Aladdin: Naomi Scott explains powerful feminist meaning behind Jasmine's new song
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- Hollie Richardson
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Naomi Scott sings Jasmine’s new song Speechless in a new Aladdin clip, after explaining the feminist meaning behind the lyrics.
Princess Jasmine is a staunch feminist.
In Disney’s original version of Aladdin, she was fearless, compassionate and funny, refusing to marry for anything except love. And yet, her voice was constantly muted by the powerful men around her - even Aladdin underestimated her upon first meeting.
This is why a new song written for the princess, to amplify her feminist voice, is a cause for celebration. A new video shows Naomi Scott, who plays Jasmine, performing Speechless in the film. “She says, ‘Enough is enough, I’m going to make a choice here and stand up for what I believe in’. It’s such a strong song,” Scott says in the clip.
Watch Naomi Scott perform new Aladdin song
The actor continued to explain how much the song meant to feminism in another interview.
“I think that for Speechless I did feel the weight of the message of the song,” Scott told Digital Spy. “I think the message is so powerful, the idea that she’s not going to go speechless and you do have a voice and you should speak up against injustice.”
She continued: “Everyone can relate to the idea of being shut down. Did I feel the pressure? I think because it was new, you feel a bit of freedom to really make it your own, there’s not someone that’s gone before you. Ultimately, I was just really excited to make it feel raw. She’s angry in that moment.”
Speaking to the BBC, she also discussed the important of the film’s diversity. “I’m so proud of our cast, how diverse it is,” she said, “I think what I love is that we’ve been able to embrace so many different cultures in this movie. So many different types of people watching can take something that they recognise.”
Massoud, who plays Aladdin, also said he hopes that the film can do for Middle-Eastern and Asian communities what ‘Black Panther did for the African-American community’.
Scott joined her co-stars Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Will Smith (Genie) and Marwan Kenzari (Jafar) for the premiere of Guy Richie’s new adaptation on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday (21 May).
Speaking at the event, the film’s executive music producer Mike Sullivan recalled how Scott performed Speechless on set live two years ago during the birth of the #MeToo movement and described it as an “incredible” moment.
Aladdin is released in the UK over the Bank Holiday weekend, and we’re looking forward to seeing Scott’s empowering performance of such an important character for young audiences
Images: Getty