Aladdin And The American Dream

Dharma is the idea that one can choose their own path which is similar to the idea of social mobility in the American Dream. The idea of dharma is related to American Civil religion because many people view America as the land of endless opportunities where there is no set path. This concept can be seen in Aladdin through the main character dreams of not following the path that is chosen for them or would be easiest but by forging a new path.
In the beginning of the film, after Aladdin and Jasmine have met, they go on a magic carpet ride and the popular hit from the movie takes place, “A Whole New World.” The whole point of this song is showing how all of the other cultures that surround Aragbah are way better and that there is no point in

A part of Islam tradition, is that devotees pray on a carpet similar to the one seen in the movie. During meditation and prayer to Allah, one would be sitting or kneeling on a carpet and open their mind to the point where they are “flying” or transported to another place, someplace better than the constraints of this world through their connection to God. Through the use of the magic carpet, the Disney imaginers have literally transported Aladdin and Jasmine to somewhere better than where they were, somewhere where they are not limited by social constraints. This also shows the relation to God. Every time that Aladdin is in danger or needs God, the magic carpet is there to save him; when getting out of the Cave of Wonders, taking Jasmine on their “date,” and when he needs to get back to Agrabah after being spelled away by

The lyrics in the song claim that there is a “whole new world / with new horizons to pursue” indicating that outside of Agrabah anything is possible. Disney even pays homage to the Adam and Eve myth, when the carpet is flying through a garden, Aladdin plucks an apple out of the tree for Jasmine to eat. This apple symbolizes the knowledge that there is more outside of Agrabah and being a princess or a street rat. Ultimately, the apple serves as the temptation of leaving one’s duties and never going back, but as seen when the song continues – Jasmine does not eat the apple and they eventually return to Argabah.
Overall, the song and scenes from “A Whole New World” are a parallel to American Dream. During the colonization of America, America was called the New World, and held the promise of a place where anything could happen and anyone could become anything. Europeans left their homeland on ships, similarly to how Aladdin and Jasmine leave Agrabah on the magic carpet, to go to the new world to escape the oppression of the social constraints of their lives or the corrupt system of the European court system. Ultimately, America served as a whole new world with new horizons for people to change their