Every tween girl should
watch this movie. I know it may sound odd, but the underlying message of this
movie applies most to them. Mulan’s struggle is in finding a balance between
who her culture demands she be and who she herself wants to be. She has to
choose: will she honor her culture, or be true to herself? Or, more blatantly:
what is more important, being who others expect you to be, or who you believe
yourself to be? Rarely do these two issues line up. Peer conceptions shape teen
girls; their actions reflect more of what they think is expected of them than what
they hold true for themselves.
Mulan’s confrontation with her father makes her decision
to go in his place. He says, “I will die for what is right,” and then ends
their argument by telling her it is time she learn her place. Mulan then must choose
if she will possibly die for what is right or if she will honor her father’s
wishes, be untrue to herself and conform to societal standards. She chooses, in
the most moving and artistic sequence in the film, to break out of the box she’s
been placed in and do what she knows is right.
The directors and animators discuss (in the special
features, of course) how they purposefully, artistically ‘boxed’ her in during
that sequence. She’s framed by the statue she’s sitting in, the puddle she sees
her reflection in; even her hair frames her in. Simply deciding to go breaks
down one wall of her box. When she walks into the house and cuts her hair, she
takes off one side of the box. When she changes from a dress into armor,
another side falls. When she goes through the gates of her family’s home,
heading to war, the final side falls.
When I was in high school, we watched this film during
our unit on China. The interesting aspect of this is that our assignment was to
document how historically inaccurate the film is, as ancient Chinese culture
would kill a woman for impersonating a soldier. What I learned just yesterday,
while watching the special features, is that Mulan is not a Disney original
story. They took the store and developed it, changing it to fit cinematically
in the time constraints of less than two hours, from an actual Chinese legend.
A story that says a woman entered the Imperial Army in order to protect her
father.
Like all orally spread legends, there are many different
versions. The one I will use is the one an animator specified as opposed to the
traditional “Ballad of Mulan,” a poem that uses more poetic devices to convey
meaning then literal summary. What Disney changed is that the real Hua Mu Lan,
from the legend, discussed taking her father’s place with her father. They
actually had a sword fight to see who should go; she won. Unlike in the film,
she wasn’t discovered. She fought for ten years without being revealed. When
she was honored by the Emperor, she turned down his offer of being in his
cabinet in order to go home, much like Disney’s version of Mulan. After a ten
year absence, she returned to her family. It was only after she returned home
and her fellow soldiers came looking for their “brother in arms” that they
discovered she was a woman.
In another version of the legend, she is discovered after
12 years and a promotion to General when she is injured and a young girl wants
to marry her. When she reveals she is a woman, she and her male army friend,
Jing, confess their love for one another. He dies saving her in battle, and she
resigns her post and goes home. In the Ballad of Mulan, her family knows she is
going, celebrates her return, and she notes that only society puts gender
restraints on people and nature doesn’t.
Personally, I enjoy
both the film and the legend. I find it interesting Western cultures rarely
hear of this legend, and instead only hear gender roles in the negative form;
how China oppressed women and expected them to be seen and not heard (as
evidenced by the matchmaker’s dislike with Mulan in the film). I am partial to
the music of the film, particularly during Mulan’s transformation scene. That
sequence is what stays with me (though it’s Shang’s song about training that
inevitably gets stuck in my head for days on end). The music and lyrics are
wonderful, old-time Disney awesome. Jackie Chan provided the voice for Shang in
the Chinese release and the special features include a music video of him
singing the training song. I had no idea he could sing, but apparently he went
to opera school in China and can sing in many Chinese and Asian dialects. That
man never ceases to stop amazing me.
Eddie Murphy provides the comedic relief as a tiny dragon
named Mushu. His character is the only talking animal, though he can understand
Cricky, the lucky cricket. Although he mainly handles the jokes, sometimes they’re
too much and distract from the movie. Conversely, he is the catalyst for the
Hun charge from which Mulan is declared a hero and is discovered due to her
injury.
While I love Mulan for being brave
enough to do what is right, even when everyone in her world is telling her to
conform, she isn’t my favorite character. I love how she becomes the best
soldier, despite being the smallest and most likely the weakest at the
beginning of training. She has to use her brain and physical prowess to be
successful, which I find particularly important. Shang isn’t my favorite
character either, despite his awesome song and cunning teaching skills. Nor is
the riddle-speaking Emperor my favorite. Well, who is? Khan! What, you don’t
remember him? Here’s a picture (copyright of Disney, 1998, of course):
Isn’t he cute? Really,
he’s just the best. The scariest part of the movie is when he, Mulan and Shang fall
over the edge of the cliff during the avalanche. I don’t know how that rope
could hold three people and a horse, or how Mulan tied the Khan all the way
round while falling, but whew am I glad he didn’t die! I just don’t think I
could watch the movie anymore if he did. Actually, the only character-death we
see is that of Shang’s father, General something-or-other. Which is sad, yes.
But we only saw him once. I’m much more affected by the death of the little
girl that the doll belonged to. Her death, despite the fact we never see her,
is that it is implied that the entire town died. This, ironically, makes Mulan
have the highest death count of the Disney films. I don’t believe an entire
village is wiped out in any other Disney films. Of course, this is also the
only film in which Disney portrays open warfare, so that sets it in a whole new
category.
I’ve
always loved Mulan, despite its plot holes
and historical follies. Disney tells an interesting story in a beautiful way; if
you think about it, that makes every film they make special. If there’s one
thing Disney is good at, it’s telling a great story with style (excluding, of
course, Home on the Range; we’ll just
pretend that one never happened).What's going on in Alaska? Well, it's March and there's still snow falling. We've had record breaking snowfalls (currently, Anchorage has the fourth most snow ever). So much so that the moose population is seriously hurting. This winter has also been much, much colder. The combination of more cold days and more snow has made it incredibly difficult for moose to find food. So far, 441 moose have been killed just on Mat-Su roads since July 1. Last year, less than 200 total were killed all year (July to July). That means 441 motorists have collided with a moose since July. The death toll for moose in general is higher but unknown; many moose are starving to death because they can't find food. The spring moose hunt is cancelled. Groups have received permission to put out hay bales far away from roads to lure moose away from the roadways causing their death. It is very sad and very depressing, and it makes me quite thankful to have this Disney project to keep my spirits up. Now that you're sad, go watch Mulan. Eddie Murphy will try to make you laugh, but Khan the horse will succeed.
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