My absolute favorite Disney film of all time is Mulan; best final ever. Every time I have watched Mulan since becoming more aware of things that most children are ignorant of, a new discrepancy is discovered. The first was the use of the word “concubine” when Mulan and the accompanying trio in women’s attire were described as “ugly concubines”. The reaction was really, can’t believe they said that? Disney told children that in reality emperor’s cheat on their wife with concubines and that it was okay? Also the fact that the fruit that the men had were to create fake breast was something new I realized watching this time around. With the conclusion of this class looking at gender roles in the film was the target analysis. So let’s discuss gender image.
Mulan is described as “too skinny”, although she is about the exact same size as other widely accepted female protagonist in Disney films. The only way for her to bring honor to her family is to marry a good suitor. She must be “calm, obedient, and work fast pace…speak unless spoken to…” and that “she is a woman, she can never amount to anything.” They speak of her as a curse of the Fa family due to being a girl and being a tomboy at that. Notably the majority of female characters in the film have soft round faces while the faces of the men are sharp and angulated representing the soft, delicateness of women and the strength of men. Before going off to the match maker she proceeds in taking care of the chores, which is normal for any gender, and then ensures that her father drinks his tea, taking care of him as women are often portrayed in the nursing role.
Shan Yu is, according to the video, the stereotypical dominant male figure. In fact, after the avalanche killing his army, five out of seven of the survivors, Shan Yu included were very buff, large muscles and huge because of it. Suggesting that besides for plot purposes they issue the image of strength and that is the only way to survive.
Shang and his father are of strong build. Shang has angulated facial features, very large biceps, large chest, a six-pack and the whole nine-yards of male fantasy hotness. Hence it is quite obvious that he would become Mulan’s love interest due to these features indicating to young boys that in order to be attractive one must look like a body builder.
What of the men that do not have these features? Well look at the trio of Yao, Ling and Chien Po they are secondary characters. They are never considered as potential love interest. Mulan’s father Fa Zhou is of relatively athletic build however he is an older man so when drafted into the army as the sole male of the Fa family he displays strength and valor as he walks with a limp as erectly as possible without his cane in front of army officials. Although he puts up a front Fa Zhou is still unable to fight hence the plot of the film. If Fa Zhou had a son this would have been a completely different movie. If there was only Ping and never a Mulan it is suspected that the war would have been lost and the Mongolians would have taken over China. Why?
Due to how men and women are portrayed and raised. Based on the aforementioned men are raise to be strong and brave and therefore exhibit these traits in any circumstances. Women are to be soft and delicate and subservient. Therefore Ping would have relied solely on his strength to retrieve the arrow which may or may not have worked. When it came to firing the rocket at Shan Yu, Ping would have done as is instructed following orders and allow Yao to shoot the rocket or maybe physically take him on in which he could have killed him, however he would still have the rest of the army to deal with.
When trying to enter the palace it was shown that brute force would not work and that the alternative for strength that Mulan discovered is what enabled them to rescue the emperor and kill Shan Yu. Even further supporting evidence that Ping would not have been as good as Mulan is that the General and the all male army exhibiting pure strength, were defeated by the Huns. Overall it was not the fact that Mulan was a woman that made her succeed it was that she had to find an alternative to compensate for the actions usually done by men. By doing this Mulan illustrated that she is equal to the common stereotype of male superiority in that women may not be as physically strong as men however they can successfully complete the same task.
Let it not be left out: music. There are about four songs sung throughout the film itself. A fifth appears at the end of the film. These songs are in film order: “Honor to Us All”, “Reflection”, “I’ll Make A Man Out of You”, “A Girl Worth Fighting For”, and “True to You Heart.” They each show the dominant stages of Mulan’s life and how she is treated and feels. She goes from being equaled to an object that is used for the benefit of her family and associates but not for herself. Then she sings of having to wearing a mask much like the makeup they place on her due to not wanting break family’s heart in dishonoring them by truly being herself. Then Mulan is placed into another role that she must fulfill in which being a girl is not enough, she must be made into a man in order to win. Eventually Mulan in one way or another succeeds at ‘becoming a man’ or maybe not because she sung “A girl whose got a brain, who always speaks her mind…” which all of the ‘real’ men were in opposition to. Finally after saving China then is she accepted for who she is and it is because she refused to follow conventional rules that she was true her heart.
"The buck bounds here and there / Whilst the doe has narrow eyes / But when the two rabbits run side by side / How can you tell the female from the male?" Men and women maybe built, think, act, and many other traits in different ways however that does not mean that they are not nearly the same, particularly when they get the same desired result.
