Sophokle Krongo

Ms. O’Keefe

A.P. Literature & Composition

May 18, 2018

Critical Viewing Response #1: Mulan

In several Disney films, there square measure several common tropes that may be found in its movies. a standard

figure may be the “Royal Trap” wherever there's a aristocrat or blue blood that's stuck underneath his or her

family/traditional duties. Upon a essential viewing on the Disney picture, Mulan, a standard figure that's found within the

picture may be the royal entice. Mulan explores the concept of ladies roles and within the Chinese culture. The film Mulan

challenges this common figure by extending a variety of a woman’s identity within the film.

The first of the Disney tropes that Mulan conforms with is that of however the villains appear as if however a

villain is meant to appear. once one thinks of a villain in an exceedingly Disney picture, one thinks of a selected set of

characteristics that form up aforesaid villain. the foremost necessary of the characteristics is that of constructing the villain

appear ugly, and unappealing to the viewers of the film. the most antagonist of Mulan, Shan-Yu, may be delineated as

terribly unappealing. This principally stems from the mix of his strange head form, his monumental bushy eyebrows and

his cat-like pupils that build the viewer feel terribly uncomfortable. Shan-Yu’s minions conjointly follow the rule of being

unappealing to the general public as most have a tendency to possess an equivalent general options of getting an odd head

form and conjointly being bald.

In the starting, middle of the picture, Mulan is seen beginning to break her “royal trap” and also the audience is

introduced to what Disney is Associate in Nursing attempt|attempting} to increase upon in kinds of an identity. The ruler

of China has dominated a draft that a minimum of one man in every family needs to serve within the army. after all in

Mulan’s family, the daddy is that the solely male within the family and he's forced to serve the ruler. however in courtesy

of the father’s incapacity, Mulan jumps in to safeguard her father from going into another war. So, Chi Fu states within

the picture “Silence! you may act to show your girl to carry her tongue in an exceedingly man's presence.” (Disney)
towards Mulan. Here, Disney has introduced the audience to what gender roles square measure compete into the picture

and culture. Disney wished to more expand the role in creating Mulan fake she could be a boy/man and head into war in

her father’s place. Disney manages to interrupt Mulan’s royal entice of being a ladies and attempting to bring honor to her

family by coming into a war as a special person. Later, Disney films manges to even more extend Mulan’s identity more

within the war and what role she plays.

Just like there square measure tropes that the film conforms with, there are tropes that the film challenges. the

primary example of this is often the concept that the picture is focused around somebody attempting to capture the eye of

a feminine character. this may be seen in Frozen, whereas Kristoff is attempting to catch the eye of Pakistani monetary

unit. This film is completely different as a result of throughout the film, Mulan isn’t actively sook out by men. This could

be because of the very fact that she was sitting as a person so as to fight within the army, however nevertheless, the figure

was missing. The second of the tropes that the film doesn't change to is that the plan the the blue blood is meant to be a

“beautiful” girl that wears makeup and wears long dresses through the complete film. Mulan doesn't change to the current

plan, as she is displayed as terribly sturdy the complete time. She has no time to be sporting makeup and sporting dresses

as she is virtually in an exceedingly combat area. She conjointly cuts her long hair at the start of the film, to be short and

he or she designs it to appear sort of a man.

It was one among the primary movies to show ladies as sturdy those that might truly do things, rather than the

everyday “damsel in distress” figure that's seen among most alternative Disney movies. Mulan conjointly made-up the

method for alternative Disney movies with sturdy feminine characters that aren’t “ladylike” akin to Elsa, Moana and

Powhatan.