Female Empowerment Done Right (Aladdin (2019))

This movie’s been playing in theaters for a while, but just in case, SPOILER ALERT.

I didn’t do a review of this movie for two reasons: 1) I didn’t feel like bothering to do one, and 2) I’m more interested in talking about the themes.

As you can see from the title, today I’m actually being positive about female empowerment in a movie.

Jasmine has long been hailed as being a progressive, feminist Disney Princess. She’s not afraid to voice her thoughts, she stands up for herself (and for Aladdin when soldiers arrest him), she engages in a bit of adventure, and she defies laws and traditions that limit and objectify her. On the whole, I don’t think it’s bad thing. The problem with the 1994 Jasmine is that her execution of these things came off as the actions of an angsty teenaged brat, in my opinion. She talks about wanting things without doing anything to change them (except running away to see the city, which isn’t the best thing to do). To be fair, maybe there isn’t much she can do (or maybe there is and she just doesn’t know or think it, short of talking with her dad, which is a good thing). Look at this gif. She’s got a point, no argument there. She’s angry and I don’t blame her. And true, this is the eruption of pent-up feelings, considering how much gentler she was about it when talking with her dad about suitors just a day before. My point is that I get where she’s coming from. But snapping out in court (which has its rules of propriety), stomping her foot (or very nearly), and storming out (like a kid running to her room to slam the door) just doesn’t really do it for me. Maybe it’s because I’m an adult and expect her to behave like one, whereas a kid might not. I don’t know.

But therein lies the difference between 1994 Jasmine and 2019 Jasmine, affecting much of reason the live-action version does female empowerment right: maturity. (In the interest of fairness, I have to point out that the 2019 Jasmine seems to have a few years on her animated counterpart, giving her both more opportunity and a higher expectation to be mature.) You see, the new and improved Jasmine has commendable qualities that positively shine. She is very much aware of the rules of propriety, even as she pushes against some of them (she wants to play an active role in politics and refuses to simply be a pretty face to look at), but she takes courtly life seriously. This works out to her advantage because both the audience and other characters have that much more reason to take her seriously. More than that though, she asks intelligent questions and expects no less than an intelligent answer. She measures people (especially suitors bidding for her hand) by their character, not just surface things like looks, material goods, and political advantage (which both her father and her handmaiden/confindante push for). She takes to heart the things she’s learned from her parents (especially her mother, to whom it seems she was very close) and endeavors to apply those lessons to her actions. She demonstrates compassion (and to more than just Aladdin), justice, and strength.

Speaking of strength, let’s talk about her brand of girl power. For one thing, it’s not “girl power”. She’s not Barbie out to best the bad guy in combat. She’s not Carol Danvers sticking it to every man who says she can’t. She’s not even Peggy Carter who’s simply right most of the time. She’s not an Amazonian demigod. She’s not a female version of a male character. Jasmine’s rise to political power and respect does not come through any such tactics and I commend the writers for the direction of this subplot. Yes, she’s vying for a position in a male-dominated environment. Yes, she’s looking for equality in that she’s “not a prize to be won”. And yes, she even sings a defiant ballad about how she will not allow herself to go unheard (which, by the way, doesn’t have to be taken in a female-empowerment context). But what sets her apart from the feminist characters I’ve listed above is that, even if she shares their goals, her femininity is never sacrificed, the men are never simply straight-up wrong (apart from Jafar) and/or ground into a powder just for disagreeing with her, and the recognition she earns as a qualified leader is based purely on her quality of character. And I should add that her bid for power is not about proving that she can or even about allowing women into power despite that that is the exact obstacle she has to overcome. Jasmine is all about the people of Agrabah. She wants her father’s successor to truly care for the people and understand their needs. It just so happens that she thinks she’s the best candidate for the job and she’s put in as much work as she can toward filling that position.

