Aladdin was rolequeer
Earlier you said you’d be “into doing some Queer Theory meets Media Studies stuff.” On that note, if you think about it, the relationship between Aladdin and Genie in Disney’s 1992 animated eponymous classic is a rolequeer one. Early on, Aladdin—a poor street urchin—unwittingly becomes Genie’s master:
Aladdin: Wait wait a minute. I’m your master?
Genie: [gives Aladdin a mortar cap and diploma] That’s right! He can be taught!Meanwhile, Genie is absurdly powerful, and “consents” to be subordinate to Aladdin, but only because he has no other option:
Aladdin: So, three wishes. I want them to be good. What would you wish for?
Genie: Me? No one’s ever asked me that before. Well, in my case. Ah, forget it.
Aladdin: What?
Genie: No, I can’t. I.
Aladdin: Come on, tell me.
Genie: [sigh] Freedom.Aladdin: You’re a prisoner?
Genie: It’s all part and parcel, the whole genie gig.
[grows to a gigantic size]
Genie: Phenomenal cosmic powers!
[shrinks down inside the lamp]
Genie: Itty bitty living space!Despite this relative and complex imbalance of power, the pair become genuine, caring friends, for which there is an entire song whose chorus is, “You ain’t never had a friend like me!”
Over the course of the film, they band together to fight Jafar, a skeevey, power-hungry Grand Vizier who wants total control over the lives and, in Jasmine’s case, the bodies of others:
Jafar: I am your master now!
[crushes the Genie with his foot]
Genie: [muffled] I was afraid of that.
Jafar: Genie, grant me my first wish. I wish to rule on high as Sultan![…]
Jafar: [Aladdin has tricked Jafar into wishing to be a more powerful genie than Genie]
Jafar: The universe is mine to command! To control!
Aladdin: Not so fast, Jafar! Aren’t you forgetting something?
Jafar: Huh?
Aladdin: You want to be a genie? You got it!
Jafar: [cufflinks form on Jafar’s wrists]
Jafar: What?
Aladdin: And everything that goes with it!
Aladdin: [Aladdin shows the black genie lamp that sucks Jafar in]
Jafar: No! No!
Iago: I’m getting out of here!
[Iago tries to flee, but Jafar grabs him]
Jafar: [screams]
Aladdin: Phenomenal cosmic powers.
Iago: Come on you’re the genie. I don’t want.
Aladdin: Itty bitty living space.
Genie: Al, you little genius you.But the climax of the movie is not really the predictable marriage between Aladdin and Jasmine. Everyone saw that coming a mile away. No, the most beautiful and unexpected part of the whole film is when, sacrificing his ability to magically become a prince, Aladdin frees Genie:
Aladdin: Genie, I wish for your freedom.
Genie: One bona fide prince pedigree coming up. I. What?
Aladdin: [He holds the lamp up to Genie] Genie, you’re free!It’s obviously still Disney-fied, but it’s still a clear sentiment: “No bosses. No masters.” And no Dominants.
I must’ve watched that movie dozens of times as a child. I saw it in theaters no less than six. I still get teary-eyed when Genie touches his own bare wrists for the first time.
Damn. No wonder I fell head over fucking heels in love with Aladdin when I was a little boy. All the boys talked about being Aladdin. I did, too. But y’know what? I was Genie.
- submitted by anon
Note by rolequeer: OMG I loooooove Aladdin. Thank you so much for this analysis.
:)
Submission’s where the magic happens
That’s so perfect.
I got somewhat exited and watched Aladdin again. The genie really is a fascinating character. He’s a servant but he acts nothing like it. Especially during his first scenes he’s constantly pushing Aladdin around, overwhelming him, running the scene. And although he hopes Aladdin will free him at some point, he also genuinely seems to be enjoying himself, even before Aladdin promises him freedom.
And the rest of the movie, despite it’s obvious problems (orientalism etc) has some more interesting things relating to power. For examle, Aladdin, a marginalized character from the start, dreams of a life without poverty but at the same doesn’t want power. When he realizes he’ll be sultan after he marries Jasmine he doesn’t just worry about getting discovered, he genuinely doesn’t like the idea of being sultan. (This dilemma is ignored at the end when he does marry Jasmine, probably to get a less complex happy ending). This is very relevant to me because to me the ‘we all want power’ myth is an important part of Domism.
Love love love