Mulan, I'll Make a Man Out of You

From Disney's Mulan

Mulan is one of the few Disney "princesses" out there who isn't Caucasian. In many Disney princess movies, the girl is always being saved. But in Mulan, Mulan is the one who does the saving. Even with that said, Mulan has to change her identity in order to do this. Having to change her identity means that she really isn't herself. She also has to be the "ideal" woman so that she has the chance to marry into a good family. All this tugs at her to become someone she really isn't and for what exactly? To please others? To please society? To fit in with the general public? Definitely not to please herself.

In the beginning of the movie, Mulan's father was one of the chosen men to fight in the war against the Huns. Mulan's father is not in the right shape to fight in the war because his leg is crippled. Mulan couldn't just let her father fight for China so she decides that she would take the place of her father. So what does Mulan have to do in order to take her father's place? Be a man.

Now get this, only men could fight in the army (in this movie). So Mulan had to become another person in order to help her father. She had to disguise herself as a man. Now this just says something: that women have to act like men in order to join the army. As if women weren't tough or strong enough to enlist or be drafted into the army. This is a hidden narrative telling us that we have to mimic the actions and looks of men in order to be tough or strong. There are more hints throughout the movie that portray Mulan as a weak being when compared to the male warriors.

Another thing to note is that Mulan, in the beginning, couldn't achieve anything during the training. She ran the slowest, couldn't shoot an arrow, and much more. She was the only "man" in the whole scene who first started out running the slowest and having no knowledge on how to shoot an arrow. This is a hidden narrative telling us that women can't do what men do. It portrays women as the weaker gender when compared to men. I find this really unfair because women do actually have the ability to do what men can do. Many women have proved that throughout the decade. Also in the movie, we find that Mulan is put down by the male characters once they find out that she's a woman.

When Mulan got injured, she is revealed as a female by the doctor. She is then looked at negatively. According to this text, Mulan is being shamed because she's a girl. From the film, Chi Fu (who works for the army) says, "I knew there was something wrong with you! A woman!" Basically he's saying that girls are of no value and because they are girls, they are defected. How messed up is that? From another text, I also found that once Shang (Mulan's love interest) found out that Mulan was a woman, he lost his respect for her. But before he found out that she was a woman, he had a ton of respect towards "him" because of his war tactics/skills. This movie also shows us the characteristics that fit the male role.

From Disney's Mulan

Based on another text, I realized that Mulan also gave its viewers an idea of what it means to be a man. In one of the scenes, Mushu (the sidekick) says, "No, they're men. And you're going to have to act just like them, so pay attention... It's all attitude. Be tough like this guy here. Punch him. It's how men say 'hello.'" This is Mushu's response when Mulan calls the men at the camp disgusting. This shows us that in order to be a man, you have to have a lot of attitude and be aggressive. We see that men aren't seen to be emotional, whereas women are portrayed as the emotional gender. Not only was there evidence of this movie portraying what it means to be a man, but also portraying what it means to be a woman.

Let's look into the scene in where Mulan was to be matched with a man to marry. She was all cleaned up, washed up, and she had a full face of makeup on. If you look at these lyrics of "Honor to Us All," 

"Men want girls with good taste
Calm
Obedient
Who work fast-paced
With good breeding
And a tiny waist
You'll bring honor to us all..."

From these lyrics, you can see that women have to be obedient and submissive in order to bring honor to the family. We see that the men don't have to do anything, while the women have to go through so much to gain the interest or attention of a man which ultimately makes women the "lesser" beings. The list continues on with all the little hidden narratives behind each scene, character, etc. Even though it may be completely clueless to these children, they will grow up having certain mindsets of what it means to be a man or woman if they are exposed to these symbols of inequality.

All these inequalities put limits on each gender. Children grow up learning that to be a woman, it means to be obedient and polite. Children grow up learning that to be a man, it means to be aggressive, tough, and basically emotionless. If we continue to walk this path, boys will grow up as men who don't allow themselves to hurt once in a while. If we continue to walk this path, girls will grow up as women who don't allow themselves to be tough in fear of being called masculine (in a negative connotation). So how do we stop this madness? Be aware of what you say to others when they don't fit the typical gender stereotype or ideal. Make sure that you don't give yourself boundaries based on what a person "is supposed to be like." The solutions are endless, but we should all simply remove all these stereotypes off of gender. It's definitely okay for a man to cry, society just doesn't allow it.