KHALID, SAIFULLAH2017-08-212017-08-212017https://escholar.umt.edu.pk/handle/123456789/2083Supervised by:Dr. Elisabeth ZelinkaCartoon movies, as cinematic and cultural products, have long been the subject of academic research along the second half of the 20th century. The present study aims to investigate the misrepresentations of Eastern cultural values in the Western cinematic discourse, which is often biased and imperialistic. The present study investigates the triangular connection amongst the Aladdin series, the Orient and certain Western (USA) political agendas in order to answer the research questions regarding the relationship between the Aladdin series and the Orient, different devices used to present the distorted image of the Orient and lastly the effects of the misrepresented reality on the minds of the audience. The primary texts of the present study are the three Aladdin cartoon films. Critical Discourse Analysis is used to study the phenomenon of mis(representations) of social and cultural values in the Aladdin series (1992, 1994, 1996). The selected content (text) and cultural signs (scenes and images) are analyzed through the semiotic analysis method. A considerable block of literature related to the “Disneyization” of the Middle East and to the political-cultural hegemony of America has been reviewed, in order to establish the theoretical grounds for this study.Upon a close analysis, the results of the present investigation indicate that different types of violence, bias, gender inequality and vilification of the Middle Eastern culture have been discovered in the Western cinematic discourse regarding Eastern values.In the selected primary texts cultural (mis)representations of dress codes, language symbolism, moral values and social relations are found. Therefore, the present study concludes that the Aladdinseriescontains misrepresentations of the Eastern cultural values as well as stereotypes regarding the Oriental realm. The Middle East is presented as inferior, over-sexualized, underdeveloped and as a dangerous place to live in.All three movies of the Aladdin series are simultaneously focused and analyzed in the present study. Its knowledge addition consists in the fact that this epistemological endeavor will be beneficial for the students of cultural and media studies as well as for the senior generations, such as their parents. They will have access to a better comprehension of the cartoons’ connection to cultural values, as well as to the political agenda(s) behind them. The study contains original work except as specified in the acknowledged citations.The present study is part of a growing body of research on cartoons in their cultural contexts. Future researchers may investigate the post 9/11 abrupt change in Disney’s and Hollywood’s interest to produce ‘West-specific’ cartoons and films. These post 9/11 cinematic products tend to focus on Western cultural values, rather than on Oriental ones. Disney’s movieLilo& Stitch (2002) and America’s heart and souls (2004) are produced on cultural values of the Western hemisphere.endisney’s cartoon seriesMPhil ThesisThesis