One of my Favorite Poems: "Speechless" by Naomi Scott
As a kid, I loved Disney movies. I
watched all the classics: The Little
Mermaid, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmatians,
The Lion King– you get the point.
When Disney started releasing new live-action remakes of the animated Disney
classics, I was eager to watch them all. It was through the live-action remake
of Aladdin that I found one of my
favorite poems: “Speechless” by Naomi Scott.
Typically, I don’t like it when the remake differs that much from the original movie, but I really liked the addition of “Speechless” in the 2019 Aladdin film as it gave Jasmine a solo and allowed her have a bigger voice than she had in the 1992 animated film in which she only sang a duet for “A Whole New World.” The emotion, message, and context of the song in the movie was what first enraptured me. Even now, the inspirational message conveyed through the lyrics of this song never fails to raise my energy.
“Speechless” was sung in the context of Jasmine being arrested, her father being overthrown as Sultan, and her kingdom being overtaken by an evil dictator, Jafar. Through this song, she is telling Jafar that despite him trying to “lock [her] in this cage” and force her to marry him, she will not be “speechless.” She is determined to find a way to speak out and establish herself as her kingdom’s rightful leader.
I really like this song because of the emphasis on Jasmine’s strength and her feminist goals. The repeated lines “I won’t be silenced / You can’t keep me quiet / Won’t tremble when you try it / All I know is I won’t go speechless” helped emphasize Jasmine’s determination and perseverance in spite of her world being turned upside down. Although initially it might seem that Jasmine is only speaking out about her specific situation, she’s addressing “centuries old and unbending” rules put upon women in her society. For as long as she could remember, women were instructed to “stay in [their] place” and told that it’s better to be “seen and not heard.” By stating that “that story is ending,” she promises to work towards overcoming these restricting standards put upon women by becoming a single female Sultan, going against the traditional order of succession in her society.
What are some of your favorite songs from films? Do you think you would have enjoyed them as much if you discovered them outside the context of the movie?
Typically, I don’t like it when the remake differs that much from the original movie, but I really liked the addition of “Speechless” in the 2019 Aladdin film as it gave Jasmine a solo and allowed her have a bigger voice than she had in the 1992 animated film in which she only sang a duet for “A Whole New World.” The emotion, message, and context of the song in the movie was what first enraptured me. Even now, the inspirational message conveyed through the lyrics of this song never fails to raise my energy.
“Speechless” was sung in the context of Jasmine being arrested, her father being overthrown as Sultan, and her kingdom being overtaken by an evil dictator, Jafar. Through this song, she is telling Jafar that despite him trying to “lock [her] in this cage” and force her to marry him, she will not be “speechless.” She is determined to find a way to speak out and establish herself as her kingdom’s rightful leader.
I really like this song because of the emphasis on Jasmine’s strength and her feminist goals. The repeated lines “I won’t be silenced / You can’t keep me quiet / Won’t tremble when you try it / All I know is I won’t go speechless” helped emphasize Jasmine’s determination and perseverance in spite of her world being turned upside down. Although initially it might seem that Jasmine is only speaking out about her specific situation, she’s addressing “centuries old and unbending” rules put upon women in her society. For as long as she could remember, women were instructed to “stay in [their] place” and told that it’s better to be “seen and not heard.” By stating that “that story is ending,” she promises to work towards overcoming these restricting standards put upon women by becoming a single female Sultan, going against the traditional order of succession in her society.
What are some of your favorite songs from films? Do you think you would have enjoyed them as much if you discovered them outside the context of the movie?
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