Mulan as the Woman Warrior Many movies have gotten their theme or content from books and novels. One of them being the story of Mulan, which originates from the story of a Chinese girl who grows into a women warrior. In my reading of " The Woman Warrior", there is a tale of a warrior who has the name Fa Mu Lan. The mother tells the story of Fa Mu Lan to her children , one child stating " Instantly, I remembered that as a child, I had followed my mother about the house, the two of us singing about how Fa Mu Lan fought gloriously and returned alive from afar to settle in the village." I felt that this story is being used as important tale in the teaching of the Chinese, and proving to them that they could be so much more than a man's slave or even some man's wife. Many Chinese families have tales to tell to their kids in their childhood up bringing, and some of these lessons stick with them throughout their life, shaping them to be the kind of men and women they would soon become. These stories and tales can influence children to make the right decisions in life. In Disney's version of Mulan, it sets out a clear moral to the children, portrays their cultural expectations, and changes some of the norms of Chinese history. The movie of Mulan, depicts Mulan to be a very attractive, but also a clumsy girl, who always seems to be disappointing her father, no matter how hard she tries not to. Her family tries to marry her off, but when she goes out to see the woman who matches the women with the men, she makes a disaster of everything by making the woman fall flat on her face and even manages to catch the women on fire. When the war starts and her fath... ... middle of paper ... ... Mu Lan in the autobiography had a lot of unrealistic details, such as how she could look in the drinking gourd to check on her family or how the old people sometimes would become young just for a second. Mulan was a realisticand funny movie that I really enjoyed. Disney put on a good production of the movie Mulan. I was very pleased that they did not change the movie to an American culture type movie because that would have defeated the purpose of the content of the story and disrespected the Chinese culture. Kingston brought out a good story of Mulan also but it just seemed to unrealistic to me, which made the movie somewhat more appealling. The movie portraited good morals and was very suitable for viewers of all ages. The book and the movie proved to me that a women can do thing just as good if not better than a man.
Behind every great man lies a great women. In some cases the women herself may not always be good or ideal according to society. Nevertheless it seems to add character to
Bly, she starts noticing the appearances of a woman and a man. When the governess confides
The Chinese mothers, so concentrated on the cultures of their own, don't want to realize what is going on around them. They don't want to accept the fact that their daughters are growing up in a culture so different from their own. Lindo Jong, says to her daughter, Waverly- "I once sacrificed my life to keep my parents' promise. This means nothing to you because to you, promises mean nothing. A daughter can promise to come to dinner, but if she has a headache, a traffic jam, if she wants to watch a favorite movie on T.V., she no longer has a promise."(Tan 42) Ying Ying St.Clair remarks- "...because I remained quiet for so long, now my daughter does not hear me. She sits by her fancy swimming pool and hears only her Sony Walkman, her cordless phone, her big, important husband asking her why they have charcoal and no lighter fluid."(Tan 64)
I enjoyed the book Medicine River, by Thomas King as well as the movie, which was based on the book. Although there were profound differences between the two, they were both pleasantly constructed. Having been instructed to read the book first, I was able to experience the full effect of the story and the message that the author intended for his readers. Although the book and the movie clearly relayed the same story, I would’ve better enjoyed the movie if it had included more incidents from the book, such as the visit from Harlen Bigbear’s estranged brother, and the ‘bridge jump’. I also wish the producer would have incorporated the many flashbacks that the main protagonist, Will, had from his youth. For example, the letters written by his father to his mother; the stories about his mother and her best friend; and the relationship with his brother James, namely, the childhood pranks that they played on one another. I am, however, aware of the time constraints involved when producing a motion picture, and I realize that the script had to be somewhat altered considering the medium at hand.
Four Chinese mothers have migrated to America. Each hope for their daughter’s success and pray that they will not experience the hardships faced in China. One mother, Suyuan, imparts her knowledge on her daughter through stories. The American culture influences her daughter, Jing Mei, to such a degree that it is hard for Jing Mei to understand her mother's culture and life lessons. Yet it is not until Jing Mei realizes that the key to understanding who her mother was and who she is lies in understanding her mother's life.
One generation can learn many things from another. For instance, they can learn to persevere, have faith. And be generous.
