Zavala 1

Sara Zavala

Mrs. Storer

English 3H, Block 4

January 24, 2020

Defeated Female Warrior

A world constructed and centered by men will be seen through the eyes of men. This is

easily seen in the movie Mulan. The director Tony Bancroft portrays the struggles of being a

Chinese woman during the Northern Wei dynasty 386–534. In the Disney movie Mulan, the

main character must break the boundaries made by men but will still be regarded as weak.

Fearful that her ailing father will be drafted into the Chinese military, Mulan takes his spot

though, as a girl living under a patriarchal regime, unqualified to serve she must impersonate a

man. The main character in the Disney movie Mulan, a young woman faces the stereotype of the

"perfect Chinese wife", Mulan resistant to the search of a husband, must transform herself into a

man to have a voice in society and must fight men's oppressions as well as stereotypes. Mulan's

failure to impress, her willingness to transform herself into a man, and her defiance against

traditional female stereotypes of Chinese women show that they will always be regarded as

weak, but insubordinate towards men.

In the Disney movie, Mulan transforms herself into a man to be heard in a society created

and ruled by men. Mulan in this scene is cutting her hair and dressing in her father’s warrior

uniform so she can fight in his name in the war (Bancroft 00:06:32-00:09:34). The cutting of her

hair signifies her loss of feminine nature as she enters the world of the male, and the

transformation into a man when she wears her father’s uniform. After Mulan comes home crying
 Zavala 2

because she has failed the teachings of the matchmaker and cries for the failure she was

presented to her father, Mulan is tired of the subordination men expect women to stand by and

does not tolerate when she is said that she cannot fight in the war. Mulan goes home and must

transform into a man. Mulan realizes women have no say in the world she lives in, her father

made the decision regarding the course of wife training. Only when she dresses as a man does

she experience the freedom of being male and gets accepted into the army. Mulan is constantly

in need of a male appearance to be able to execute all her basic life struggles as a woman living

through the Chinese war, such as the simple choice of being married or not. Mulan successfully

fights the stereotypes of men by dressing as one, and fighting in the army, but throughout the

movie she is still portrayed as the weakest of the squadron. This signifies the struggle that

women endure to belong and fight oppression, leading to farthest extent of becoming a man. This

can also be seen when Mulan tries to volunteer fighting the war in his father place. Mulan goes

to the soldier recruiter and tells him she wants to fight in the war, the man looks at her and

simply laughs while telling she cannot fight in the war because she is a woman (Bancroft

00:04:16-00:05:09). The soldier recruiter is in a high stand whilst he calls out designated names,

and Mulan stands close to the ground, these camera angles signify the split and hierarchy of

gender, men are seen greater than woman. As she approaches the soldier recruiter, other men are

there and laugh with the soldier recruiter when he mocks her for volunteering and being a

woman. Through this scene the audience can see the current situation women lived in and how

they were perceived. Women had no right to fight in the war, they would rather have Mulan’s’

father a sick old man fight in the war representing China than a young healthy woman willing to

fight for her country. This makes the audience see how the society in which Mulan lives in is
 Zavala 3

fully constructed by men and their tyranny. Mulan must demonstrate herself to be a soldier

willing to fight.

Throughout the film Mulan fights men’s oppressions by being reluctant to finding a

husband and fighting in the war. Mulan leaves her house and does not come back to the

matchmaker, reveling towards her family’s wishes, mainly her father’s wish to become a

“perfect Chinese wife” (Bancroft 00:05:32-00:07:29). Dissatisfying her family’s wishes to find a

husband she fights her father’s oppression to find a husband, Mulan does this by herself. In the

Chinese culture women are always supposed to find a husband to maintain them and look out for

them. Mulan does not subjugate to this stereotype of woman and fights men’s oppression by

denying her education as a delicate Chinese wife. Mulan also fights men’s oppressions when she

goes to the soldier recruiter and insists on fighting the war. Mulan goes to the soldier recruiter

and tells him she wants to fight in the war, the man looks at her and simply laughs while telling

she cannot fight in the war because she is a woman. (Bancroft 00:04:16-00:05:29). When she

says she wants to fight in her father’s place the man laughs at her demonstrating how women are

regarded. Mulan also fights men’s oppressions when she goes to the soldier recruiter and even

though she is denied at first, she successfully fights in the war against her father’s wishes and

men’s oppressions to stay at home.

During her training with the army, Mulan meets the captain, persistent to prove herself as

a worthy soldier. Mulan must fight men’s stereotypes of women, when she successfully becomes

a soldier and safes the captain’s life during battle she is injured and the army finds out she is a

woman, all of the squadron’s impressions made by Mulan are teared apart simply because she is

a woman. During this scene where Mulan is being taken care of by a doctor the captain finds out

she is a woman. The cameras point up towards the captain and down towards Mulan (Bancroft
 Zavala 4

00:39:46-00:49:14). Even though Mulan was hurt because she saved the captain’s life, other

soldiers wanted to kill her for being a woman, the difference in camera angles signify the split in

gender. After various weeks of training Mulan becomes one of the best and strongest soldiers in

the squadron, when it is time for battle, she gets hurt and the doctor intervenes to aid her. It is

here where all the men find out she was a woman. If she were not a woman, she would have been

praised for fighting valiantly in battle and saving the captain’s life, but simply because she is a

woman the soldiers suggest killing her for breaking rule. The split in gender was seen clearly

here by the audience. The camera angles exemplify the control of men by pointing up towards

him and the subjugation of women by pointing down towards Mulan. The split in gender can

also been seen when Mulan goes to the festival in the city in attempt to warn the emperor of the

attack that is going to happen. In this scene Mulan goes to the city to inform of the attack that

will happen, when people at the festival notice she is a woman they disregard her claims and

ignore her (Bancroft 00:046:44-00:49:29). Mulan still has respect for the army and tries to help

them but is ignored because of her gender, when trying to talk to the men they nudge her off. If

Mulan where a man she would have been heard, but simply because she is a woman she is

ignored. The stereotype of women is of ignorant and being an asset to men, Mulan breaks this

stereotype by herself but at the end she is still treated as an oblivious person. Still she will not

bend to the will of men.

Mulan is reluctant to men’s view of women, successfully breaks the stereotype created by

men, but at the end she still is seen as weak and in need of a male figure. Mulan, a young woman

confronted the stereotype of the "perfect Chinese wife", Mulan resistant to the search of a

husband, transformed herself into a man to have a voice in society and fought men's stereotypes

as well as oppressions. Mulan's failure to impress, her willingness to transform herself into a
 Zavala 5

man, and her defiance against traditional female stereotypes of Chinese women show that they

will always be viewed as weak, but defiant towards men. This Disney movie easily depicts the

role of women in Chinese society and maybe our now in day society. A world made and seen

through eyes of men will never be fit for a woman, Mulan was able to break this stereotype by

herself just like famous women today. Even though the world has a history of women’s rights

and defiance, there are still situations where the world sees the split in gender and gender

segregation.
 Zavala 6

Works Cited

Walt Disney Pictures. Mulan; Mulan II. Burbank, Cali: Distributed by Buena Vista Home

Entertainment, 2013.