THE REPRESENTATION

OF FEMINISM IN
MULAN 2020 MOVIE
Clarissa Phelia Winona
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Why I choose this
text?
Mulan is one of the most
debated films in 2020, as this
live action film has quite a lot
of changes than the
animation.

Has the issue of feminism,

which is more precisely
liberal feminism, where
Mulan as the main character
wants to fight for her rights
to be equal with men in all
aspects

By joining the war, Mulan

wanted to show that women
too can do what men do.
Codes of Gender
Traditional gender role of
women: Women are
expected to be wives and
mothers who work at home
to take care of their families.

In this film Mulan is expected to be a perfect daughter and a good mother for
her family. When she was a child, Mulan's parents said that :
"Xiu gives me no trouble. The matchmaker will find a good husband for her"
and there is also a scene by the Matchmaker
"You forget. that she is a girl, not a boy. Girls bring honor through marriage [...]
What man would marry a girl running around rooftops, chasing chickens? "
In this case, when a woman acts like a man, it is considered that her family's
good name and her identity are considered as a woman.
Codes of Gender
Female Resistance
against Patriarchal
Ideology
In this scene, becoming a
warrior, or more accurately,
Mulan is appointed as the
"Emperor's Guard" because
of her bravery in fighting.
She hides her gender and
acts like a man.
The conversation that shows men to be dominant is “Did they send
me daughters, when I asked for sons?” Which means there is gender
inequality in women. The words Mulan always remembers are ""
loyal, brave and true "on her father's sword. She wants to prove that
women cannot be underestimated. Until in the end he can fight
against her patriarchal ideology and is recognized by everyone
including her family "the greatest gift and honor is having you as a
daughter," a sentence that proves that Mulan can become a voice
gender equality.
Answer the Question
• In the text I chose, the text wants to show that challenging gender
roles in society is because Mulan wants equal rights to men to be
accepted by society, especially culturally. And on the other hand,
she also wants to be a good daughter and wife.

• In this text, there is a shift in gender roles in feminism, where

women are recognized and accepted as equal to women. So
Mulan's character is already against patriarchal ideology.

• It could say that this text has succeeded in showing power to

women and women are not as weak as society thinks. They can
fight and even become a leader.
Conclusion

By trying to accept the recommendation and do what a man does

until she becomes a leader, then she can eliminate oppression on
women, especially in China. This achievement has received
recognition from many people and can get a place in the public
sphere. Even so, as a woman she still performs gender roles as a
woman.
Bibliography

• Lailawat, R., Islami, Q., & Nursafira, M. S. (2020). The Camouflage of

“Tough Woman”: The Resistance of Female Character Against
Patriarchal Ideology in Mulan. Journal of English Language Studies ,
72-76.
• Mutiarahmanika, F. (2020). Reprentasi Feminisme liberal pada Film
Animasi ( Studi Semiotika Tokoh Mulan pada Film Disney Mulan).
Jakarta: Universitas Pertamina.
• Pacatte, S. R. (2020, September 19). National Catholic Reporter.
Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.ncronline.org
/news/opinion/strong-and-authentic-human-feminist-theme-guides-
mulan