Mulan: A Woman on a Mission Essay

One of the main controversies discussed in this video is the way that Disney portrays women

When Mulan returns home, she returns to the normal expectations of a woman which puzzles her comrades. “Traveling together for twelve years, they didn’t know Mulan was a girl. ‘The he-hare’s feet go hop and skip, the she-hare’s eyes are muddled and fuddled. Two hares running side by side close to the ground. How can they tell if I am he or she?’” (Frankel). Mulan relays the difference between men and women but also states that when both are faced with an obstacle like war, there really is no difference between them. Therefore, Mulan becomes a master of both the worlds of men and

In the past years, Disney/Pixar has revolutionized the premise of their movies by shifting away from princesses and portraying resilient male characters as the protagonists of their highly successful animated feature films. From 1995 to 2008, Disney/Pixar released eight films, all of which included a male lead, yet these characters are arguably unlike any other protagonist in early Disney animated films. In their essay, “Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar,” Ken Gillam and Shannon R. Wooden call attention to the new manner Disney/Pixar use to depict their heroic male characters in their movies. Gillam and Wooden claim that Pixar is using their movies to promote the acceptance of a new standard of masculinity capable of embracing feminine traits, as conveyed by the male characters within the films. As a viewer, it is easy to recognize the emasculation of the male protagonists within Pixar movies, however, the authors’ claim is faulty; they fail to acknowledge that society now has room for a new sympathetic man because it is straying way from a patriarchal beliefs of the past.

Disney directly exposes the idea that young girls should make their main goal in life to find their prince charming, fall madly in love, and live happily ever after. Making young girls’ aspiration in life revolve around finding a man of their dreams “transfix[es the] audience and divert[s] their potential utopian dreams and hopes through the false promises of the images [Disney] cast[s] upon the screen” (22). Disney tells the audience that women need a man to be happy. Disney presents the idea that women are dependent on me. Just like in The Little Mermaid, Ariel goes as far as surrendering her voice, to a witch named Ursula, and abandoning her family in order to be with her prince. Ariel also trades in her life as a mermaid, drastically changes her body, and sacrifices her greatest talent all in order to win her prince. Disney sends the message that girls need to give up their talents and lives in order to be with a man. Disney suggests that a woman’s main priority is her lover, no one or nothing else. Disney effectively portrays women in a negative way, depicting them as weak and needy. No attempt to break the stereotypical gender roles of women are evident however, these stereotypes are growing as Disney instills this image of women in the minds of viewers.

The portrayal of Feminine aspects within Disney movies has been widely criticized, however the way masculinity is portrayed in films is also very controversial but infrequently discussed. My goal for this research paper is to look at two Disney films through a feminist lens and queer lens to decipher any stereotypical aspects of masculinity that are shown within the main characters. I am hopeful to find a film that breaks the norm of having a masculine main character that is hyper masculine like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast or Jaffar from Aladdin. I would also like to analyze the damsel in distress situations in films where the male role seems to always be the heroic figure even when they aren’t the main character in the story. Even though

Walt Disney over the years has impacted the lives of millions of children with his animated films. His Disney movies have evolved in the last years and have moved from the traditional damsel in distress theme. Specifically, the classic movie Cinderella gives the wrong idea about what it is to be a woman for young girls. The movie portrays a young woman facing emotional, mental, and physical abuse by her evil stepmother and later falls in love with a charming prince. However, if viewers take a closer look, Disney’s anti feminist message is firmly emphasized. The story of Cinderella is sexist due to it’s lesson to girls that beauty and submission will award them a rich bachelor. This is seen through Cinderella’s submissive behavior, Prince

The idea of feminism has not always been common. The term “feminism” wasn’t introduced until the 1970s. This shows how society didn’t allow anything that had to due with everyone being equal because of the standards that society constructed. In all the versions of Mulan, I think that Disney’s Mulan was the most strict on her having Ancient China’s role of being a woman. This would be having kids, helping clean around the house and not working for money, but working for her husband and kids. In Disney’s Mulan, her family is more hard on her to be a lady and for her to be the proper role of a women. This is because they went to a “matchmaker” to find her husband, and after saving everyone several times, she was still looked down upon because she was a woman.

Mulan is an animated film that was released in 1998 from Disney during third wave feminism, which features an Asian woman protagonist. She is a Disney princess, but at first glance you wouldn’t think so. Mulan is introduced as a clumsy tomboy who did not think she would ever bring honor to her family. In order to accomplish said honor, she would have to by being the perfect bride, in accordance with the matchmaker. The film has a great amount of feminist ideals, however, it doesn’t leave out stereotypical gender roles and several examples of overdetermined ideologies. Patriarchy is very prevalent in this film, from the woman characters positions, down to the songs they sing throughout the film, patriarchy is a theme that cannot be missed. This paper will discuss how feminine and masculine stereotypes are conveyed in the film, how gender stereotypes are portrayed, and of the patriarchal themes included in the film.

