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Mulan Case Study

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Explain Chinese Culture with American Perspectives: A Case Study of Disney’s Mulan
“Alas oh Alas! Alas oh Alas! Mulan is weaving cloth of topmost class. Listen and you do not hear the spinning drone; You only hear the maiden sigh and moan...”(Wang, 2008) The renowned The Mulan Ballad shaped a heroine’s filial piety, being regarded as a typical spirit of Chinese culture. Hua Mulan lived in a time full of war, which the governor required every family to send male soldier in army. However, Mulan’s father was too old to fight, who was bound to die on the battlefield. Hence, to save her father, Hua Mulan decided to take the place of him by disguising like a man to fight for the country. Hua Mulan is one of the few heroines during a five thousand …show more content…

American people advocate self-motivation, self-choice and self-actualization though regeneration by one’s own efforts.(Bellah, 1996) The point is, every individual matters, because everyone is able to accomplish something if hard-working. Take the Emperor’s words as example, which says, a single grain of rice can tip the scale. It definitely dominates that one person can make a huge difference to the society. Back to Mulan, her deeds express that she wants to be herself and prove that she is worthwhile. It seems that her joining the army more like in the purpose of realizing her value than to protecting her father from being sent to the battlefield. There is a detail revealed individualism, too. Mulan disobeys her father’s requirements, cutting her hair and stealing the conscription. It seems nothing significant if you look at it as a normal rebellious teenager, however, in the ancient China, all women are enforced to obey what their parents say; otherwise, they will be punished. Therefore, Mulan’s behavior does not follow the Chinese culture, yet represents America’s individualism instead. In the plot of Mulan, Mulan is discarded by the troop because she get injured and is identified as a female. She says, “Maybe I did not go for my father. Maybe what I really wanted was to prove I could do things right. So when I looked in the mirror. I’d see someone worthwhile.” As Luke(2008) pointed that the individualism in the characters can be summarized into four kinds: self-identity, independent, self-development and self-realization. Mulan is such a

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