Mulan Research Paper

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¨Look at me... I will never pass for a perfect bride. Or a perfect daughter. Can it be, I'm not meant to play this part? Now I see, that if I were truly to be myself, I would break my family's heart. Who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me? Why is my reflection someone I don't know? Somehow I cannot hide who I am, though I've tried. When will my reflection show who I am inside?¨ In Disney's Movie Mulan, which is based on the medieval Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, a young Chinese girl runs away from home upon failing her meeting with the ‘matchmaker’ and finding out the Huns have invaded. Mulan enlists herself in training to take her injured fathers spot in the upcoming war as he will surely die if he goes. At the time the movie is placed in …show more content…

While an animated movie, Mulan places significant emphasis on empowerment towards young girls. Like many oral legends, there are many different interpretations and versions of Mulan. The earliest recorded version was a short poem written between 386 and 533 A.D. titled Poem of Mulan. This poem is essentially simplified into, ‘Mulan is a typical Chinese girl who goes to war for her father and wins but then comes home and goes back to being typical’ (Mulan vs. The Legend of Hua Mulan 2). Disney's version includes many details not included in the original poem. For example, in the poem, Mulan returns to doing her womanly duty after willingly revealing herself to her comrades. The reason these details are changed and others are added is to make the story more Disney-esk. Without adding and changing details, Mulan would barely even pass as a short film. In Disney's version, the head of the Huns, Shan Yu, rallies a massive army with intentions to invade China and overthrow the emperor. Upon receiving this news, the emperor sends out a notice to each village ordering one man from every family to join the war effort. The legend of Mulan depicts the roots of the story differently.

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