Mulanwasgroundbreaking in many ways.
The 1998 film upended the Disney princess genre by featuring a take-charge woman rather than a damsel in distress.
In short, Mulan did not get down to business to defeat the Huns.
In the case ofMulan,however, the story is made a lot less epic.
Inthe original legend, Mulan lived either during the Sui Dynasty or the Northern Wei Dynasty.
What remains consistent among retellings is that she did volunteer herself to save her father.
She read her father’s books and became an expert in military strategy.
Unlike in the film, Mulan’s parents knew what she planned to do and eventually supported her.
Mulan would more likely have useda flat, circular fan.
Why does the Fa family have only one child?
It seems pretty strange that the Fa family only has one child.
Male children have traditionally been preferred, in part as a form of insurance.
Having a son ensured that someone would care for the parents in their old age.
Why do the bad guys have dark skin?
It’s pretty troubling that the Huns in the film are all portrayed with darker skin.
The preference for lighter skin isdeeply rooted in Chinese culture, as it is in much of Asia.
This alarming trend results in many people, especially women, lightening their skin with whitening products.
Those with darker skin are often viewed as inferior.
Not cool, Disney.
How is there only one young, attractive man in the film?
There are a lot of men in this film, and the vast majority are not conventionally attractive.
This is especially distressing when you look at how Asian men have historically been emasculated in Western media.
In portraying Shang with European features, Disney sends the message that Asian men aren’t desirable.
How did the Hun army survive being buried in snow?
As a kid, I didn’t question this much.
The impact alone should have caused some severe damage, if it didn’t kill them outright.
But how did they survive the cold?
How did they manage to dig their way out?
Do they have some sort of supernatural powers?
It just doesn’t make any sense.
He is clearly drawn to Mulan, who he thinks is a man.
Women in ancient China were generallytreated as inferiorand were typically expected to be subservient to men.
While Mulan eventually rebels against these gender roles, she never actually questions them.
At the very least, Mulan should have demanded an apology for Shang’s despicable behavior.
The fact that she lets him off the hook so easily is a disappointing way to end the film.
