Making a Man Out of Who?

In 1998, Disney released one of the most progressive movies to date relating to gender stereotypes and female protagonists. Mulan is the story of a Chinese girl who goes off to war in her father's place, disguised as a male solider. At the start of the movie, Mulan is running late for her appointment with The Matchmaker, the woman in charge of arranging courtships for coming-of-age girls. Within the first fifteen minutes, the audience is distinctly aware of a woman's place in traditional Chinese society as compared to a man's place, and one of the things I noticed about this movie was that most of the time women were referred to as girls, which is more deeming, or when someone did say "woman" it as an insult. As Mulan is writing notes on her arm, she recites a few verses of her oath as a woman. "Quiet, demure, graceful, polite, refined, poised, punctual." These are some of the rigid expectations society places on the women of China and what they believe is a perfect bride for their future husband, though it is interesting that Mulan does not appear to display these qualities herself which breaks the status quo. Repeatedly, it is said that the only job of the woman is to "bear sons" in order to bring honor to her family.

One line in this song says, "How can any fella say 'No Sale!'" which implies that woman are property rather than human beings, only there to serve the men to whom they marry. Mulan doesn't seem thrilled about meeting her Matchmaker, but she does not openly oppose it either, probably because this is the traditional way for a young girl to honor her family. The song also refers to the girls as "perfect porcelain dolls." This is another example of the girls being portrayed as objects to look at because of their beauty. They are there to be objectified by their husbands and that is the place of women in this time period. "There is a tendency for women to be shown as subordinate to men, as decorative objects, or as alluring sex objects" (Artz). The Matchmaker is quick to begin docking points off Mulan's test, first when she is "speaking without permission" after her name is called and then again when she tries to interrupt while pouring tea and The Matchmaker states, "to please your future in-laws, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity and refinement...and silence!" Much like in Ariel's case, Mulan is being pressured to keep her mouth shut and stay silent, emphasizing that her thoughts and opinions are worthless. This is another great instance where the girls are being portrayed as inferior and many times it is just as much by men as it is by other women. After things go horribly with The Matchmaker, who tells her she will never bring her family honor, Mulan is embarrassed and ashamed to face her father when she returns home. 

When the Emperor's advisor arrives to Mulan's village announcing that the Huns have invaded China, one man from every family is required to join the war. Mulan's father is injured from a past war and would surely die if he went. When he steps out to accept the scroll, Mulan jumps in, protesting that her father has fought for China already and should not have to go. The advisor retorts, "teach your daughter to hold her tongue while in a man's presence." Her father says that she has dishonored him but later that night at dinner, Mulan still cannot stay quiet about the issue. After she is done serving her family tea, she speaks up again. Her father tells her, "I know my place, it is time you learned yours." Both of these incidents reflect again how rigid the Chinese society was in regards to women and their place among men.

Later that night, Mulan steals her father's armor, cuts her hair, and rides off to join the army as impersonating a male solider in order to save her father's life despite knowing that if she is found out, she will be killed. When she arrives at camp, she tries desperately to fit in with what she thinks are male norms such as punching a guy to say hello, spitting, sticking out her chest to seem tough, and slapping a guy's butt, but she ends up stick out more than ever, even accidentally starting a riot. The song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" plays through the course of training and Mulan struggles to keep up with the guys. Then, when Captain Shane tries to send her home, she gives it once last chance.

"Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?" Reinforces the idea that women are incompetent.

She retrieves the arrow no one could figure out how to reach from atop a wooden post, proving herself to the men and her captain. It's a significant moment because she gained the rest of the soliders' respect as well as showed the audience that just because she is a woman does not mean that she is incapable of doing anything a man can do. 

This song plays a big role in switching the perspective from women-to-men to men-to-women and helps emphasize the clearly drawn gender roles. Within the song, ladies are perceived as fawning after big muscles, caregivers, and cooks. When asked for her opinion, Mulan suggests, "how about a girl who's got a brain, who always speaks her mind?" And the guys all respond, "Nah!" Again, perpetuating the ideals of a woman in one particular role rather than being a capable member of society. 

When their army runs into the army of the invading Huns, all hell breaks loose, and it is Mulan and her quick, clever thinking that saves everyone's lives. Being completely outnumbered and only with a certain amount of canons, she instead causes an avalanche to take out the Huns rather than only killing a few and dying out in the mountains. She is injured in the battle though and after it's over everyone finds out she's a girl. It's an offense punishable by death and the advisor (who was hiding under a rock during the battle while Mulan was saving everyone) demands that Shane kills her. The Captain spares her life, but they leave her behind in the mountains. 

Some of the Huns survive and move on to invade the Imperial city. Mulan sees them and follows to warn Shane and the others. Despite having saved them all, no one will listen to her now because they know she's a girl again. She's proved herself as a hero and a loyal solider, but those accomplishments are negated by her gender. She's right, of course, and when the Huns attack the palace, Mulan comes to the rescue again. She gets the boys to dress up like women in order to sneak inside. This again emphasizes the role of women and sexuality in society and how they used beauty to catch the Huns off guard. The guards thought that they were only women, therefore not a threat, so they lowered their defenses. 

At the end, Mulan is the one who saves everyone again for a second time in the same day. Not only did she do this despite everyone telling her she was useless because of her gender, but she also achieved it while still sustaining a severe injury. That is incredibly significant, especially considering that without her, the Huns could have easily won and taken over China. One of the most pivotal moments is at the end. The advisor is still trying to make Mulan pay for her crime, but the Emperor not only dismisses her crimes, but bows to her for being the savior of China. When Mulan turns around, the entire city is bowing to her. After all the struggling and discrimination she faced in the movie to that point, it was amazing to see that not only did all of China recognize her as a hero, they finally, for the first time, respected her. This is one of the first times we see such a strong, capable female lead who is also the hero of the story. Mulan is an empowering, independent, leader, and she is also a woman; I think it sends a great message to young girls that they should never feel restricted or limited by what societal norms are placed upon them.