Disney's Inaccurate Portrayal of Mulan and Pocahontas

Many times, things are not what they seem. Deception is often used to publicize things in a different light and it distorts actual historical content and facts. One example of this is when Disney inaccurately portrays the actual life of historical characters such as Mulan and Pocahontas.

In the movie Mulan, based on the “Ballad of Mulan,” Disney inaccurately portrays her life causing many incongruities. In the movie, Mulan is portrayed as being weak and unskilled with weapons and horsemanship. The “real” Mulan, however, was said to have practiced with many weapons and warfare methods. As an article in The Epoch Times stated,” Mulan’s father…raised Mulan like a boy. She....practiced martial arts, archery, and fencing with her father….liked to read her father’s manuals on military strategy.” This would show that contrary to the Disney version, which depicts a young Mulan as being hopeless and weak, she was actually a fierce warrior who could carry herself into battle. In addition, the real Mulan also rode horses and shot arrows, differing from the incompetent Mulan that is depicted in the “We Are Men” scene of the movie. While Disney portrays Mulan as being unskilled and inadequate upon her entrance to camp, the actual Mulan was extremely adept to the art of war and extremely capable of holding her ground.

Another way that Disney inaccurately portrays Mulan is by saying that she was the only child in her family. When Mulan’s father is asked to enlist, Disney shows that Mulan is outraged by the idea, knowing that her father will indeed die in vain this time, and as his only child she must make this sacrifice for her father. However, while Mulan did make this sacrifice to save her father, Mulan did indeed have an...

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...to many important historical, taking their original stories and manipulating it into a crowd pleasing versions. This shows that Disney inaccurately portrays the actual life of historical characters, such as Mulan and Pocahontas. Yet while most people commonly know the inaccurate versions of these characters, the real story is worth learning.

Works Cited

Custalow, Linwood, and Angela L. Daniel. The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of

History. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Pub., 2007. Print.

Shen, Teresa, and Gisela Sommer. "The Legend of Mulan." The Epoch Times 31 Aug. 2011: n.

pag. The Epoch Times. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Mossiker, Frances. Pocahontas: The Life and the Legend. New York: Knopf, 1976. Print.

Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas Powhatan Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by

Jamestown. Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 2005. Print.