Mulan: The Post-Feminist Princess
"Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns" Words every child of the 1990s can't help but sing along to; Mulan (1998) is one of Disney's most famous creations. Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, it tells the story of a young girl struggling with finding a place for herself in a patriarchal society that dictates that her only role in life should be that of the perfect daughter, wife and mother. Mulan is clumsy and struggles with fitting into the role laid out for her; so, when the time comes for her father, who is old and frail, to be conscripted to the Chinese army to fight the Huns, Mulan takes his place, joins the army and trains to fight – all the while pretending to be a man. Post-feminism, while not particularly popular amongst academics, can be drawn upon in order to analyse Mulan. Some believe post-feminism to mean that ...