Some critical thinking may reveal that Disney movies aren’t as harmless as they seem

Written by Josh Doyle

“When we watch cartoons, values are shaped in our minds forever. You can’t escape those values even when you’re older,” said Khatereh Sheibani, an English professor at the University of Guelph.

Sheibani teaches classes on post-colonial literature and film at the U of G. The term “post-colonial” refers to places and people that have come under the dominating influence of imperial powers, and for media corporations like Disney, portraying them in the right way is a serious business.

Aladdin is one of Disney’s most popular cartoon feature films and is a prime example of how contentious these children’s films can be. Aladdin takes place in the geographic area now classified as the Middle East, giving its own version of that culture which tends to portray the area’s people inaccurately.

“Hollywood movies like Disney productions simplify other parts of world. They present a very standardized “other” meaning usually of another culture or nation,” said Sheibani.

The character Aladdin is presented as a Middle Eastern boy who doesn’t have much money and is just trying to get by. But critics claim that the strange thing about him is his strikingly North American appearance and demeanor. You need only hear him speak to hear that he has no accent, and his American hairstyle makes him look like Zac Efron. The physically Middle Eastern character’s are the villains in the film, often chasing him around, portrayed as angry, unpleasant men who carry swords and have no manners.

“I was born and raised in the Middle East, yet I got to know Arabian knights through Aladdin,” said Sheibani. “The colonizing process first and foremost happens psychologically.”

According to Sheibani, even if one comes from the area portrayed in a film, Disney and many other Hollywood movies can draw you into believing in false stereotypes.

Aladdin is not the only film with stereotyping issues. Pinnochio wouldn’t be complete without its bad tempered Italian villain, Stromboli. Interestingly this film was made in 1940, when Italy and America were fighting one another in the Second World War. Lady and the Tramp features Siamese cats that are portrayed as South Asian, and run around the house causing all kinds of mischief and blaming it on the hero of the film, an innocent American dog.

“Normally the hero is American in Hollywood Disney movies, and the ‘other’ is very one dimensional,” explained Sheibani.

One of the most prominent ideas within Disney films is its portrayal of gender roles, especially in the princess movies. The majority of feminine characters in these films are defined by their quest for a handsome prince, which is usually their only true hope for happiness.

“American women as portrayed in Disney could be considered colonized because again, the idea of superiority is focused on white males dominating them,” said Sheibani.

Aladdin, throughout the film, is in love with the beautiful princess Jasmine, which shows young male viewers that they too must go out and find a princess in order to be happy. This, in turn, is perhaps placing a specific type of societal expectations on young male viewers as well.

“Women should be beautiful sexual objects of desire for men, but they should also prove economic value,” said Sheibani, on the expectations placed on female characters in many Disney princess films.

What Sheibani recommends is to question what we are viewing, even if it’s something as seemingly innocent as our most beloved Disney cartoons.