Dippel 1

Sydney Dippel
Professor Kendra Parker
English 113-03
26 February 2015
Honor Through the Eyes of a Child
American popular culture is perhaps the most dynamic entity in our society today.
Its constant shifting from one trend to another demonstrates how impressionable
Americans can be, especially American youth. Children are exposed to an endless array
of media, including ads, TV shows, and movies. A select few corporations have notable
influence on the trends that circulate through the American popular culture machine.
According to Mingwu Xu and Chuanmao Tian, The Disney Corporation is one of the
major shapers of American and global popular culture, and much has been written about
its power and influence (Xu and Tian, 182). The influence of the Disney Corporation on
American culture is undeniable, and many of the values illustrated in its media have a
lasting impact. Through a courageous story of triumph and self-discovery, the characters
of Disneys Mulan examine the concept of honor and the implications it has in modern
American culture.
The concept of honor is Disneys Mulan forces Mulan to believe that being
matched with a suitable husband is the acceptable only way to bring honor to her family,
which mirrors the values presented to some kids as they are raised within American
culture. Her whole life, Mulan is taught that when she is of age she will be sent to the
Matchmaker and her abilities and behavior there will determine the rest of her life. When
the time comes, Mulan struggles with this concept because she does not see herself as

Dippel 2
having the ability to impress the Matchmaker, meaning she cannot bring honor to her
family. However, the boys in her culture are not raised to worry about finding a suitable
wife, instead they are taught that being a part of the successful military will bring honor
to their families on their behalf. In a way, this aspect of the movie reflects how some
boys and girls are raised and socialized in American culture. When girls are growing up,
they play games of cleaning house, cooking, and taking care of children, none of which
include means of supporting themselves in the future. On the other hand, boys games
consist of building things, fighting with swords, and driving trucks around. If the movies
that children relate to during their childhood are consistent with these rigid gender roles,
children will continue to pursue these roles throughout their lives. This mindset may
create dependency that hinders girls from becoming self-sufficient, or contributes to a
skewed perception of masculinity.
In Disneys Mulan, how the characters interact with the concept of honor
examines the differences between how each gender is supposed to achieve honor, which
highlights the idea within American culture that men achieve honor through force and
women achieve honor through being passive in their relationships. The song Honor to
Us All, during which Mulans mother and grandmother are preparing her to meet with
the Matchmaker, explains the ways that men and women can bring honor to their families
and their country. Men are socialized to think that the only way they can pursue honor is
through military means and using force. These lyrics in the song fortify that concept, We
all must serve our emperor who guards us from the Huns, a man by bearing arms, a girl
by bearing sons. This line clearly states the guidelines for youth to follow to bring honor
to their families. Young boys are coerced into thinking that they need to serve their

Dippel 3
country in the military in order to achieve honor, even if this is not their wish. On the
contrary, women are pressured to be the picture of a perfect wife, which means they are
submissive, quiet, and dutiful. The song describes this fact with the lyrics, A girl can
bring her family great honor in one way, by striking a good match and this could be the
day. Men want girls with good taste, calm, obedient, who work fast-paced. With good
breeding and a tiny waist, youll bring honor to us all. The lyrics of this song convey the
cultural ideas that very clearly separate girls and boys as to what they are expected to do.
Because a large portion of American children grew up watching Disney movies with a
similar theme, they are conditioned to think this same way; boys are the strong and
dominating ones, and girls should be quiet and do what they are told. It teaches girls that
in order to be of value to society, they must have an ideally skinny body, be relaxed in
nature, and not question the opinion of men. It also conveys that they must be from a
good family if they want to be successful in life, which is out of their control. This
concept of these pre-determined gender roles could be detrimental to American society
because the talents and strengths of women are being stifled in the process.
The way Mulan eventually achieves honor upsets traditional American views on
how different genders are supposed to strive for honor, which violates long-established
American gender roles. At the beginning of the movie, Mulan is struggling with the fear
of not having what it takes to be matched up with a proper suitor. She knows that her
failure to find a husband will result in her dishonoring her family, because this is the way
she is supposed to go about life. After the Matchmaker calls her a disgrace and
degrades her, Mulan decides to ignore traditional gender roles and take her fathers place
in the draft for the war. Not only are her actions illegal and punishable by death, Mulans

