Movie Analysis

Structuralism

A. Title: Mulan

B. Setting: China during an unspecified Imperial dynasty

C. Character: Fa Mulan, Li Shang, Mushu, Fa Zhou, Fa Li, and Shan Yu

D. Conflict: Mulan lived in the ancient China that traditionally marriage was the major important for a woman because

by getting married they could bring family honor. The woman who wanted to getting married must meet the matchmaker

as their marriage arranger. To meet the matchmaker they must show their attitude to prove that they were ready to be

marry and be a good wife such calm, polite, kind, and obedient. But Mulan did not follow the rules as the woman that

would be married, she dishonoured her tradition by broke the tradition rules. After that, the biggest mistake that Mulan

did was replacing her father in the army. She knew that the tradition rules banned it then she changed herself become a

man. Therefore, the conflict happened which Mulan had conflict with the other person and society because they had

different thought or belief that arguing something based on their own perspective as based on the theory, the external

conflict happened because of disagreement between one another caused by different point, goal, idea, thought, point of

view, or belief.

E. Plot:

F. Theme:

G. Message:

Historicism

A. Culture

B. Historical Background

Mulan (traditional Chinese: 木 蘭 ; simplified Chinese: 木 兰 ) is a fictional folk heroine from the Northern and

Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century AD) of Chinese history. According to the legend, Mulan takes her aged father's

place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as a man. After prolonged and distinguished military service

against nomadic hordes beyond the northern frontier, Mulan is honored by the emperor but declines a position of high office.

She retires to her hometown, where she is reunited with her family and reveals her sex, much to the astonishment of her

comrades.
 The first written record of Mulan is the Ballad of Mulan, a folk song believed to have been composed during the

Northern Wei dynasty (386–535 AD) and compiled in an anthology of books and songs in the Southern Chen dynasty (557–

589 AD). The historical setting of Ballad of Mulan is usually the Northern Wei's military campaigns against the nomadic

Rouran. A later adaptation has Mulan active around the founding of the Tang dynasty (c. 620 AD).[1] The story of Hua

Mulan was taken up in a number of later works, including the 16th-century historical fiction Romance of Sui and Tang , and

many screen and stage adaptations. The Hua Mulan crater on Venus is named after her.

Women in ancient and imperial China were restricted from participating in various realms of social life, through

social stipulations that they remain indoors, whilst outside business should be conducted by men. The strict division of the

sexes, apparent in the policy that “men plow, women weave” (Chinese: 男耕女织), partitioned male and female histories as

early as the Zhou dynasty, with the Rites of Zhou even stipulating that women be educated specifically in “women’s rites”

(Chinese: 陰禮; pinyin: yīnlǐ). Though limited by policies that prevented them from owning property, taking examinations, or

holding office, their restriction to a distinctive women’s world prompted the development of female-specific occupations,

exclusive literary circles, whilst also investing certain women with certain types of political influence inaccessible to men.

Women had greater freedom during the Tang dynasty, however, the status of women declined from the Song dynasty onward,

which has been blamed on the rise of neo-Confucianism, and restrictions on women became more pronounced.

New Historicism

A. Culture

B. Past and Present

New Historicism lens is Mulan. The culture of Ancient China is perfectly reflected in this Disney movie. A young

woman named Mulan lives in China, and the Huns are going to attack. Every family needs to send a male to go to defend.

Sadly, the only one qualified to go in her family is her father. Mulan does not want her father to go to war, and she decides to

go in his place. Back during this time, it was not acceptable for women to go to war in any way. This is a huge cultural aspect

and shows the history of China. She somehow does not get caught for a while. Before she embarks on her journey, her

ancestors send a dragon to protect her while she is in battle. The whole scene with the ancestors is very peculiar. They all

have different personalities, but want what is best for the future generations. This idea of successful future generations can be

assumed to be part of the Chinese culture from this scene. Another aspect of culture demonstrated in this scene is sending the

dragon. Not only do they believe in having someone look after them, but that the dragon is the most powerful creature.