As a child I had often enjoyed playing pretend, emulating my favorite characters from television and film. In particular, I had often imagined myself as the heroes from popular Disney films and often looked to them as role models and inspiration. Disney movies played a large role in mine and millions of others children’s development, imbedding there themes and lessons into our personalities and conscious. The problem however, laid in the fact that the majority of these classic Disney films themes and lessons are from an era that promoted sexism and negative gender roles. Disney’s misrepresentation of the role of males and females portrayed in their popular films coupled with the rapid increase of digital media and merchandise sales has distorted

In the diverse society of today, the topic of equal rights and equal treatment of every person is a heavily focused and pronounced topic. With time and tremendous amount of effort by many advocates of civil rights, the enormous rift between races and genders have minimized to fractions of what it used to be. This change of belief from the white male supremacy to the diverse equality is a significant turning point of the world history. Not even 100 years ago, women were not able to vote and were supposed to stay at home while the husband, the man of the household, went out and worked for the family. Within the past few decades, women and men

Female Heroism in Disney Animation Analyzing “Disney Dolls,” Kathi Maio’s purpose in writing is to persuade her readers that all the young women in Disney are meant to be symbols and how the company’s target audiences want to portray women. She argues that films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991) and Mulan (1998) all have an implied message towards women. Maio achieves to persuade that typically women in Disney are portrayed as a princess, queen, or a homemaker. When Maio mentions Aladdin (1992), she writes that Princess Jasmine is the only significant female character, then talks about cultural assumptions and internalizing racism, which is not significant to the topic of female

In 2009, Disney launched their first black princess ever in the movie “The Princess and the Frog”. The black princess, however, spends most of the movie as a frog. She was a poor princess and her mother worked for white people. This enforces the stereotypes that African-Americans are majority poor or part of the lower class. There was also a gender stereotype since the princess was still helpless alone and needed a man to help her launch her dream of opening up a restaurant. “While some critics and audiences may argue that disney made good on eliminating the most overt representations of sexism and racism in the princess and the frog, others may argue that the company likewise failed to counter Micheal claim that disney films and theme parks tender as a norman rockwell painting.” In this article Breaux concentrates on the representations of the historical crossing of race and gender in Disney's The Princess and the Frog and black women in animated film in the USA. It explains more on how Disney and Pixar studio executives and animators to use The Princess and the Frog to respond to its critics claims about the perpetuation of sexism and racism in its animated features. It has three important sections which explains how Disney attempted to answer criticism about the absence of African Americans and mothers in its films, the presence of physically over-sexualized and emotionally prince-dependent, and the representations of animated black women in the history of film and Disney's rewriting or sanitizing of African American history and denial of its and our nation's racist past. In Mulan (1998), she is struggling with the image that her family and society have established on her. She must be presentable as a bride to uphold her family honor. However, when her aging father is called upon to military service when the huns invade, Mulan takes it upon herself to act like a man and take her father’s place. Mulan is trying to make something of herself without obtaining male companionship. Mulan doesn’t adjust with traditional views of feminine behavior. Rather, she challenges these views. Mulan cares more about justifying her duty and saving her father than romantic connections. Mulan definitely had the greatest

For decades now, Disney Corporation has been providing us with countless films made to delight and amuse children and adults alike. But not all Disney films seem particularly appropriate for their target audience. Many of these films portray violence, gender inequality, and skewed views of leadership roles that seem altogether inappropriate for impressionable young children. Better and more contemporary heroines need to be added to Disney’s wall of princesses in order to counteract years of sexism.

Walt Disney Animation Studios is a large part in America’s entertainment industry. Reaching children and adults through their many platforms, Disney has been influencing people for over 90 years. These films have played a huge role in the society displays of gender roles. This is seen in the representation in their characters, more importantly females. Culture has been going through changes in the past couple of decades and Disney reflects the changes in society through its characters. Popular culture rises with each of Disney’s films and become well known with their recognizable roles. The Disney Princess line up has been a rising influence since 1937 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and continues to present with the current release of Moana, the most revolutionary Disney Princess as of yet.

An animated Disney movie called "Mulan," was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook in 1998. The moral of the story is that women can be just the same as men can. I support the general meaning of the movie. I believe men that and women should be treated equally and that women should not be seen as weak or frail. Women are more than just wives or slaves and can-do jobs that have traditionally been set-aside for men. They can be successful and bring honor to their families in other ways.