Rather than being a story of female empowerment, Mulan promotes the idea that women must put male authority figures before themselves to achieve recognition. The story of Mulan hasn't always sent this message.
Whether we interpret Mulan as a gender-bending feminist or someone who is gender-fluid, her acceptance of her identity is core to her story arc. And the message is clear: Embrace your own identity. Defy what society expects. Present your true self to the world.
Mulan's character is well-illustrated as a woman who has power and a strong mind. It proves that she is a feminist who doesn't want to take for granted what women are supposed to be in her society. Mulan is the representation of most women who take serious action in fighting for women's equality.
Mulan-2. Mulan-2 also portrays females as dutifully fulfilling the roles of bride-to-be, wife, and/or mother. All of which are the only ways for daughters to bring “honor” to their families. In terms of being a mother, Mulan-2 most frequently frames women as mothers through the eyes of their sons (soldiers).
She takes matters into her own hands — defeating the bad guys, saving her nation and her Emperor, bringing honor to her family. She even sweeps in on a horse to save her man! Smart, brave, and honorable, she's the strong female role model we've all been waiting for.
Mulan (2020) is a movie that shows the problem of gender equality. This research aims to point out that Mulan (2020) is considered as a movie depicting issues against women and a main character's effort to fight for human rights and achieve gender equality by analyzing scenes and dialogues.
It is possible that the appeal of the story lies in its handling of gender by linking Mulan's actions with the established virtue of filial piety. Mulan does not masquerade as a man and join the army on a whim or because she enjoys it but, rather, to save her father and the family's honor.
Another aspect of the film that involves stereotypical elements is the way that women are looked down upon by the men in China. Repeatedly, Mulan is scolded by the men in society. For example, in one scene, Mulan saves the lives of her fellow soldiers. She is called a hero and gains the respect of the men.
As the title of one late 18th-century novel — The Story of the Loyal, Filial, Brave, and Heroic Mulan — indicates, the other three virtues of Mulan — loyalty (忠 zhōng), bravery (勇 yǒng), and filial piety (孝 xiào) — have been recurrent themes in Chinese versions of the story.
In the animated film, Mulan's greatest weakness is entirely physical: she simply does not have the capability to do things like carry two bags of who knows what on a hike which leads to Shang kicking her out of the army.
Chinese critics, both at home and abroad, said they were disappointed with the film's inaccurate and stereotypical portrayals of Chinese history and the main character, infused with nationalist tropes. Others were not as bothered.
What values are depicted as most important in Mulan?
To my delight, the live-action remake places filial piety at the forefront of Mulan's story, making it just as important of a value as bravery, loyalty and all the other virtues that make Mulan a heroine worth looking up to.
She becomes strong and fights even after her true identity was revealed. This helps Mulan become an effective leader because she has the confidence to lead others. She has mental, emotional and physical strength so the other men could not say that she is weak.
Mulan is not a princess, and the movie doesn't talk about her beauty. She is far from being the typical Disney princess. She represents a normal woman with hopes and dreams. A woman who wanted to overcome and show that she wasn't in any way inferior to men.
In the cartoon, they used Huns — inaccurate AND racist. Rourans (柔然) are indeed the correct group of nomadic people that Mulan would've fought. But, fun fact: Mulan is most likely from the Northern Wei dynasty, which is established by a nomadic people itself, the Xianbei (鲜卑).
She demonstrates perseverance, integrity, and courage. Some of the male characters have old-fashioned ideas about what females are capable of, but they learn the error of their assumptions in the end. Mulan disobeys her father, but she does it to help and protect him.
She knew she would be killed if they found out she was not a man. Her father had taught her Kung Fu and she was confident in using a sword. She led the army to victory several times and was promoted to be the General of the army.
"Sick and frail, he was too old to fight, but still, he insisted on teaching Mulan how to ride a horse and use a sword. It was not common for girls to learn these skills in the old days. However, Mulan's father believed that everyone should know how to fight, even girls.”
However, while government restrictions and Disney's history of releasing films not aligned with Chinese politics didn't help, one of the main reasons "Mulan" bombed at the box office was because audiences thought Mulan was too "foreign-looking."
The filmmakers were trying too hard to pander to China, but did not try hard enough to get their historical facts right. They made Mulan too westernized yet still succumbed to Orientalist stereotypes. They cast popular Chinese actors yet gave them lines in English that felt awkward in a Chinese setting.
Thus, the relationship between Mulan and Captain Li Shang was relegated to that of a minor subplot, while Mulan's bravery and strength were emphasized in order to ensure that she remained the hero of her own story.
In this conflict, Mulan showed her struggle to get the trust from the society that she can do anything. She proved that a woman was not weak as people think which women could be a tough and strong soldier not only for being a soldier but in every subject in the society.
Twitter user Xiran pointed out the remarkable similarity of the slogan to the FBI's motto: “Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity.” While the imperial army chants these three virtues, Mulan falters at “true,” knowing that she is lying about being a man.
