Though critically acclaimed and widely beloved, the 1992 animated feature Aladdin had some serious issues with stereotyping.
Disney wanted to avoid repeating these same problems in the live action version of Aladdin, which was released last month. So they sought advice from a Community Advisory Council comprised of Middle Eastern, South Asian and Muslim scholars, activists and creatives. I was asked to be a part of the group because of my expertise on representations of Arabs and Muslims in the US media.
The fact that a major studio wants to hear from the community reflects Hollywood’s growing commitment to diversity.
But while the live action Aladdin does succeed in rectifying some aspects of Hollywood’s long history of stereotyping and whitewashing populations from the Middle East, it still leaves much to be desired. Read more