Orientalism: Mulan

Mulan has been one of my favorite Disney movies for years due to its depiction of the princess as heroic and tough, which women are not often portrayed as. She proves she can do what any of the men can do by fighting in the army and in the end saves all of China, pretty great right? With the newly learned concept of Orientalism, I can now notice troubling details that completely went over my head before. 

The first troubling thing I noticed was the portrayal of Mulan's ancestors. They were depicted as mysterious, ghost like spirits which is not accurate to the reality of Asian cultures and the respect they have for passed loved ones. Many people associate the concept of spirituality and mystery with the Orient, making it a common stereotype. Furthermore, Asian stereotypes like eating everything with chopsticks, cherry blossom trees, drinking tea after all meals are constant throughout the story. 

Many of the images and scenes in the film don't make sense given the setting at all. Mulan's hair and makeup in the first few scenes is actually a much more Japanese style outfit despite the film taking place in China. This also ties back to the common appearance of cherry blossoms in the film, that flower is the native flower of Japan. It seems as though the filmmakers didn't properly research the material they were putting in their movie and didn't care if multiple cultures were being combined as one. 

The value of collectivism in Asia is misconstrued as upholding one's honor and bringing honor to the family even if it means giving up personal values. This is not necessarily true in China, family is important but it isn't common to give up everything you believe and want for the sake of honor. It is in fact a common Western misconception that all of Asia is obsessed with upholding honor. An example in the film is when Mulan is forced to dress and act a certain way by her family to attract male suitors and bring honor to her family despite the fact that she doesn't want to.