Throughout the Movie Aladdin, there are countless misrepresentations of the Middle East. From the main characters Aladdin and Jasmine being whitewashed as they speak with an American accent to Jafar, the villain, being portrayed as having a darker, bigger nose, thick and dark hair and beard, and speaks with an Arabic accent. “While most of […]
After watching “Reel Bad Arabs ” I finally feel understood. The one thing that stood out to me the most throughout the movie was how raw and real everything that was discussed. Jack Shaheen really went into details and showed various examples of how the film industry is always intentionally trying to dehumanize Arabs. As […]
Western society has continued to fail at comprehending cultures throughout the world, especially in the Middle East. When it comes to “The Orient,” Americans tend to lack the pure understanding and representations of various, divergent parts of the East. However, Western societies delight in the enjoyment of falsely writing and claiming other cultures. It has […]
Overreach argument: Western society has continued to fail at comprehending cultures throughout the world, especially in the Middle East. Claims: “I came to realize that despite their many virtues, Americans are not very good at understanding other cultures” (page 2). “International financial networks, multi-national corporations, media conglomerates, and the Internet have now created a world […]
Discussion 1: I think something that was done really well was the scenery and the music. Specifically the intro of the movie really set the tone of the narrator and the upcoming plot. Something that stood out to our group was how each character was portrayed by a specific gesture. The genie, the bird, and […]
“The Dark Side of ‘The Arabian Nights’” by Robert Irwin explains the concealed truth behind the stories of The Thousand and One Nights. Robert emphasizes the significance of racism and how it plays such a big role in these stories. Racism is traced all the way back to racial theorists such as Gobineau, Ernest Renan, […]
During class we started off by stating quotes that stuck out to us after reading “The Dark Side of ‘The Arabian Nights’.” After stating the quotes a main idea/topic that was brought up by several students was racism and the roots of the “history” of the tales/stories that are told in “The Arabian Nights.” We […]
After reading the prologue of the “Arabian Nights” I am interested in reading further into how the power of the king is going to affect the bigger picture of the story. Shahrazad plays a big role in affecting the decisions of the king. So although he is in control, she is contributing to his decision […]
