar appears evil and desexualized in the memes referring to the earlier version.

There are many factors influencing this change, such as films’ narratives, the fact that one is animated and one features actual actors, the rising awareness of sexism, ageism, and discrimination in society, etc. However, by looking at the memes, we can see that all the characters had quite a shift in a social reaction towards them.

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Stereotypes inmedia products for children

By comparatively analyzing two Aladdin films, it became evident how “maturity formula emerges from cognitively gendered conceptualizations and contributes directly to widespread cultural narratives about female maturity and male immaturity” (Trites, 2014). Just as in many other Disney movies, “the scripting depends greatly on cognitive functioning, such as understanding causality and empathy — which females are scripted to do almost automatically and males are scripted as needing to learn” (Trites, 2014). Such a pattern is remarkable when we try to analyze contemporary society and the effect of cultural products produced for children on it. 

The standardized portrayal of characters based on stereotypes is very harmful in the way it reinforces already existing cultural narratives. Females are portrayed as having to carry the weight of the conscientious decisions "by accepting social- and self-responsibility, by anticipating the relationship between cause and effect, by resiliency in the face of problem- solving, and most important, by accepting death and controlling their sexuality" (Trites, 2014). Meanwhile, males are wandering through the world and accept adventures, living as if there is no tomorrow. The maturity formula of Disney assumes that females, just as Jasmine, are wise by default. Aladdin, on the other hand, just as other male characters, is silly and adventurous and can’t grasp the basic responsibilities of an adult. 

The newer version of Aladdin (2019) tried to break through some of the existing stereotypes and made attempts at presenting the leading female character as more empowered. However, this process still appeared problematic throughout the movie. The focus on Aladdin might be justified given the film's title, which is not 'Jasmine' after all. Shouldn't we strive for more integration though? While trying to improve, Walt Disney Pictures still reinforces the maturity formula onto the audience while keeping the majorly male cast. 

Besides the sexist patterns found in both Aladdin movies, the works reinforce a number of other disturbing narratives concerning sexuality, politics, shifted responsibility, and death. Disney is a major cultural speaker and by broadcasting Aladdin, it uses a "parable, conveniently [combining] story and projection. Parable serves as a laboratory where great things are condensed in a small space. To understand the parable is to understand the root capacities of the every- day mind, and conversely" (Turner, 1996). Recognizing the narrational alerts of the films is the first step to improving them for the better. Hopefully, the big and influential production companies will soon become more aware of this trend and we will see more diversity of plot scenarios on our screens.

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References

Disney, (1992). Aladdin. Walt Disney Pictures.

Disney, (2019). Aladdin. Walt Disney Pictures.

Trites, R. (2014). A case study: Cultural narratives and the “Pixar Maturity Formula”. In: "Literary Conceptualizations of Growth: Metaphors and cognition in adolescent literature". Illinois State University.

Turner, M. (1996). The Literary Mind: Bedtime with Shahrazad. Oxford University Press.

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