Before Mulan decides to go to war instead of her father, she has to “bring honor” to her family. So much of what

others will think of not only her but her family will all depend on this one meeting. Chinese exceptions are displaced with this
idea of honor. This idea of disappointing her family might have convinced her to go to war in the first place. Mulan is not

successful at the beginning of her training, but soon rises about the others. The end of the movie is when she defeats the

leader of the Huns, but her identity is revealed. The nation is appalled that a woman went to war and won the battle. Being a

Disney movie they accept her after she talks to the emperor, but this was not probably not the case in real life due to Chinese

culture. Another part of Chinese cultural displaced is respect for the emperor. Mulan does not think of herself as better than

the emperor even though she saved his life. Mulan brings honor to her family by deafening the Hans. Mulan reflects cultural

aspects during Ancient China though its use of character development and descriptive scenes.

Shifts in the status of women—or the lack thereof—offer evidence for the need to think about variations as well as

continuities across dynasties. Modern observers, both within China and outside the country, criticize Confucianism for

creating a patriarchy that oppressed women in imperial China. Yet women had very different experiences depending on the

time, place, ethnic group, and social class in which they were born. It is therefore impossible to generalize about the status of

women in traditional China—although the historical records that have survived mostly tell us about the lives of women who

belonged to the upper classes.

During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 c.e.), for example, elite women participated in society and enjoyed a higher

degree of autonomy compared to women in the Song Dynasty that followed. The Song, a time of Confucian revival, saw the

spread of foot-binding and the confinement of women to the home. Yet although they were physically more restricted, elite

Song women were generally literate, possessed greater property rights than women who came before or after them, and also

took an active role in arranging the marriages of their children.

Upper-class women who lived during the Ming and Qing dynasties cultivated their skills in writing, needlework,

poetry, and music, many of them becoming highly accomplished in these arts of the domestic sphere. Very few women

questioned the social structures that kept them tied to the home while men controlled China’s political, legal, educational, and

economic institutions. (Although the idea that women remained at home while men went out into the world divides things too

neatly; plenty of elite women traveled.) In their own ways, elite Ming and Qing women carved out spaces for

themselves, creating vibrant intellectual, cultural, and social networks.

As noted, the examples above all focus on the experiences of upper-class women; servants, courtesans, widows, and

impoverished women lived within many more social and economic constraints. This is also not to overstate the agency of

women in imperial China, but to point out that the common narrative about women’s victimization under Confucianism needs

more nuance. The status of women varied considerably with time and place, and seemingly rigid Confucian ideology often

proved more fluid in practice as both men and women adapted to political, economic, and social changes.
Marxism

A. Political Power

B. Economic Power

The military has been traditionally defined as a masculine institution; actually it may be the most prototypically

masculine one of all social institutions. Therefore, whenever women soldiers appear in public, they seem to be standout since

people tend to think that for women to participate, either the military has to be perceived as transform to make it more

compatible with how women are, or women have to be perceived as changing in ways that make them more suited for

military service. Many changes have occurred in the past several decades. This period has witnessed a mushrooming of

attention to women’s contribution to the army. More and more women soldiers are allowed to actually fight on the frontline

or engage in violent and dangerous tasks. It seems that society started to recognize female’s ability as protectors of their

countries, giving them space to choose whatever they want, including stepping on battlefields. Many people perceive this

phenomenon as a huge progress of feminism, while others cast doubts on it.

Though hundreds of wars and uprisings have occurred in China during its more than 5,000 years of history, only

occasionally have Chinese women been recorded as participants in wars. According to mainland Chinese scholars, the whole

Chinese history can be divided into three periods—five thousand years ago to A.D. 1840; the Post Opium War time period—

1840 to 1949; and the Modern time period—1949 to present (Li, 1992). After presenting historical facts of these three

periods, an analysis of women soldiers in each of the three time periods and its correlations with feminism will be provided.

Among all Chinese women soldiers in ancient period, Mulan probably is the one that has attracted the widest range of

attention. No matter how she is educated or where she is raised, every Chinese girl knows Mulan. Mulan is the earliest

legendary women warrior in Chinese culture and was recently verified by various scholars as real women living during the

Han Dynasty (Li, 1994). The courageous peasant girl disguised herself as a man and took her ailing father’s place in the

emperor’s army. After fighting in the army for 12 years, she declined the appointment bestowed on her by the emperor and

went back home. Inspired by Mulan’s deed, Disney released a movie Mulan in 1998 and was well-received by critics and the

public, grossing $304 million, earning Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. More importantly, Mulan, as a

representative of ancient Chinese women in wars, reflects perfectly the powerfulness and the powerlessness of Chinese

women soldiers at the time. I would like to discover the “feminist” and “non-feminist” perspectives in Mulan’s story, and

then to expand them to all Chinese ancient women’s stories.

