disney is serious business
Jul. 3rd, 2008 02:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arishaHaving Aladdin on my nametag at work has produced some interesting reactions from guests, and I have written about most of them in at least in a general sort of way, but I have so far restrained myself from writing about my least favourite. Every so often I get a guest who is absolutely determined to inform me of Aladdin's true pervy nature, and refuses to take the hint that I am Not Interested in hearing about it.
For those of you not in the know (and the idea that people who are not in the know could still exist slightly baffles me), in the movie's balcony scene, Aladdin supposedly says, "Good teenagers, take off your clothes." And despite the fact that this is the most muffled line in cinema history (I have watched this movie many, many, many, many times and, in my opinion, you would have to turn the volume up unecessarily loud in order to make out anything he says at this point), people who believe this is what he says ADAMANTLY BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT HE SAYS. "Turn it up!" said my guest today, "It's there!" Fun fact? It's not there anymore. These adamant believers caused so much ridiculous controversy that Disney removed the line from the DVD. Way to fuel the rumours, Disney. :P
So yes, as you can guess, I don't believe Aladdin says anything of the sort, and I am SICK TO DEATH OF BEING TOLD THAT HE DOES.
Here is where this entry breaks off into its three alternate endings:
1) All this talk of supposed Disney perviness always reminds me of the one web page I saw way back when that set out to prove that the word "sex" appears in the flames of Frollo's fireplace during the Hunchback of Notre Dame song "Hellfire." Oh goodness I wish more people had latched onto this one, because I find ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS the idea that someone would get all worked up about the word supposedly for a split second kinda sorta maybe appearing onscreen but would completely ignore the content of the song that's playing over it. Because what is that song about? I mean, let's be honest here. xD
2) There is a line in the film in which Aladdin supposedly instructs "all good teenagers, take off your clothes." This caused a great number of press releases and angry letters from concerned parents who were apparently unaware that teenagers do this kind of thing anyway.
Oh, Disney Lies. You continue to be my favourite source for Disney misinformation. <3
3) One of the reasons I am so sick to death of hearing about the sexual messages supposedly hidden in Disney films is because of that essay I wrote in second year. Almost every time I told someone I was writing an essay about gender in Disney animation, they would bust out with the Aladdin line, or the Lion King dust, and one of my co-workers got angry at me when I brushed her comments off, claiming that a film professor had told her of these things and so they must be true. Let me tell you, sweetheart, I have read more than my fair share of academic writing about Disney, and it is the rare professor who actually knows what they are talking about with regards to this stuff. I have in my possession a scholarly and published article that spells "Disney World" as "Disneyworld" the entire. way. through. If they can't get the name of a theme park right, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't just blindly accept that Aladdin is a child-corrupting sort of guy.
Another of the reasons I am so sick to death of hearing about this stuff is because if you want to talk about the "dark side of Disney" or whatever, this is not it. Disney is a HUGE company that has been around for a good eighty years. They have done many things, both obvious and not-so-obvious, both current and buried by time, that could be considered much worse - and that I consider much more interesting - than Aladdin's supposed line.
But ... that is kind of part of why I love Disney, to be honest. <3 If you dig a little deeper than my guests seem to do, you can find some absolutely fascinating stuff.
(AW MAN this reminds me of that ginormous Mulan entry I want to write sometime soon. :d AND ALL THE DISNEY FANS WILL LYNCH ME, it will be exxxxcellent. xDD )
For those of you not in the know (and the idea that people who are not in the know could still exist slightly baffles me), in the movie's balcony scene, Aladdin supposedly says, "Good teenagers, take off your clothes." And despite the fact that this is the most muffled line in cinema history (I have watched this movie many, many, many, many times and, in my opinion, you would have to turn the volume up unecessarily loud in order to make out anything he says at this point), people who believe this is what he says ADAMANTLY BELIEVE THIS IS WHAT HE SAYS. "Turn it up!" said my guest today, "It's there!" Fun fact? It's not there anymore. These adamant believers caused so much ridiculous controversy that Disney removed the line from the DVD. Way to fuel the rumours, Disney. :P
So yes, as you can guess, I don't believe Aladdin says anything of the sort, and I am SICK TO DEATH OF BEING TOLD THAT HE DOES.
Here is where this entry breaks off into its three alternate endings:
1) All this talk of supposed Disney perviness always reminds me of the one web page I saw way back when that set out to prove that the word "sex" appears in the flames of Frollo's fireplace during the Hunchback of Notre Dame song "Hellfire." Oh goodness I wish more people had latched onto this one, because I find ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS the idea that someone would get all worked up about the word supposedly for a split second kinda sorta maybe appearing onscreen but would completely ignore the content of the song that's playing over it. Because what is that song about? I mean, let's be honest here. xD
2) There is a line in the film in which Aladdin supposedly instructs "all good teenagers, take off your clothes." This caused a great number of press releases and angry letters from concerned parents who were apparently unaware that teenagers do this kind of thing anyway.
Oh, Disney Lies. You continue to be my favourite source for Disney misinformation. <3
3) One of the reasons I am so sick to death of hearing about the sexual messages supposedly hidden in Disney films is because of that essay I wrote in second year. Almost every time I told someone I was writing an essay about gender in Disney animation, they would bust out with the Aladdin line, or the Lion King dust, and one of my co-workers got angry at me when I brushed her comments off, claiming that a film professor had told her of these things and so they must be true. Let me tell you, sweetheart, I have read more than my fair share of academic writing about Disney, and it is the rare professor who actually knows what they are talking about with regards to this stuff. I have in my possession a scholarly and published article that spells "Disney World" as "Disneyworld" the entire. way. through. If they can't get the name of a theme park right, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't just blindly accept that Aladdin is a child-corrupting sort of guy.
Another of the reasons I am so sick to death of hearing about this stuff is because if you want to talk about the "dark side of Disney" or whatever, this is not it. Disney is a HUGE company that has been around for a good eighty years. They have done many things, both obvious and not-so-obvious, both current and buried by time, that could be considered much worse - and that I consider much more interesting - than Aladdin's supposed line.
But ... that is kind of part of why I love Disney, to be honest. <3 If you dig a little deeper than my guests seem to do, you can find some absolutely fascinating stuff.
(AW MAN this reminds me of that ginormous Mulan entry I want to write sometime soon. :d AND ALL THE DISNEY FANS WILL LYNCH ME, it will be exxxxcellent. xDD )