Socialization In The Cartoon Mulan

Through socialization, we learn what is expected of our behavior and appearance. We follow the rules that we learn through the different stages of our life from our friends, family members and those we interact with. How receptive of those rules and guidelines affects whether or not the socialization remains unchanged or altered for the future of the society or culture. Popular movies can have an effect on that change and how we act. For example, the feel good Disney cartoon Mulan tells us that it is acceptable to make decisions that break away from society’s rules.

The beginning of the cartoon Mulan opens to the ritual involved with transforming Mulan from an ordinary girl into an ideal potential wife. Society and family insist this is necessary and will be accomplished by bathing, donning a beautiful gown, applying white paint on her face and bright red lips. Through the entire process she is

reminded by everyone that she falls short of what that ideal is believed to be. She subjects herself to the unwanted process in an effort to please her family and “follow the rules”. She is educated by her family that the only way they can have honor is through her obedience as a daughter. As a daughter she is performing and acting because of the role she was born to and her gender role in society is to be a daughter and then a wife. At the end of the traumatizing day she is told by the matchmaker that she may look like a bride, but is a disgrace and will never bring her family honor.
The loss of honor seems to be the threat throughout the movie and the motivation for all of Mulan’s decisions. The transition in the movie begins when she leaves her home to fight for her father. She places the highest importance on family and country in her culture and makes decisions based on that motivation. Mulan decided that her family will have honor by her sacrifice to fight for their country. The cartoon Mulan teaches viewers, who happen to be for the most part kids, about their gender and that their choices do not have to be made for them by society because of their gender.
In spite of Mulan being born a female, she decides to portray a gender of male for most of the film.

Mulan dresses the part of a male soldier, but through inception into the army learns how she is expected to act the part. The movie shows us that regardless of the gender roles Mulan chooses, she still must play the part and act in a way that is acceptable by her peers and family. She learns to act like a soldier and receives acceptance from her comrades. People can follow this example and take on a gender roles that may be different than their sex.

At the end of the cartoon, Mulan returns home as a girl again, leaving that stage in her past. It seems in the end she has found the confidence to show her family and community that her true self is something to be proud of. She doesn’t conform to putting on make-up and putting her hair in a bun, but we see her as the girl she was in the beginning. Mulan demonstrates to the viewers that it is okay to be themselves. They can pick and choose attributes from both genders that best apply to who they believe themselves to

be.