Mulan Feminist Critique

  The film ¨Mulan¨  was made in 1998 and produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, during the third wave of feminism. Mulan isn't your average ¨damsel in distress¨ story, Mulan is about a women taking charge and fighting for her families honor in the most unfeminine way you can think of and proves to her family that she is more than a clumsy girl who can´t  get a husband. This movie teaches girls about self empowerment,reinforces stereotypes of men, and reinforces and breaks stereotypes of women.

 The film Mulan teaches girls about self empowerment by showing that being yourself and accepting who you are you can prove everyone who doubts you wrong. In the beginning of the movie, Mulan sings a song called ¨ reflection.¨ In the song she sings that being herself would break her family's heart because who she really is, is not someone they are willing to accept. Everyone in her town knows her as being a disappointment to society and everyone expects her to fail when trying to become like the other women in her town. Mulan eventually fails to become like every other women  but becomes a hero and saves all of china by being herself. In addition Mulan reinforces and breaks women stereotypes as well. Mulan reinforces stereotypes because  in the film a definition of a women is a caretaker and a bride and especially in our society around 1920 a woman wasn't known for her intelligence she was known for taking care of her family in the household and always being around for her husband and in Mulan this is their exact definition of what a woman is. Mulan also breaks stereotypes, Mulan breaks stereotypes by showing that a woman can have masculine qualities and still do what a man can do and maybe even better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0lG8YorBsU

The film reinforces stereotypes of men. A prime example of reinforcement of masculine stereotypes is in the scene where the captain sings a song named ¨ I'll make a man out of you ¨. In the song there is part that says  ¨Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?¨ You're the saddest bunch I ever met but you can bet before we're through Mister, I'll make a man out of you¨ This part in the song implies that men are suppose to be strong, brave, and fearless and having ¨ feminine¨  qualities is not acceptable in society. Men are suppose to be the Action Hero. Action Hero  is “strong, but not necessarily silent. He is often angry. Above all, he is aggressive in the extreme and, increasingly over the past several decades, he engages in violent behavior.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64

 Mulan is a great example of how women are and can be in power and overpower men and be just as great as them in anything they do. Women are beautiful and very interesting creatures, people should really stop underestimating women and what they can do because we are powerful and will prove anyone wrong who thinks otherwise.