Status and Gender in Mulan
“Status is central to all complex mammal societies, humanity included.” Using Edward O’Wilson’s definition of status, I analyzed the Disney movie Mulan. Status and society control what is believed to be acceptable behavior, physiques and occupations of males and females. In Mulan, the protagonist portrays a woman in a role which exemplifies a nonconformist to these conventional standards. In order to maintain status, both in her family and in society, Mulan embarks on a journey of self-discovery based on altruistic intentions. Gender biases dictate everyday behavior and aspirations. These standards, known as gender roles, are society’s way to affix certain traits and mentalities to males and females. Society has
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In Chinese culture, the main purpose of women was to marry and bear many sons- a quintessential Chinese wife. In an attempt to fulfill this expectation, Mulan goes into town, where her mother and grandmother transform her appearance into what is seen as a beautiful potential bride. In order to bring honor to her family and gain status with her parents, she must be judged as a worthy bride by the matchmaker. We begin to witness the development of Mulan’s altruistic intentions. In the lyrics of the song during this part of the movie, “Honor to Us All,” (Mulan 6:28) the line, “Ancestors hear my plea, help me not to make a fool of me, and to not uproot my family tree, keep my father standing …show more content…
Society portrays army men as perfectly fit models, whereas in Mulan we see the lanky, chubby, and diminutive Ling, Chien-Po and Yao who seek status within the armed ranks. O’Wilson describes this phenomena when he says, “In traditional societies the fitness of individuals is...correlated with status” (Wilson 146). The three soldiers do not fit the picturesque physique a soldier should possess and are therefore overlooked as being useful in battle. Mulan befriends this rag-tag group of three because they are all commonly seen as the underdogs of their troop. Motivated by the desire to attain status within the army, Mulan and her three colleagues work together to devise a plan to defeat the advancing Hun army and save
Mulan now respects herself and the whole country of China respects her. She overcome the insecurities of thinking that she will never amount to what her family wants of her.
Mulan goes through being rescued when she fights Shan-Yu on top of the roof of the Emperor’s palace and Mushu helps Mulan pin Shan-Yu down and blow him up with fireworks. Mulan‘s ego decreases when Mushu successfully tries to help her get rid of Shan-Yu. She considers herself a hero now and does not want Mushu to think she cannot fight her own battles. Mulan in the end disregards her ego in order for her to not die on the roof. Mulan crosses the final threshold when she returns to her home with the gifts from the Emperor hoping her family will forgive her for leaving the family to go fight in the war. Her father accepts Mulan’s new power and wisdom and told her that, “The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter.” Mulan’s return to the past is pleasant and safe knowing that nothing can change her family’s love and affection for her. In addition, Mulan enters into the final step in the hero’s journey: the freedom to live. Mulan shows her freedom to live when she invites her soul mate, Li-Shang for dinner. This event marks the end of Mulan dwelling on the past and makes her excited, but not concerned about what the future
In Walt Disney Pictures’ Mulan, Disney attempts to retell the story of Chinese heroine, Hua Mulan, who is described in the Chinese poem, The Ballad of Mulan .The legend begins by telling the story an old man, who has no elder sons, who has been called up to fight in the Chinese army. Knowing that her father will likely face death, Mulan concedes to fight in his place and pretend to be a man, unbeknownest to her fellow soldiers. The movie builds off this premise as we are told the fictional account of Mulan’s life from before she took her father’s place to after.
Set in the Northern Wei dynasty of China, the gender roles of China were simple as depicted through song in Mulan. “We all must serve our Emperor… a man by bearing arms, a girl by bearing sons.” Mulan’s one and only role in life is to marry a man, who she is deemed fit for and to bear many sons and tend to the home. She is to live a life of homely domesticity. This is perhaps one of the most obvious motifs that don’t shine a nice pretty light on Mulan. Mulan has to go to a beauty salon in order to meet the matchmaker and “bring honor” to her family. At the salon, Mulan is mercilessly soaked in a freezing bath, has her hair tied up neatly, her waist laced up, and is overloaded with excessive make-up and jewels. The potential brides, Mulan included, are thus made to look like “cultured pearls, each a perfect porcelain doll.” According to the beauty specialists, “A girl can bring her family great honor in one way, by striking a good match.” They preach that “Men want girls with good taste, calm, obedient, who work fast-paced, with good breeding and a tiny waist.” This demonstrates heg...
To begin with, gender roles are the social and behavioral norms that are generally seen appropriate for either a man or a woman in a social or interpersonal relationship. Gender roles that society has created today reflect the way that people have acted upon in the past. When the idea of gender roles in our society comes up, originally the first thing that would come to mind were the roles that were expected of women. Howe...
