Here’s 2 summaries of the second section of Stanninger’s Article
1: Jasmine is an appealing character to American Audiences because she embodies the trope of a strong independent woman, which is the ideal of young girls, yet this depiction of her is much different than her original portrayal in Arabian Nights. Rather than appealing to the original audiences, Disney has Americanized her character by making her dress more stylishly (hair scrunchie, crop top), giving her western values while ignoring her faith and making her speech sound like an American teenager. It is also worth mentioning that all characters speak with middle eastern accents except for the main characters(Aladdin, Jasmine, the Genie). Aladdin has also been changed to suit American tastes, with the likeness of Tom Cruise, the personality of Michael J Fox, and much tamer values. After Aladdin and Jasmine meet, it is a typical Broadway love story, with Aladdin feeling unworthy of Jasmine’s love, then eventually becoming worthy at the end of the story. But Disney still keeps Jasmine independent, with her making it clear that she still won’t marry under someone else’s commands. And in the end, Jasmine gets what she wants, by convincing the Sultan that she can marry who she falls in love with rather than a prince. Despite going against the original portrayal, you could say that Disney has done feminism a favor by giving young girls a role model that they can identify with.
2: Jasmine is an appealing character to the west because she embodies independent women, has an western fashion sense(hair scrunchie) and voice/accent, though this goes against the original portrayal. On the topic of voices and accents, all of the characters in “Aladdin” use a middle eastern accent except the main characters. Aladdin has also been changed to suit westerners, with the features of several hollywood actors and having ideals fitting of a disney hero. The main story of Aladdin is a very typical love story, with a boy going from unworthy to worthy of a girl’s love, yet Jasmine is still independent, putting her foot down against arranged marriage. Jasmine wins in the end, by convincing the Sultan to let her choose her own husband rather than royalty. Despite going against the original, you could say Disney has done feminism a favor by giving girls a good role model.