Dippel 4
behavior directly defies what American culture defines as male and female gender roles.
Even after Shang exposes her identity as a woman and shames her for what she did,
Mulan exemplifies her courage and saves China from the Huns. Although it is not the
typical manner of achieving honor for a woman, the Emperor credits Mulan with saving
China, presents her with a medal and a sword, and tells her she has brought immense
honor to her family and her country. In American culture, the Emperors actions imply
that women can achieve honor in ways that oppose their traditional gender roles. Upon
Mulans return home, her grandmother comments, Great, she brings home a sword. If
you ask me, she should have brought home a man. Despite all the honorable things
Mulan has accomplished, her grandmother still only sees her failure to find a husband.
However, Mulans fathers words, The greatest gift and honor is having you for a
daughter, when Mulan presents him with the sword and medal, illustrates the concept
that women can achieve honor in other ways. The odds were pitted against Mulan the
entire movie, but she ends up bringing honor to her family through unconventional means
in the end. Because Disney movies are marketed mostly to Americans, the story of
Mulans overcoming her gender role may inspire other young people to do what they
once thought they couldnt.
The concept of honor in Disneys Mulan compels Mulans family to measure her
worth based solely on the Matchmakers decision, which examines how parents in
American culture measure the success of their children. Throughout the beginning of the
movie, Mulans mother and grandmother are preparing her to visit the Matchmaker, with
the hope that she will walk away with a suitable husband. In their eyes, Mulans worth
lies purely in the hands of the Matchmaker, and they do not see how Mulans strength

Dippel 5
and courage is more important than someones opinion of her. Although the extreme
example of the Matchmaker may not be present in American culture, there remains no
doubt that some parents have skewed standards of what it means for their children to be
successful. Whether that measurement is based on how well they perform in sports, what
college they attend, or how much money they end up making, the way that American
parents measure their childrens success could be harmful to their development of
confidence and self-identity. This fact may unfortunately undermine some childrens
abilities, because they are too afraid to fail so they do not even try. An inhibitor like this
could be harming the well being of individual citizens and Americas progress in general.
Mushu, motivated by honor, embarks on a dangerous journey with Mulan, which
signifies that in American culture, children should strive to achieve honor for ones
family no matter the potential harm to themselves or others. Throughout Mulan, Mushus
goal is to earn back respect from the ancestors by helping Mulan in her quest to defeat the
Huns. Mushu accidentally destroys the statue of the Great Stone Dragon so he
impersonates the dragon, and takes the duty upon himself to bring Mulan back. Once
Mushu realizes that helping Mulan defeat the Huns will earn him a spot in the Temple
with the other ancestors again, he will stop at nothing to bring them honor. Because he
puts himself under such pressure to not let them down, Mushu internalizes the concept of
honor so deeply that he will stop at virtually nothing to achieve it. In pursuit of
impressing the ancestors, he puts himself and others, in serious danger. Despite this flaw,
Mushu is a funny and lovable character, so American children may possibly relate to him
and his actions. For kids who are under copious amounts of pressure to make their
parents proud, Mushus recklessness could translate an undesirable message: endangering

Dippel 6
others to achieve a goal is acceptable. Children may lose sight of what are rational and
responsible decisions, so much so that they may harm themselves and others in the
process. This ideology that kids need to impress their parents in order to be happy and
successful may be harming Americans because it puts so much pressure on kids to
achieve potentially irrational goals.
The values presented within Disney movies undoubtedly have significant impact
on American culture today, especially those presented within Mulan. While some
advantageous lessons can be learned through Disney movies, other Disney movies
diminish the native culture of the characters in the movie. According to Georgette Wang
and Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh, Through a process of deculturalization, all of the elements
that are culture specific, including those that are ethnic, historical or religious, that create
barriers to intercultural reception or are deemed unfit for a new presentation style, may be
contained in a familiar narrative pattern that not only plays down cultural differences, but
also guarantees comprehension across viewer groups (Wang and Yueh-yu Yeh, 178). In
order to ensure that American viewers understand the context of the movie, the native
culture of characters is played down to a certain extent. This phenomenon exposes a
possible flaw within American culture, one that causes us to possess an ethnocentric
mindset. While the debate continues about Americans being arrogant when it comes to
culture, Disney movies molding the impressionable minds of children may be a key
component in how this issue plays out.

Dippel 7
Works Cited
Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook. Disney, 1998. DVD.
Wang, Georgette and Yueh-yu Yeh, Emilie. Globalization and hybridization in cultural
products. International Journal of Cultural Studies 8.2 (2005): 175-193. Online.
Xu, Mingwu and Tian, Chuanmao. Cultural deformations and reformations: a case
study of Disneys Mulan in English and Chinese. Critical Arts 27.2 (2013): 182210. Online.