Topic > Gender roles and stereotypes in Mulan

Mulan (Ming-Na Wen), was a young girl of Chinese origin, uninterested in anything to do with traditional female duties or tasks. She was also concerned about the military draft, which required each family to send a son to serve in battle against the Huns. The only son in her family was her disabled father, so to protect him from the fighting, Mulan disguised herself as a man and joined the army. With her helpful guardians at her side, Mushu (Eddie Murphy) and Cri-Kee (Frank Welker), Mulan sets out on an adventure to defeat the Hun dynasty. This film urges audiences to never let limitations stop them, especially limitations regarding social expectations such as gender roles and stereotypes. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original EssayMulan (1998) begins by demonstrating a society that revolves around gender roles and stereotypes, which the main character, Mulan, rebels against. Mulan's first song, "Honor to Us All," depicts women getting ready and dressing like dolls to meet The Matchmaker (Miriam Margolyes). To honor their families as women in society, they were expected to convert into a wife with "good taste, calmness, obedience... and a slim waist." Mulan is told that this doll-like appearance and behavior will win her a husband, which will make her family proud. Women should not be expected to represent certain traits, in order to please other people and make their family proud. They should be accepted for who they are inside. The song goes on to repeat, “We must all serve our emperor, who protects us from the Huns.” A man bears weapons, a girl bears children,” this explicitly shows the extremely different expectations of men and women. This scene inspires the song "Reflections," in which Mulan contemplates what her community and family ask of her. Mulan recognizes that she is unable to meet these expectations of women if she wants to continue to be herself. Mulan was unwilling to give up her identity because her society wanted her to behave a certain way. She rebelled against them and showed them that not all women want to just take care of the family and do nothing else. When Mulan joins the army disguised as a man, she goes against the "rules" established by her society. gender roles. Mulan took on a new persona, Ping (Ming-Na Wen), while in the army. During training he goes through many failures and achievements. The song “Make A Man out of You” reinforces stereotypes as Li Shang (BD Wong) sings, “They sent me daughters / When did I ask for sons?”, reinforcing the idea that women belong in the home, while men men belong to the family. military. The song then lists traits that men should display, including quickness, tenacity, strength, and strength. But Ping, Mulan's alias, goes beyond this list by adding intelligence, making her one of the best soldiers in the army. Everyone doubted her abilities as she had difficulty training, but their doubts only made her work harder. Proving that gender is just a stereotype and, with hard work, is easily conquered. Once the army faced Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer) and his raiders, they realized they were extremely outmatched. To save everyone, Mulan used her intelligence to build a rocket that unleashed an avalanche, burying her enemies. The price of his victory, however, was the revelation of his secret which caused much chaos as everyone believed he was truly a man. Mulan saved everyone., 14(1), 19-30.