4.46 - ALADDIN (2019) & PRETENCE

This week’s offering is the re-make of ALADDIN. After…mixed reviews, we talk about the ‘clean’ visuals, what it feels Disney wants from a re-make, and how watching this involves something of the same pretence shown by the characters themselves.

Next Up
Our next Disney film is the 1994 original version of THE LION KING.

Recent Media
THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933): Frank Capra, Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther
INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS WITH ALAN CARR (2021): Diccon Ramsay, Emma Taylor, Alan Carr

Recommendations
TRON: LEGACY (2010): Joseph Kosinski, Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund
TERRA NOVA (2011): Kelly Marcel, Craig Silverstein, Jason O'Mara
MEN IN BLACK (1997): Barry Sonnenfeld, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith
WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY (2017): Tommy Wirkola, Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close

Footnotes
Firstly, here’s a little reminder of the environment in which Rob’s ‘recent media’ film was made: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Code_Hollywood. Onto our film of the week. Sam mentions a few of the film’s casting controversies, further explored here: deadline.com/2018/01/disney-aladdin-criticized-media-browning-up-1202237376 and here: www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/07/17/disney-aladdin-jasmine-naomi-scott_a_23034316. And this is a really comprehensive article on the confused/confusing cultural politics of the film: www.vox.com/2019/5/24/18635896/disney-live-action-aladdin-controversy-history (it also has a nod to Edward Said’s Orientalism, the ultimate text explaining many of the racial codings of cultural portrayals like this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orientalism_(book)). Finally, it wouldn’t be an episode of The Prestige without a regular mention of Brecht! www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. And when it comes to films-as-stage-plays, although slightly off-topic, this was an interesting list: www.metacritic.com/feature/best-and-worst-movies-based-on-plays-and-musicals?page=1 (I’m strangely intrigued by the SJP film at number 1…)

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