Feminist Perspective In Mulan
Sellnow describes the feminist perspective as a focus on the taken-for-granted "normal" roles and rules for men and women in society. In the Disney cartoon film, Mulan is a strong, determined, and brave female character who breaks the gender norms of her society. Mulan is a young Chinese lady who decides to take the place of her father who has been drafted into the Chinese army. As her father had fallen ill, Mulan didn’t believe that it would be right for her dad to go to war. She then decides to leave her home and disguise herself as a man to join the army in her father’s name. At this time women were not allowed into the military. In traditional Chinese culture, the females are expected to stay at home and nurture the children as well as keeping up with household activities. The other soldiers see women to be weak and unable to fight until Mulan’s disguise is discovered. She proves to everyone there that the ability to be a great soldier or fighter does not come from your gender.
Throughout the movie the plan was to make her appear more manly and strong as time and training went on, but in the end she learned that you don’t need to be a man to save China. She taught the others how being resourceful will prove just as effective as hand to hand combat. Towards the end of the film, Mulan along with her comrades needed to sneak past enemy lines. Mulan then came up with the brilliant idea to disguise everyone as women to turn the tides of battle. Ultimately it shows that femininity and womanhood is not a weakness, and physical abilities are not determinative of being a good soldier. Mulan’s wit and methodical perspective played a large part in the soldiers’ success.
I think Mulan is an excellent choice to showcase feminist perspective. The movie definitely pushes back on the gender role stereotypes that are littered across media, and especially Disney movies. Mulan shows that the gender role stereotype in this movie, that being the role of staying home, can be pushed back. Most of the Disney movies that came out during tis time that featured female leads such as Aladdin, Hercules, and Pocahontas all pushed somewhat back on the gender role stereotypes that were common in Disney movies up to that point, Mulan is jus one of those examples of breaking the gender norm in media. It has become more common in recent media and also Disney media to break down those gender norms which were super popular. I also found it interesting in the movie that after they found out she was a woman, they just disregarded her and her achievements so far, and then after the final battle, they went back to respecting her and her achievements.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Mulan as a child and thinking the movie was so unique in the way it challenged gender roles and showcased her perspective as a Chinese woman. Sellnow emphasizes the importance of telling these diverse stories, and I really appreciate Disney for creating this, especially for their younger audience. Unlike their traditional princess stories, Mulan avoids stereotypes and highlights the incredible strength women are capable of.
ReplyDelete