The Ballad of Mulan (Ballad) has been retold and adapted into many different forms of storytelling throughout the years. Recently, this narrative has been transformed into films in a western context, specifically in the United States through Disney’s films Mulan (1998) and Mulan (2020). It is particularly interesting how the original Ballad was reimagined in an American setting with slight feminist messages to appeal to a contemporary audience.
Although Lan Dong argues that the Ballad got readapted to give a “false feminist mentality to children” in the U.S, I believe Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan does highlight a slight feminist message to its young audience, despite inaccuracies between the original poem and Disney’s penultimate Mulan film (excluding the sequel to the 1998 feature).1 More than that, I believe the original Ballad illustrates a feminist message as well.
Firstly, I would define the term ‘feminism’ (or ‘feminist’) as a movement in which women strive to become equal to men in all aspects of society, politically, economically, and socially. It is the promotion of gender equality. Secondly, I will discuss how the differences between the Ballad and the film and ultimately highlight that both the Ballad and the film do highlight a slight feminist message to its young audience, despite it being limited by its cultural context.
The Ballad depicts the story of Mulan as a filial pious daughter who stepped into a male role (through cross-dressing) to fulfil her duties as a daughter to help her father who could not join the army. The Ballad reaffirms traditional family values and a sense of gender equality because it narrates a story of a woman being celebrated for being dutiful to her emperor and to her father, highlighting Confucian values. At the end of the Ballad, Mulan resumes her duty as a daughter. Although some may argue that this hinders the feminist message, I believe it still portrays a sense of gender equality because the ending shows no-one knew of Mulan’s true identity and she was still celebrated from her “messmates” for being a warrior.2
Moreover, the movie depicts a similar ending; Mulan joins the war in place of her father after failing to be a dutiful daughter and potential wife. She then goes to fight the war, but her identity is revealed. She goes against leaders and finishes the war, with her true identity as a woman being known, and the emperor accepts this and celebrates her. This difference of Mulan’s identity being shown before she finishes the war is fundamental in highlighting a feminist message to children. Although this does not make sense in the cultural context of the film, this fictional message is important because, in my opinion, it shows children that women can be warriors and can be celebrated for being more than a dutiful daughter or wife. Thus, it is not a “false feminist mentality”, but a heart-warming message to children.
Therefore, I believe that despite its inaccuracies, the film depicts a subtle feminist message to its audience and tries to pay homage to the original Ballad by depicting the same premise of the Ballad. To emphasise, Disney’s Mulan, as a product of transculturation, does not highlight a “false feminist mentality” (according to Dong), but an aspiring-feminist mentality. Moreover, the Ballad highlights notions of gender equality, which is incredible because of the highly Confucian context where women are deemed as inferior and have no place in wars. Yet, Mulan was celebrated through generations, thus explaining that feminism is apparent in all aspects of society, despite its subtly as Mulan was disguised as a man, and then transformed back into her duties as a daughter.