Suggested roles of all types set the stage for how human beings perceive their life should be. Gender roles are one of the most dangerous roles that society faces today. With all of the controversy applied to male vs. female dominance in households, and in the workplace, there seems to be an argument either way. In the essay, “Men as Success Objects”, the author Warren Farrell explains this threat of society as a whole. Farrell explains the difference of men and women growing up and how they believe their role in society to be. He justifies that it doesn’t just appear in marriage, but in the earliest stages of life. Similarly, in the essay “Roles of Sexes”, real life applications are explored in two different novels. The synthesis between these two essays proves how prevalent roles are in even the smallest part of a concept and how it is relatively an inevitable subject.
Gender stereotypes are common in the United States today, even though many men and women have been working hard to defeat it. The task is made difficult however, when society in general implants the idea of gender roles into the mind of a child. Two authors, Judy Mann of The Difference and Bernard Lefkowitz of Our Guys face the issue of gender roles and stereotypes, and how they affect our lives today.
The symbolic interactionism is a theory concerned with the ability of humans to see themselves through the eyes of others and to enact social roles based on others’ expectations. In the film, Mulan’s abilities as a woman were not be accepted and recognized before she joined the army. For example, at that time, she was defined as a weak woman and helpless daughter. Although she worried about her old father, no one thought that she could help her father, and no one respected her thoughts. Her label made her only needs to obey and wait the results of war. However, when she came home after the war ends, her label also changed. This is because she met other’ expectations and played men’s role successfully. She mastered more capability like fighting a battle. Her label also became a hero and her family guardian. From the beginning to the end of the film, Mulan’s identity and label changed a lot because of her changing
William Shakespeare once said, “[My] honor is my life; both grow in one; take honor from me, and my life is done.” The idea is touched upon in both the book Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston as well as Disney’s Mulan were family honor is more important than anything else. Mulan was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film Mulan retold the story of a woman warrior who took her father’s place in battle and became a savior of China.The movie uses many elements from the original story told in the chapter “White Tigers,” but adds many modern twists in order to make the story more appealing for a newer generation. In both stories of Fa Mu Lan the elements of sacrifice, silence and voice, cultural practices of ancestor worship and filial piety, and Chinese stereotypes are present.
Mulan is a young girl in China, who is trying to honor her family and ancestors by finding a husband. She was expects to be delicate, quiet, obedient, graceful, polite, and poised, none of which Mulan displayed. She showed up late to the meeting with the woman, “The Match Maker”, who picked whom Mulan would one day marry. Although they expect women in China to have a tiny waist, too small of a waist, which Mulan had, was no good. She would not be great at baring children. Mulan could not pour the tea right for the woman either. She missed the cup, spilling the tea on the table. She was not very graceful and upset “The Match Maker”, who believed Mulan would never honor her family. Mulan did not display the characteristics that the Chinese society expected a woman to have and was looked at as dishonorable to outsiders.
She pretends to be a male and fights for her country. When her fellow soldiers find out she is a female, she is kicked out of the military and said to have disgraced her family. The ballad is completely opposite from this story. In the ballad Mulan makes her way through the ranks in the military. When she made it home her family was excited and supported her.
This movie teaches viewers to be themselves and not be defined as what others want them to be. Mulan had to follow the Chinese tradition and become a harem wife, that was something that she didn't want to do. If someone doesn't have an interest in something, I feel as they shouldn't have to be forced into doing whatever it may be, everyone should have a say in if they want to do it or not.
Mulan pushes gender inequality by reinforcing masculine and feminine stereotypes through the songs that it presents throughout the movie. The roles of what it means to be a man is simply laid out within the influential song, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You.” This song occurred when the fresh new soldiers appeared to be very weak and unfit, so Captain Shang sang of how they must become strong like real men should be. Captain Shang asks the question, “did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?” (Mulan), implying that women are unfit for the conditions of
Mulan reinforces the traditional ideas of masculinity in the song, “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” (Mulan 1998). The lyrics, “Let’s get down to business, to defeat the Huns. Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?”(Mulan, 1998) portrays the traditional gender roles of men; it claims that male is the only sex that is able to fight. The goal of this scene is to “make a man” out of the new recruits. The movie Mulan asserts that being feminine is detrimental to the war effort. Instead, the docile, feminine recruits have to be transformed into men. This song in Mulan argues that one should strive towards being a "man";
As The Legend of Hua Mulan depicts a girl going to war in place of her father, the Disney Mulan introduces Mulan as a disappointment to the parents, and she therefore tries to prove herself; this makes Disney’s Mulan slightly weaker in her personality. As seen in the Disney’s Mulan, the character of Mulan is shown as one who is outspoken and forward thinking. The viewers are therefore able to tell she does not have a clue of how to present herself in medieval Chinese society. On the contrary, The Legend of Hua Mulan is skilled at martial arts and sword fighting; she has a manlier character. Since Mulan is seen as a disappointment to her parents, she tries to redeem herself by taking part in the war. Having never left the village before, Mulan has no idea of combat and how weapons work. This means that Mulan has less knowledge of fighting, and she is not going to war to help her society. Wei Mulan has the “smarts” and skills to fight in combat. All of her training in martial arts, sword fighting, and archery give her the skills she needs to do well in combat. She is going to war as a “filial duty.” In addition, as both texts have to present Mula...