Supporters of the movie point to the fact that Agrabah, despite being supposedly based on an actual city. Thedisclaimerappears with some animated Disney classics such as 1967sThe Jungle Bookand 1953sPeter Pan,offering caution to viewers of racist and culturally insensitive depictions and references in the plots and characters of those movies. Disney Princesses Who Suffer From Some Kind Of Mental Disorder - TheRichest Here are 5: Dumbo (1941): Contains a scene of a group of cigar-smoking crows, with their leader named Jim Crow, referring to the racist segregation laws of the South, and voiced by a white actor . By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Most of the Arab characters have exaggerated facial characteristics hooked noses, glowering brows, thick lips but Aladdin and the princess look like white American teenagers. Some other Disney films, like Fantasia, Aladdin, and Peter Pan, have been criticized as well, but notably, Disneys Song of the South remains absent from the service. On a different note, Disney has actually restored Saludos Amigos on Disney+. Please review Rule 4 and this post before making a top level comment: I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Here Are 5 Movies Disney Plus Put 'Cultural' Warnings On - Forbes Sky adds 'outdated attitudes' disclaimer to some classic films It worked. Aladdin is one of the greatest animated movies of all time and one of the main reasons behind that is the Genie character. The original lyric in the first verse of the song Arabian Nights described Arabia as Where they cut off your ear if they dont like your face. Jinns Lebanese director Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya has said, this is a great opportunity to portray Arab youth in a very unique way. He says that while working with young filmmakers, he has never insisted they dont watch it or they dont appreciate it or that its wrong. 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disney Plus adds content warning to animated movies criticized as 2. Was it possible to accurately depict cultural nuances using a fairy tale? How do you see this issue changing in the future? Take a look at both sides of the argument: Watch the trailer for Aladdin, or see the movie in theaters now, and make your own conclusions. Credit: Outnow/Alamy. ALADDIN: Genie, I wish for you to make me a prince! Thats basically what they did and its the arrogance of Hollywood and the arrogance of Disney to say its our idea, its our money and were going to do it, whether you like it or not.. The full cigarette scene is now there at the 24:00 mark for anybody who is curious. Disney+ Updates Offensive Content Disclaimer for Aladdin, Peter - CBR 2. Rather than removing the offensive content, the company said it hopes to "spark conversation and open dialogue on history that affects us all. Nobody in their right mind can state that it is impossible to find a young male South Asian or Middle-Eastern actor who can dance, sing and act, says Academy Award nominated director Lexi Alexander, who is half German, half Palestinian. The highly controversial Song of the South (1946) is not available on the streaming service. Best New Journalist 2019 Australian IT Journalism Awards, experts have criticized the soft language used in its disclaimer, disclaimer acknowledging the "harmful impact" of racist stereotypes, a page titled Stories Matter on the Disney website, racist material in their back catalogs, such as Gone With the Wind, The best movies to watch on Disney Plus for Thanksgiving, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. See some of the major differences between the films in this chart designed by our summer interns. Why is there so little Middle Eastern, Arab or Muslim (or other minority group) representation in film and television? alternate lyrics were dubbed into the video and soundtrack releases. The new disclaimer appears on screen before the start of movies like Aladdin, The Aristocats, Dumbo, Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson and The Three Caballeros. Background characters. Gary-I have to say I really look forward to your posts; you have extremely interesting, independent and logically defensible takes on a variety of subjects. Delivered Wednesdays. While the majority of films and series that are added to Disney+ continue to be available, some titles, unfortunately, have been removed from Disney+. Aladdin film poster comparison. Walt Disney Studios. Extra commentary could be added to films requiring a disclaimer, he explains, such as the 2009 DVD rerelease ofBreakfast at Tiffanys that includes a featurette Aoki participated in, discussing Mickey Rooneys problematic character Mr. Source. If the consensus from those directly harmed is that we need stronger wording you will receive no argument from me. As a matter of fact, it only makes us feel like we should start becoming filmmakers and replace those who have anointed themselves as our leaders. In Disneys animatedPocahontas, the most striking inaccuracies are her age (she was a child when she met Captain John Smith, according to Encyclopedia Britannica) and there was no real romantic relationship between the two. In addition to those older films, it's also included at the start of "Aladdin," the animated blockbuster from 1992. Read about our approach to external linking. Given that is fictional, whos to say it cant include many different races and ethnic backgrounds? Itwould be great if Disney did it across the board for all of their older cartoons that may be a little insensitive., Guy Aoki, co-founder of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), sayshe has never seen 1992sAladdinhimself, but he was friends with Don Bustany, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and late deejay Casey Kasem, who were a part of a successful campaign to change problematic lyrics inAladdins introductory song Arabian Nights., They had meetings to talk about their concerns about how it was stereotyping Arab culture and how they wanted to get one line of the song changed, recalls Aoki. Disney+ updated its offensive content disclaimer for films such as Aladdin, Peter Pan and Dumbo. The 1992 Disney animated film placed the story in the Middle East but the change in scenery was not necessarily based on historic or contemporary accuracy. There wasnt so much a backlash for Apu, Rather a shitty Asian comic realised he would get some media attention by claiming it to be racist.Now Asians are out of a character that was a representation of their culture at the start of the simpsons show. Growing up, I loved watching Aladdin, just like any other child that enjoyed Disney movies. Mar 1, 2023. The new-and-improved, feminist Jasmine even performs an original song. DISCLAIMER: This site is 100% for entertainment purposes only and does not involve real money betting. It can also be argued that outrage about Naomi Scott is invalid, given the. Disney also puts silly, PC warning labels before much of its back catalog of films. You can also see our lesson plan on exploring stereotypes with American film and television, which offers guided activities for your students. 