It is safe to say that the only prominant female character in the Disney film 'Aladdin' is the Princess Jasmine. Again, Disney attempted to make them seem multi-cultural by setting the film in Arabia, but so many glaring offenses are obvious.
For example, the main character Aladdin has a fresh faced American look, and he acts American too ("Call me Al"). On the other hand, the evil characters such as Jafar or the Sultan's ridiculous guards are much more foriegn looking with their darker skin and prominant features. Surely this isn't a politically correct message tos end to young, impressionable children?
As Kathy points out, there are few too many people who actually notice these blatant errors. There are all far too enthralled under the "disney magic".
As a character there is little substance to Jasmine. She is merely a pawn between which her father (the Sultan), her love interest (Aladdin), and the evil vizier (Jafar) pass around. There is no individuality apparant in her; the most daring thing she does is run away from home, and even then she returns. As for Jasmine's mother, not once is she mentioned leading us to wonder what effect this has had on her as a woman.
Towards the end of the film, we see Jafar has gained some form of control over the Kingdom and, in particular, has tied Jasmine up in a provative outfit in which he forces her to be his slave (see picture above). Perhaps this is Disney's way of suggesting there is only one purpise for women? |
