The Representation of Middle Eastern Women in Aladdin Movie (2019): A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

Abstract:

The present study is a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Aladdin (2019). It investigates how Hollywood utilises linguistic and discursive strategies to represent Middle Eastern women. It further examines the construction of the "self" and "other" dichotomy, exposing how speech upholds cultural hierarchies and power dynamics.  The study aims to investigate the linguistic strategies employed to represent Middle Eastern women in Aladdin (2019), examine how intertextual elements in this movie contribute to shaping and reinforcing dominant portrayals of Middle Eastern women, and finally, how these representations align with or challenge Orientalist and gendered narratives about Middle Eastern women. A qualitative approach is utilised to examine three selected scenes from Aladdin (2019). It also employs an eclectic analytical model that integrates Fairclough's three-dimensional model, Quirk et al.'s modality analysis, Searle's speech act theory, Halliday and Matthiessen's transitivity system, and van Dijk's ideological square.  The findings indicate that Aladdin (2019) depicts Middle Eastern women as oppressed characters by using transitivity, modality, metaphor, and intertextual references to support existing Western perspectives.  By sustaining gender-based and cultural stereotypes, these strategies support hegemonic power structures and add to a larger Orientalist narrative..