2023 CNET, a Red Ventures company. While Agrabah is apparently described as this melting pot of ethnicities, that concept comes from the deeply-problematic 1992 animated film. (a conflict involving Iraqs invasion of neighboring Kuwait) in the early 1990s prompted the directors to set the story in the fictional city of Agrabah, an adaptation of Baghdad. in the 1992 movie. , with $232.4 million domestic and $372.5 million international for the musical remake. And if you liked this story,sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter, called If You Only Read 6 Things This Week. While the movie is set in a city based on Baghdad, Iraq, Aladdin contains aspects of multiple Middle Eastern and Asian cultures. Aladdin's responsibility in a culturally insensitive world - Hypable In updating the film and its content, from the Muslim Public Affairs Council, an LA advocacy group, as well as groups comprised of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Muslim scholars, activists, and creatives. Due to the advisory groups input, the film avoided the crude portrayals found. Makes me think Disney is putting warnings out there so people buy their movies before they go back to retiring movies for a year or two to create demand curves for their products. Does the Genie trick Aladdin with the third wish? ThePeter Panentry reads: The film portrays Native people in a stereotypical manner that reflects neither the diversity of Native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions. It reads: This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. Reviews have been mixed but the film has been popular, nonetheless: the. Disney+ Adds a Racist Stereotype Disclaimer - Matador Network Previously, Disney had the line "This program is presented as originally created. A lot. Whether the new film-makers choose to stand in the old guard or vanguard remains to be seen. Versions of Aladdin from the 19th and well into the 20th centuries depict the main character as culturally Asian, not Arab. . Yunioshi., We had several people from MANAA talking about the concerns of yellowface and what was wrong with Mickey Rooneys portrayal, he adds. Nearly a year later, on Thursday, Disney said that after consulting with a council of organizations representing minorities, it's added a newdisclaimer acknowledging the "harmful impact" of racist stereotypes in some of its older films. Warner Bros. featured a similar warning regarding some of its older cartoons, such as Tom & Jerry, which appeared on Amazon, according to CinemaBlend. Instead of simply being upset with her father for restricting who she can marry as in the 1992 version Jasmine aspires to be the first female sultan and is frustrated by her fathers refusal to consider her because of her gender. In the 2019 film, Agrabah is a port city that rests on the cusp of Eastern and Western nations, making it a thriving trade town and bringing together a melting pot of cultures and influences. The production designer used Turkish, Persian, and Islamic influences for the set design. Aladdin never had a content warning until now, but the edited version has always been on Disney+. Disney Plus Offers Warnings Over 'Outdated Cultural Depictions - IGN 'Aladdin and the Magic Lamp' is the most famous story from the Arabian Nights collection of stories, also known as the 1,001 Nights.However, the story's origins are surprising, and in fact for many centuries it wasn't part of the Arabian Nights at all.But before we come to the question of textual analysis or the story's complex history, let's summarise the plot of the story of Aladdin. Disney is the only media outlet who can show Aladdin. But, a completely white cast voiced the film, and the association of Arabs with violence, greed and other negative traits suggested that Hollywood was insensitive at best and xenophobic at worst. Is it okay to watch a movie if it includes offensive parts? But, he adds, with Native American actress Irene Bedard as the voice of Pocahontas in the film, some in his community might both enjoy and accept it as presented. Similarly, The Jungle Book has been criticized for employing some African/African-American racial stereotypes to depict a group of monkeys, even going so far as to have another character call them mangy and flea-picking, among other problematic elements. Don Owens. Now, it admits they were not just "outdated" but "wrong" even back then and that such negative portrayals had a harmful impact in real life. Samuel Gelman started at CBR as a news writer in August 2019 before becoming a news editor in November 2019. "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures," the statement reads. Its been revealed that theyre struggling to wrap up their months-long search because of a difficulty in finding a singing, dancing actor who is Middle Eastern or Indian to play the title role. Our job is not to get up and say, Heres a movie that you should feel guilty about for liking. But to pretend that the racism in it is not painful and acute? Guess Disney isnt that offended after all. Why is it important to have culturally-accurate depictions in film and television? I understand Peter Pan and Dumbo but why Aladdin? Some were alarmed by the films stereotypes and generalizations about Arabs and the Middle East. It is also important to think about all the improvements the 2019 movie made over the 1992 adaptation (see #3 on this list above!).