 To start with, Mulan has a strong mind and great determination, which is often essential factors of success. It’s

much more challenging for a woman to make up her mind to live a military life, however Mulan stayed in the military for

twelve years, which shows her strong will power. Next, Mulan is portrayed as an intelligent girl who used her brain to think.

Her military life was miserable at the beginning but later due to her strong will and intelligence, she saved the army.

According to the Disney movie, Mulan received training together with other soldiers, though she could not exceed them in

terms of physical power, she stands out from her men peers in terms of intelligence. Based on these two facts, we can

conclude that female are capable of power, and making a good use of power—as Mulan successfully saved her country.

Considering about the deeply-rooted patriarchy in Chinese ancient society, such plot definitely can be regarded as feminist.

Feminism

Disney’s 1998 film Mulan (1999), is a westernised adaptation of the Chinese tale of Hua Mulan, a legendary figure

from ancient Chinese culture about a girl who took her weak fathers place to fight in the army, as a ploy to save him from

almost certain death. Disney’s adaptation brings with it strong feminist ideology towards seeking individuality and going

against the norm that a woman is grown into, however at the same time it is arguably anti-feministic because of the way

Mulan is “crumpled under the male gaze (Whelan, 2012, p. 28)”, throughout the film Mulan lives in fear of Shang Li’s gaze

because of the penalty of death for imitating a man. Butler’s essay on Performative Acts and Gender Constitution (2012, pp.

900-911) engages a stronger sense of feminist ideology upon the film Mulan (1999), we begin to understand what gender acts

are being challenged and how women are exposed to the cult of tradition which undermines women. The animation draws on

gender hierarchy and the way in which it makes women devoid of social mobility or equality among men. The theme of

Mulan (1999) follows ideologies around gender oppression, race, and social stance but on top of this; government oppression

which is the main cause to feminine oppression and fear of acting outside the constituted gender norms or “specific corporeal

acts (Butler, 2012, pp. 902)”. Many of the songs within the film are lyrical transgressions that highlight the dualistic, torn,

emotions Mulan goes through during her journey of finding her ‘self’. A key feminist ideology is her ability to transgress

traditional values and seek individuality, to be oneself. Mulan’s lyrics to ‘Reflection’ expresses the way the conformity of

society burdens Mulan into submitting into gender roles.

Feminist ideology implements around an awakening outside of traditional restraining cultural factors. Mulan is

constrained by the way her family look to her “to uphold the family honour (Mulan, 1999)”. She loves her father dearly and

wants to please him and empower his masculinity, but she also wants to protect him and prove herself able. At the beginning

of the film Mulan’s father is ordered to go to war, as he has no male son to fight for him. Mulan breaks the silence at dinner
that night saying “you shouldn’t have to go- you’ll die for honour!” to which he replies “I know my place! It is time you

learned yours (Mulan, 1999)”. After this scene Mulan is seen in the rain at night, the imagery is sorrowful and she looks

weak, then suddenly her eyebrows invert connoting masculinity and strength as she decides to prepare herself to take his

place in war. It is arguable that this transition into trying to appear like a male soldier gives her a tomboyish character “The

source of [Mulan’s] attraction is her resistance to the constraints imposed on members of her sex by prevailing gender

conventions… she wants to go out into the world and become a soldier (Hoogland, 2009, pp. 100)”. Mulan (1999) becomes a

role model for women, the film is empowering towards feminist ideologies, and it provides a framework for children that

encourages them to challenge the rigid structure of conformist culture. There is a progressive outlook on Mulan because “this

film’s depiction of a strong and independent girl represents a new kind of treatment of feminism in popular culture (2011, pp.

54)”. Mulan presents us with a realistic portrayal of the role of women in ancient China, but also with the binary opposition of

Mulan to show us the differences between conformity and following a more feminist ideology; “Mulan [is] an example of the

“empowering” or “liberating” aspect of Hollywood production (2011, pp. 54)”. After Mulan makes her transition into a de-

womanised image (this being her impersonation of a soldier), we learn of the penalties of her act of individuality, her mother

says to her father “You have to go after her! She could be killed” to which he replies; “If I reveal her, she will be”. According

to Queer theory, Mulan’s behaviour is strange and unusual, this to society would make her a deviant because of the way she

opposes traditional ideal traits of Chinese femininity.