Topic > Portrayal of Feminism in the Film Mulan: Literature Review

The 1994 Disney film Mulan portrays individualism to motivate younger girls to pursue their dreams. The drive for feminism is shown through Mulan's individualistic behavior, as she breaks some of China's taboo behaviors regarding a woman's mannerisms. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Lauren Dundes currently teaches at McDaniel College and publishes on any topic involving race and gender. She has published numerous articles on Disney princesses and their roles in feminism, race, and gender roles. Madeline Streiff is associated with Hastings College of Law and has worked with Dundes regarding Disney princesses. This article points out the flaws shown in Mulan and The Princess and the Frog. In Mulan, the final plot could have further emphasized Mulan's freedom and individualistic thinking, but the film ended with her fulfilling her domestic duties. In The Princess and the Frog, Tiana reprises her role as sidekick. Her adventures as an anthropomorphic frog did not further her personality or help her achieve her goal of owning a restaurant. This article is very helpful in providing opposing views to my thesis. In addition to adding opposing viewpoints, this article's section on Mulan shed light on the different symbolisms used to represent her rebellious status. This article is also useful for comparing Mulan with another Disney film. As for The Princess and the Frog, this article talks about the social scale seen in the film. The social ladder in this film and gender roles in Mulan share similar characteristics with each other. Both authors show bias in the unfairness of the portrayal of both Disney princesses which could have had a greater impact in the future, but, instead, Disney decided to have both return to their tame roles. The writers show extreme dislike towards the path Disney has chosen to break down their characters. The audience is definitely meant for feminists and other people who support gender equality. This article is at a reading level suitable for university students. Ivy Hsieh is an assistant professor at Tamkang University. Study language and literacy. Matoush is a literacy researcher who earned a doctorate from the University of Florida. He has published numerous articles in journals on literacy, language and linguistics. This article explains the history of the Ballad of Mulan and its different lyric versions. Each version of the ballad has a different meaning, even though they are all based on the same story. Some based Mulan's actions on filial piety. Others based it on his individualistic nature. This article also shows the hybridization between Chinese and European culture. This is useful for my research because it delves a little deeper into Chinese culture. It also helps that it helps me see how Chinese culture becomes Westernized. Aside from the cultural aspect, the origins of the poem show why Mulan was portrayed the way she was in the film. The authors showed a bias towards the appropriate way of showing Chinese culture. Each topic usually refers to what was standard in China or how children should play Mulan. The audience is aimed at people looking for different interpretations of the ballad. The vocabulary used in this article was fairly easy to understand, so this reading level was likely aimed at ninth graders and above. Caixia Xiong is a professorfrom Dianzi University in Hangzhou who has a degree in English Language and Literature. Publishes articles on English translation and teaching in academic journals. Chuanmao Tian is a professor at Yangtze University with a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics. He is the director of the Hubei Provincial Translators Association and a member of the Chinese Translators Association who has published some articles regarding translation in major academic journals. The main purpose of this article was to highlight the differences between the original American animation and the Chinese dubbed animation. The translated words had to be converted from modern colloquialisms to formal, ancient Chinese phrases. Aside from that, this article highlights old Chinese taboos that are not considered taboos in America. It also highlights the difference between the film and the original ode, The Mulan Ballad, such as the addition of new characters and the differences between scenes from the ode and the film. My article will focus on the difference between China and China. USA This article is very useful because it points out some of the major flaws between the film and the ode, along with the translation between the American and Chinese versions. I also want to talk about individualism, which this article briefly talks about. Both authors showed a propensity to maintain the traditional text of historical China. Aside from that, that didn't stop them from pointing out the film's flaws. The audience is aimed at people interested in studying the difference between American and Chinese cultures. In addition to being written by college professors, this reading level could easily be interpreted by a middle school student in an AP classroom. Gwendolyn Limbach teaches at Pace University as an English professor. She writes articles on feminism and other popular texts. This chapter of the book highlights the gender roles depicted in the film. It highlights the importance of genders and learning their position in society. Females are supposed to be docile and submissive; Males are supposed to display masculinity, mentally and physically. This article continually refers to the correct roles of male and female. Because of its many references, I can use it to discuss Mulan's involvement in feminism. His actions throughout the film showed the equality between men and women, and because of this, he easily disproves the argument that men are better than women. It reduces the double standard thinking for genders towards the end of the film. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The author accepts the fact that Mulan is a transvestite, and is semi-biased against genders accepting their “designated” roles. He seems to argue that being halfway between the masculine and feminine states really allows your true talent to shine through your facade, as the midpoint has fewer barriers to overcome. This book is fairly easy to understand, but with the use of difficult vocabulary, it has the reading level of a high school senior and above. The audience is aimed at members of the LGBT community and anyone interested in why Mulan chose to take the actions she chose to take. Works Cited Dundes, L. (2010). Revisiting the legend of Mulan and the Disney film: reception and criticism. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 38(1), 19-27. Streiff, M., & Dundes, L. (2011). Princesses in the works: Disney's Mulan and The Princess and the Frog. In DJ Herdieckerhoff (Ed.), Reading the child in children's literature: A hermeneutic approach (pp. 145-162). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Hsieh, I., & Matoush, J. (2016). Mulan in translation: The hybridization of the animated film, 21(4), 46-57.