The Disney movie Aladdin is a classic. There is no doubt that this is a film seen by the vast majority of the population. No matter what age you are, at some point in your life you have come across something that has to do with this movie. For those who haven't, the film is the story of a poor Arab beggar, named Aladdin, who resorted to robbing merchants to survive. After being captured, he is forced to enter a dangerous tomb filled with gold and riches to obtain a lamp for an evil man. Aladdin gets his hands on a genie lamp and is given the opportunity to make 3 wishes. Use the 3 wishes to earn the princess's hand in marriage. At the beginning of the film, Aladdin could not afford to eat as he is seen stealing an apple from a merchant. He is dressed in rags and wears no shoes, this shows the audience that he is from the lower class. When dressed like this, his complexion appears tanned and on the darker side. Considering he is of Arab descent and lives in the desert conditions of Agrabah, this makes sense. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay After he wishes for the genie to turn him into a prince, many things about Aladdin change. For example, his name changes to Ali and he is now known as Prince Ali. He now wears extravagant clothes and shoes that clearly identify his social class as upper class. He carries bags of gold with him, throwing them onto people from atop the elephant he is riding on. Along with him he brings servants, exotic animals, and golden camels, things that only upper class people would be exposed to. However, Disney also changes something else about him. In the scene where he makes the grand entrance to the palace, his complexion is undeniably paler. It is no coincidence that once his social class changed, his complexion also changed. While this is a subtle change, it is still shocking and an example of subtle racism. This change and the encouragement of a lighter complexion gives the impression that dark, tan skin tones are a characteristic of a lower class, while having a lighter skin tone associates you with the upper class. Aladdin himself is not the only character in this film to be shown as a lighter-toned upper class man. The sultan is also noticeably paler than the rest of the characters in Aladdin. This leads me to believe that Disney is secretly introducing the idea that a characteristic like skin tone plays a role in your social class. To think that this subtle racism is present in a classic Disney film aimed at children makes me sick to my stomach. Of course, not many kids watching the movie would have noticed the change in skin tone, however, it's surprising that it wasn't an accident. The only explanation for why Aladdin's skin tone changed would be because the writers believe that light skin is what differentiates a person's social class from lower to higher. White supremacists argue that white, light skin has always been associated with the upper class, as the majority of the 1% have white skin and work harder for their money. The rest of the population would disagree and would actually protest the idea. It is important to realize that wealth and those of the upper classes come in different shapes, sizes and colors. Disney need not have had to alter Aladdin's complexion for him to be associated as a prince. In conclusion, Disney showed subtle racism in the movie Aladdin. The.