Unlike most other families mine had decided to live with the Chinese rather than in the isolated compound away from them. I and my parents, we saw no need for separation, after all, what bad could it be? The culture and language of China had begun to grab my attention from the moment I started to learn them. I went to
Understanding the Chinese culture was confusing for Kingston. “Chinese-Americans, when you try to understand what things in you are Chinese , how do you separate what is peculiar to childhood, to poverty, insanities, one family, your mother who marked your growing with stories, from what is Chinese? What is Chinese tradition and what is the movies?” (Kingston 223). Kingston questions her tradition and she doesn’t seem very sure what it is. She questions whether what her mother did by...
The leaders of the Hans army is insulted that a small woman would dare try challenge him and think she is equal enough to fight him, it was almost amusing to him actually. However, Mulan used her feminine tendencies to teach her former recruits how to fight some of the Hans. As she defeats the Hans Dynasty and saves the Emperor, the Emperor’s assistant insults her by saying, “She is a woman. She’ll never be worth anything!” However the Emperor did not believe that, she was rewarded the highest honor in China for saving her nation and the Emperor and was given a medal. When she comes home to reveal her accomplishment to her family so that she will be honored, her father was proud she was okay, not because of what others think of her. Mulan is a fitting example of gender stereotype because she goes against gender stereo type and was able to empower young females that you can be whatever you want and still be equal. A woman can be a “tomboy” and is perfectly capable of performing any tasks a man can do and the definition of a man is not to be strong and brave. Gender stereotype is used to belittle genders by how you should behave and appear because of the gender you were born with. However, Mulan made it known that as long as you be yourself, you can accomplish anything and you shouldn’t be judged for
The author travels to China as an English teacher for the Hunan Medical School. There he stayed for two years picking up many anecdotes along the way. The author already had spent a large amount of his life studying Chinese language and the martial arts. However, when he arrives in China he meets teachers who have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting a particular art or skill, whether it be martial arts or calligraphy.
to be the least discriminatory in attitudes towards women. There is no doubt at all that the
Overall, the Disney movie, Mulan, demonstrates gender roles, socialization of gender roles, and consequences of breaking the gender roles. By Mulan going to war for her father, in China, many things were at risk, life, honor, and the country of China, itself. Displaying the characteristics a man had was the only way for Mulan to survive, granted, she was not great at displaying woman characteristics in the first place. Being caught in war, as a woman, meant death, but Mulan was lucky for her bravery when saving Captain Li Shang, for he spared her life, which allowed Mulan to help save China and the emperor in the end. Even though China had very strict gender roles, Mulan broke them to save her father’s life and became the person she was meant to be.
These lessons and traits I have taught myself, have helped me become a better person with a dependable future. Forgive all who wrong you, love your family and friends, but love your enemies more. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Remember that obtaining perfection is impossible in your life on earth and remember that you show who you are through your actions, not what you look like. Be grateful of your current state; you are alive and can change the world and all who inhabit it through your actions and words. Help, give, and pray for the less fortunate. “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”-Jesus Christ.
In the Disney film Mulan, the character for Mulan plays an important part to support the example of a woman not satisfied with her state of being and subordinated position in society and therefore, takes action to show others her true capabilities and qualities. This prototype is scarcely depicted in today’s cartoons and films so that children rarely identify with this image. “Mulan” helps to promote this role model of an intelligent woman and could be the first step in breaking gender constraints. In addition, it might teach children that they have to find their own state of happiness rather than trying desperately to fulfill society’s expectations.
Over the years, Disney has presented many movies to their audience—most having a Princess as the protagonist. These movies became a babysitter for most parents in the early stages of their child’s life. Most people found these movies as relatively harmless. The obvious assumption about the Disney Princesses is that they only desire true love since almost every movie ends in romance. Parents just viewed these movies as romantic movies on a child’s level. However, these movies were not solely intended for an audience of an age that can be counted on both hands. They were intended to speak to “an intelligent and active audience” (Sumera 40). However, there are many people who disagree with the ways of the Disney Princess movies. The disagreements lie within the portrayal of women gender roles in these movies. It is argued that Disney portrays women as a being nurturing individuals without any control over their identity. The women are unable to think for themselves, because they are uneducated, and they are quick to fall in love with the first man that pays them any attention. However, this is not completely true. The people that are against the portrayal of women in the Disney movies are failing to recognize the underlying concepts in these movies. For example, Belle, in Beauty and the Beast, was well educated, Mulan went to war despite the consequences, and Merida, in Brave, stood up to her mother in refusal to marry. The Disney Princesses desired intelligence, bravery, strength, and independence—not true love’s kiss.