Nation Concept In Midnight'S Children And Graceland

In the movie Mulan, the lead character sets out to war in place of her ailing father who’s medical condition only becomes worse every day. As it is set in earlier times, she cannot go in her true self and instead, has to impersonate a man. However, with the aid of her sidekick dragon, Mushu, she succeeds in the battle against the Huns. Mulan’s portrayal in Mulan, negatively impacts viewers as it encourages lying, presents gender discrimination and portrays the role of an “ideal” woman in society.

Mulan continues to lure the audience into the comforts of dishonesty when she rebels against her expectations. Mulan encourages lying, notably for young viewers, by showing that it is alright to conceal deception and not say the truth. Mulan ran away from home, mimicked a soldier and mislead her commanding officer which ultimately, promotes the idea that the ends justify the means.

Mulan’s actions are needless to say, based around several lies. The overall message of the film is that it is acceptable to defy your parents and lie to your superiors if you are being true to what you believe to be right, which is certainly not a good thought for youngsters to be left with. Mulan impersonates a man and is undercover as a male soldier by taking the place of her ailing father in the Chinese military.

To many, Mulan breaks stereotypes by replacing her dress and makeup for armour and weapons to uphold her family’s honour. Yet in reality, there is no need for Mulan to deceit, as most men in her family could have gone instead of her. It is quite possible, that unknowingly, Disney may have illustrated that Mulan gained her success through a lie. Regardless, this proves that the dishonesty in a way, influences the viewers, and the negatives in this film weigh out the positives. Disney is an enormous part of the lives of many children and hence, what Disney presents within their movies affects the minds of these children, resulting in the application of it in real life.

Disney plays with these gender roles and presents such stereotypes that are almost hidden in the storyline and can only be noticed with some depth. The movie constantly enforces both male and female stereotypes and while Mulan might be seen as a feminist central, there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. A critic article states that, “[t]he filmmakers of the movie Mulan, challenge the notion that femininity and male identity are quite exclusive and that, femininity represents weakness.” Throughout the film, with multiple instances like this, the term “girls” is used as a derogatory term, an insult. Moreover, the underlying message is quite transparent here, that Mulan solely gained her success through a lie.

As seen in the film, Mulan has to go to the extent of disguising herself as a man to be accepted for fighting in the war. When Mulan is found out to be a woman, Chi- Fu says, “I knew there was something wrong with you!... She’ll never be worth anything! She’s a woman.”

However, Mulan has another intention for going to war for her father, as she feels the need to prove herself capable of doing similar activities as men her age. In addition to, Mulan does not fight under her will, but to serve and please her father and kneel to the patriarchy. The danger of Disney lies in the masked discrimination that hides behind concepts perceived by the audience to be positive, and a false image of conscientiousness.

Mulan portrays their lead character as an “ideal” woman and keeps the film constrained to certain stereotypes. Through one of the movie’s songs, Mulan underlines the expectations of men and women and further serves to induce a certain ‘type’ of person based on their gender.

The first song, “Honor to Us All”, presents the following lyrics:

A girl can bring her family great honor in one way,

by striking a good match…

Men want girls with good taste,

[and who are] calm, obedient, who work fast- paced.

With good breeding and a tiny waist... (Mulan, 1998)

Mulan’s mother ties the sash on her waist so tight that she loses her breath initially. It is supposed that this standard of beauty will make her more desirable. Yet, when the Matchmaker looks over at Mulan, she remarks that the latter is “too skinny” and will not be able to bear children of her own. The physical depictions and portrayal of the lead character, Mulan, established a sense of Disney’s treatment as quite problematic and controversial. In the movie, Mulan, when the Chinese character of Mulan was “redesigned” as a princess, her skin seemed to be significantly lighter and facial features altered. Essentially, an animated character of colour was rebooted with a much lighter skin tone while the redesign appears to have softened Mulan’s East Asian features. This suggests that, Disney failed drastically when deciding to reinforce colourism by lightening Mulan’s skin. To have young ones listening and taking in music that idealizes such negative practices is an underlying problematic issue that must be fixed. Furthermore, the representation of an ideal woman and her unattainable beauty standards bring to attention that even today, we as a society, may not have fully diminished certain views.

The movie Mulan, definitely had some positive areas for young viewers, but most encouraged negative thoughts and actions. Although the filmmakers of the movie, Mulan, made an attempt to alter the stigma of racism and discrimination, they did more harm than good. At the surface, Mulan seems like a tale about pursuing adventure and deteering away from gender stereotypes. However, in actuality, in an effort to eliminate notions of the damsel- in- distress, Disney is unsuccessful in acknowledging other ethnic and sexist implications that obstruct them from attaining their intended purpose.