VP, on Just a Girl

Commentary: In Disney's “Mulan”, the titular character's main struggle is with her identity and conforming to the gender roles of women in 15th century China. She is the tomboy daughter of a celebrated veteran and finds it difficult to be poised and graceful, as was expected of women in China at this time. Mulan is told by a Matchmaker that she will never marry, and therefore never bring her family honour. When the Huns attack China, a draft is enforced, in which Mulan's injured father is expected to participate. Mulan takes matters into her own hands: cuts her hair, runs away from home, and joins the army claiming to be her father's son. At the end of the movie, Mulan actually saves China from the Huns and wins the love of her commander, Shan. She returns home, she presents the crest of the emperor and the sword of Shan Yu (the main antagonist) to her father, hoping to earn approval from her father. He tosses the priceless treasures aside and embraces her, stating that she is his “greatest gift and honor”. Her family is truly proud of her for realizing her true self and saving all of China.

“Mulan” is disparaged by many feminist critics, who argue that although Mulan saves China, she has to become a man to do so. By this, she cannot be considered a role model for little girls. I have to disagree. When Mulan is in the army, she is still the same person as before, a compassionate and kind (albeit a bit clumsy) young woman. When she is pretending to be “manly”, other men think she is being ridiculous. People seem to forget that Mulan saves China at the movie's climax as a woman, and is honored by the Emperor as a woman as well. Mulan has to dress as a man, because Disney is being temporally accurate; at that time, if a woman had tried to be in the army, she would have been executed.

I was 8 years old when “Mulan” was released, and I saw it in theatres. I think many critics of the movie forget that the children that are watching it are not looking too deep beneath the surface, they mostly see what is presented right in front of them. When I saw “Mulan” I thought she was the coolest. She was a great role model to me, she was funny, kind, a little rebellious, and she did what she thought was right to bring honor to her family. Don't most parents want daughters that think for themselves and not to conform blindly to the stereotypes presented before them? I know that my parents did.  

For my fan video, I chose No Doubt's “I'm Just a Girl” to go along with scenes from Mulan. Gwen Stephani's satirical lyrics parallel Mulan's struggle to conform, such as “Oh I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite /So don't let me have any rights” and “I've had it up to here!”. Stephani has publicly stated   that she is especially exasperated over the opinion that a woman needs a man to look after her, which is exactly what Mulan combats in the movie.