Mulan

I think I have too much to say on the subject of the ‘Disney is corrupting our kids’ things, just because I really don’t believe that it is. I know that there is evidence of corruption in some Disney movies, but that’s to keep the adults and parents interested and let’s face it, things would be pretty boring if we never had controversy in our media. Disney it just making movies for young kids to watch and enjoy, not trying to morph their little brains into thinking stereotypical thoughts. Actually, the Disney generation, ya know, the kids who grew up with the classic Disney movies (Which I am proud to be a part of)  has brought up a lot of controversial topics in the real world. We are the generation who’s probably broken a lot of the stereotypical roles and even tried to get the law of same sex marriage passed. If Disney was really corrupting us, would we be running around fulfilling our stereotypical gender roles?

But I’m off topic here. The real topic is one particular movie, called Mulan. This movie makes and breaks many of the stereotypical roles. In the beginning of the movie, they have a whole song (“You’ll Bring Honor To Us All”) In which they explain to Mulan the duties of a woman in China, including only bearing sons and that the only way a woman could bring honor to the family is if she married a good man.  This is a very good example of the stereotypical role, but I think Disney threw this song in there to show what Mulan should be like in contrast to who she actually is (which is the whole point of the movie.). Another typical gender role is the men. Shang, the leader of the army, is very much a stereotypical male. He never shows his emotions, and he’s always seen as an imposing, dominant figure in the movie.  The other men as well are very stereotypical, in which they are very headstrong, rush into things without thinking, and get into fights constantly. When Mulan enters the army, Mushu tells her how to walk and how to act because it’s a ‘man thing.’  The song “Be A Man” is pretty much stereotypical all on its own. There is many more, but I’m just giving you an idea.

But for as much gender stereotypical roles as there are in Mulan, there are very many un-stereotypical moments. First of all, Mulan herself is cmpletly unstereotypical. She speaks out, she runs away from home to go to the war, she learns to fight and she even calls the shots on how to defeat the villain in the end. She is seen as a strong woman, who is able to think for herself and accomplish anything without someone to help her.  Shang is very stereotypical up until the end, where he becomes embarrassed and awkward around Mulan, much like a stereotypical girl would do. Even the three army men, Yao, Ling, and Chein Po are ready to go help a woman, and even dress as women without complaints to help their friend Mulan. At the end, they are even seen crying as Mulan is bowed to in the movie. Even the emperors councilman is more like a girl than a guy; conniving against Shang, being angry with the other men who ruined his slippers in the water. If anyone has a reverse gender role in the movie, it’s him.

Oh, and that whole “A Girl Worth Fighting For” Song? Sorry, you tube video. But I really don’t think its men seeing women as objects. They are talking about their dream girls, and we’ve all had dreams about who we would fall in love with, and how we imagined they would look and act. Hell, if talking about dream lovers is suddenly sexist, then I must be the most sexist person in the world.

There’s a lot of other points I wanted to make, but really I have to keep this blog condensed. Mulan is much more gender bending then it is gender stereotyping. I think the only reason they put in gender stereotypes is to wow audiences with how Mulan herself wasn’t the typical girl. And that makes the movie interesting.

Thanks guys. Good luck in the years ahead!

BLogging

Blogging. It was something I thought I would never do in my lifetime. It was something I heard about, and ignored, telling myself I will never do it. I never had the desire to go on the internet and post to the world about what I had seen or heard. Actually, I had a ver different image of blogging before this class. When I heard the word blog, I instantly thought of a young teenage girl behind a keyboard, putting down the drama of her day as if it were the end of the world in a place for the whole world to see. I must say I have a different view of it now, though the image or the drama teenager still remains in the back of my mind.

Will I ever blog again? I’m going to be really honest with you, and say I most likely will not. Sure it was a great way to talk with others about different conflicts or opinions, and it’s a wonderful outlet for people to express their knowledge an opinions on media and politics etc. But it’s not for me. I don’t enjoy writing about something I have read or watched, and then commenting on what I liked and didn’t like, or the controversial issues that it brought up. I would much rather debate such things in person, face to face rather than over the internet. 

Another reason I will most likely not blog again is because I have a hard time talking about myself or my opinions in written form. I am still trying to figure out where I stand on different subjects, and find that most of the time I am incredibly passive, and can’t choose a side because I can understand where both are coming from. Because of this, its hard for me to write a blog and express my true opinions on it. Most of the time, for my grades sake, I would just choose a side and write on it, but I never felt that I particularly agreed.

Plus I always find it hard to get 500 words out in a single blog. I either have much more to say, or I feel that I can write my opinion in less than the post length.

But I do have to say, it helped me to understand the assignments a lot better than I would have if we were not blogging. I find that I can write 500 words much faster and easier than before, and that the word count doesn’t bother me anymore. It has also made me aware of the people who may read this later on, and that I need to take my audience into consideration when I write anything from now on. I need to be careful of word structure and how I bring up controversial topics so I will not offend anyone with a different opinion. These are the traits I am very thankful for, an without blogging I may have never received them.

Thanks for a wonderful semester you guys. It was really awesome!