Disney is in hot water for trying to darken extra’s skin tones for their new live-action Aladdin movie. According to The Times, “The company says it resorted to darkening white people for roles requiring skills that could not be readily found in the Asain community such as stuntmen, dancers and camel handlers.”
Aladdin is set in fictional Agrabah, a fictional region in Arabia, which is Western Asia. So you can imagine there aren’t a lot of white people in Aladdin, maybe none at all. Kaushal Odedra worked as an extra and told The Times that he saw many “‘very fair-skinned’ actors waiting to have their skin tones changed.”
Disney’s tanning of extras isn’t going unnoticed.Riaz Meer, a TV director and member of the BRoadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union’s black members’ committee said it’s insulting.
“The talent exists and is accessible and there’s no way that Asian extras could not have been hired to meet the needs of the film. Failing to hire on-screen talent of the right ethnic identity to meet the clear needs of this production is just plain wrong. We expect better from all filmmakers,” Meer told The Times.
“Disney is sending out a message that your skin color, your identity, your life experiences amount to nothing that can’t be powdered on and washed off,” Odedra said.
Aladdin is filming in Longcross about 50 minutes outside of London. There is reportedly a million plus Asian population there. So to say that Arab and Asain extras weren’t accessible is unacceptable.