Besides the story’s treatment of Jasmine, there’s also the characters‘ treatment of Jasmine. In 1994, it was pretty obvious that good guys treat girls right and bad guys don’t. In 2019, we see that even the good guys can be wrong. Aladdin twice indicates the “prize to be won” attitude Jasmine despises. (“What do you mean to buy with this… ‘expensive [item]’?” she asks. “You. I mean, your hand in marriage,” he stammers. “Am I a thing to be bought?” she asks cooly. “Yes. I mean, no, not like that.”) Granted, the poor guy was extraordinarily nervous and had no clue what he was supposed to do or say, so perhaps we could let that slide, especially because he behaves like himself when it’s just the two of them later on. That said, Jafar had promised earlier to give Aladdin the means by which to “impress a princess”, so maybe some of that has worked its way into Aladdin’s mind by the time Genie turns him into a prince. Speaking of Genie, Genie didn’t exactly do the best job with helping Aladdin win the girl. In the “Prince Ali” parade song, there was an unnecessary (though perhaps thematic) lyric change from “Heard your princess was a sight lovely to see” to “Heard your princess was hot, where is she?” The first version could be taken in the exact same context as the second (in fact, it could have meant the same thing all along), but I’d always assumed it was more of a compliment; the second version, however, is unmistakable in its meaning. No wonder Jasmine was unimpressed. On top of that, Genie helps Aladdin dance later on, but that turns into a solo breakdance that transmits the message, “I’m so full of myself, I’m trying to impress you by showing off instead of respecting you, your hospitality, and your culture.” (Remember, he’s posing as a foreign prince.) So even if we forgive Aladdin for saying that he wanted to “buy” Jasmine, Genie isn’t doing such a hot job of respecting Jasmine.

Jumping back to the story’s treatment of Jasmine, the live-action version thankfully changed a particular scene. This picture here is all kinds of yuck and I guess the filmmakers agreed. The new Jafar still demands that Jasmine marry him, but everything else is different. For one, Jasmine agrees to the marriage in order to save her father from torment (much like Belle taking her dad’s place as the Beast’s prisoner). This does a couple things: Jafar never has a chance to make her his fruit-bowl slave and Jasmine is actively making a decision here, rather than simply being a passive victim of circumstance. (When it comes to characters, especially important ones, it’s much better to make them active rather than passive. In other words, they should make the plot happen, rather that let the plot happen to them.) For another, Jafar, for all his wily evilness, never comes off as a lustful creep. Sure, he gets a pretty wife out of it, but his character arc is all about power: marrying Jasmine strengthens his position both to the people of Agrabah and to the outside world. (It also helps that there’s not such an apparent age gap between the two characters.) So besides removing the creep factor from Jafar, this also removes the idea that the audience too should see Jasmine as an object to ogle. On top of all that, Jasmine doesn’t use her feminine wiles (or looks… whatever) on Jafar for any reason. In 1994, she flirted to distract him. In 2019, she simply uses her physical proximity to steal the lamp from him. This again enforces the idea that Jasmine is her own person who values who and what she is, and she’s not willing to compromise that in order to achieve her goal.

There’s a lot of jaw in general about female empowerment in entertainment. As with the 1994 iteration of Jasmine, it’s not all bad. But for the flaws in the 2019 Aladdin, the treatment of female empowerment is not one of them. The theme was handled tastefully. It was not blown into a huge deal (I’m looking at you, Captain Marvel trailers), it was not a case of “I’m a girl and therefore better than the guys” (talking about you, Barbie and the Three Musketeers), and it did not force itself down my throat (Peggy Carter, I love you, but season one of Agent Carter came off too strong at times). Instead, the film features a woman who shows strength through principle, education, love, propriety, and grace. She’s aware that she’s not the most knowledgeable or the bravest, but though she doesn’t let that hinder her, she doesn’t feel the need to become the best. She does work to prove to the men around her (particularly her father) that she is capable of what she strives for, but she doesn’t do it by putting them down. Even when she voices her displeasure (especially to suitors), it’s not to cut men down to size but to make them realize that she is on their level.

What makes the theme work in this movie is that it doesn’t try so hard to push the feminist angle of her mission. The movie doesn’t forget that Jasmine’s ultimate goal is about her people. It’s not about girl power in politics; it’s about political power for the best qualified person who so happens to be a girl. It’s not about fighting the man; it’s about being the man (woman, if you want to be politically correct). It’s not for gender inclusivity; it’s for the benefit of the common people. This is why I respect this version of Jasmine. I find her more relateable, and I believe her motives and methods are not only more believable but also more commendable, and thus more worthy of aspiring to. She can claim the title of “strong female character” without all the pomp of a Genie-produced parade, not because she marched up and took it, but because the strength of her character earned it.