Gender Question 6
Mulan, the story that we’ve all seen and heard through its Disneyfied form. It’s the story of a brave woman warrior who fought in the place of her old, frail father against the Huns. Naturally, as the story takes place well into the past, the presence of gender roles and stereotypes are felt and implemented throughout the entire movie. In fact, the main plotline of the movie revolves around these stereotypes and their rigidity.
According to further research, women in ancient China were expected to conform to the desires of men and served simply as wives, daughters, and mothers. This mindset is reflected later on when the soldiers sing of a “Girl Worth Fighting For,” including lyrics such as “my girl will marvel at my strength” and “it all depends on what she cooks like,” while refusing the thought of a wife “who always speaks her mind.” Thus, Fa Mulan, being a woman, is heavily encouraged to marry into a family, while her father, despite not being in the best physical condition, is drafted into the fight against the Huns as the only man in their family. The film makes it explicitly clear that the Emperor is looking specifically for males to serve in the army. Mulan breaks out of these traditional gender roles/stereotypes when she secretly serves in place of her father. However, in the army, there are negative connotations associated with being a woman, which is expressed in the song “I’ll Make A Man Out of You,” including lyrics such as “did they send me daughters when I asked for sons” and “somehow I’ll make a man out of you.” Therefore, it’s obvious that people consider women to be inferior to men and that it’s impossible for one to be strong and brave. Even after proving herself in training and battle, when the other soldiers find out about her gender, they refuse to continue to fight alongside her, simply because she is a woman. However, she once again steps out of her conventional role of being perceived as weak and frail, as she saves the Emperor's life. In typical Disney fashion, she is thus commemorated for her service and honored/accepted by her comrades. Nevertheless, when she returns home, she is once again placed back into the traditional role of a woman, despite all her achievements and bravery, as the story ends with her probably ending up as a general’s wife and performing her duties as a wife, daughter, and mother.
According to further research, women in ancient China were expected to conform to the desires of men and served simply as wives, daughters, and mothers. This mindset is reflected later on when the soldiers sing of a “Girl Worth Fighting For,” including lyrics such as “my girl will marvel at my strength” and “it all depends on what she cooks like,” while refusing the thought of a wife “who always speaks her mind.” Thus, Fa Mulan, being a woman, is heavily encouraged to marry into a family, while her father, despite not being in the best physical condition, is drafted into the fight against the Huns as the only man in their family. The film makes it explicitly clear that the Emperor is looking specifically for males to serve in the army. Mulan breaks out of these traditional gender roles/stereotypes when she secretly serves in place of her father. However, in the army, there are negative connotations associated with being a woman, which is expressed in the song “I’ll Make A Man Out of You,” including lyrics such as “did they send me daughters when I asked for sons” and “somehow I’ll make a man out of you.” Therefore, it’s obvious that people consider women to be inferior to men and that it’s impossible for one to be strong and brave. Even after proving herself in training and battle, when the other soldiers find out about her gender, they refuse to continue to fight alongside her, simply because she is a woman. However, she once again steps out of her conventional role of being perceived as weak and frail, as she saves the Emperor's life. In typical Disney fashion, she is thus commemorated for her service and honored/accepted by her comrades. Nevertheless, when she returns home, she is once again placed back into the traditional role of a woman, despite all her achievements and bravery, as the story ends with her probably ending up as a general’s wife and performing her duties as a wife, daughter, and mother.
I like how you talked about the song lyrics and how they reflected the gender ideology at that time. I never realized the importance of the lyrics in producing an overall message about gender stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteI like how you tied the lyrics back to the ideology of the movies time period to illustrate the gende roles present in the time.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned the lyrics to "I'll make a man out of you" as I used to just listen to the song since I thought it was good without really thinking how to pushed gender stereotypes. I also liked how you used research to talk about the gender roles of women in asian society back then.
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