the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons

a! b! In a world that is constantly changing and becoming more open to diversity and equality, filmmakers are faced with the challenge of presenting films and characters that embrace the ever-evolving world around us. In particular, Disney has been presented with this challenge; as a cinema powerhouse with an audience primarily made up of children, there is a perception that Disney has a moral responsibility to present accurate and unbiased representations of all cultures. This paper analyzes how Disney musically represents the Middle East in two Disney feature films, Aladdin and Prince of Persia, and how the musical choices affect American perception of Middle Eastern culture and music. Furthermore, this paper studies how the representation changes between Aladdin, which was presente