Mulan - A film review

Literature Review from the year 2003 in the subject Communications - Movies and Television, grade: A, San Francisco State University (Ethnic Studies), course: AAS 693 Asian Americans and the Mass Media, language: English, abstract: Whenever a new Disney film is released, millions of people, children as well as adults, rush to the movie theatre to see it. Disney films are much liked by old and young people alike. Very frequently, they use already commonly known plots and give them a new shape. Their repertoire covers many fairy tales and legends. One of these legends to be found in the Disney film collection is the story of Mulan, the story of a Chinese girl, who, disguised as a man, takes her father's place in the Chinese army and helps defend China against the Huns. She does this to preserve the honor of the family. This old Chinese legend has, as is true for most of the Disney productions, been changed and made suitable for the (white) American market of family entertainment. The China portrayed in the original version of the legend of Mulan, or rather the children's book that was available to me in our course reader, is a pretty accurate description of what ancient China must have been like. However, for the audience this children's book is probably aimed at, i.e. an audience with a Chinese background, Chinese culture is nothing extraordinary, so the culture is not highlighted in any way. In this book, Mulan has been trained in martial arts by her father from very early in her childhood. Moreover, she has a brother whose name she takes on when taking her father's place in the war against the intruders. In other words, Mulan has been given her martial arts skills as well as a name from a man, she has not acquired or created them herself. When she leaves, she leaves her home with the permission of her parents. Due to her knowledge of martial arts and her intelligence, she is soon admired by all of the soldiers and becomes a commanding general during a war of more than ten years. There is no one there to either protect her or assist her with advices. In the end, this very strategically oriented general uses the superstition of her enemies, which are not the Huns but simply 'enemies from the north,' against them and defeats them. She wins without failing first, and it is only in the end that everyone finds out that she is actually a woman, and no one feels offended about it. The possible message of this legend may be the importance of honor in ancient China, which has to be defended against the enemy, no matter who this enemy may be.

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