MULAN
Mulan shows an extremely gendered society which is confronted by Mulan’s reversal of gender roles and her ensuing personal gender conflict.
In Mulan women are displayed through the
lyrics of the songs as having a very specific role (England 2011). Women were to depend on a
man, and would be honoring their families through marriage (Craven 2002). They had very
little personal choice and were to depend on looks and good luck. Women are
objects (England 2002)– on display for marriage and must please their families as wives and
daughters instead of pleasing themselves. The lyrics of “Honor to us All”
describe how a woman should act and look to succeed in honoring her family. The
song states that “a girl can bring her family/great honor in one way/by
striking a good match” and in order to do so a woman must be
“calm/obedient/work fast paced/with good breeding/and a tiny waist”. Women must be mothers “we all must serve our
Emperor…/a girl by bearing sons”, and be subservient to their husbands, docile
creatures who are up for purchase “how could any fellow say ‘no sale’”. This
refrain of what a woman is repeats in “A Girl Worth Fighting For” which is the
men’s perspective on what a woman should be. Again the women are judged on
appearance “paler than the moon with eyes that shine like stars”, as a
reflection of the man or subservient to the man “my girl will marvel at my
strength, adore my battle scars”, or simply as a servant or worker “it all
depends on what she cooks like”. In both
of these songs women are referred to as “girls” which may be a reflection on
the young age of marriage or a way to lessen the power of female figures by
associating them with childishness and youth.
The men are only described in the
context of war – as strong, brave, and intimidating(England 2011). In “I’ll Make a Man Out ofYou” they describe the antithesis of men as “a spineless, pale pathetic lot/and
you haven’t got a clue” whereas the ideal man is compared to natural forces,
“swift as the coursing river/with all the force of a great typhoon/with all the
strength of a raging fire/mysterious as the dark side of the moon”. These men
are strong, swift, forceful, and mysterious which is mimicked by “tranquil as a
forest/but on fire within”. Comparing men to nature gives them a forceful
strong outdoorsy quality and is preparing them for “the rage of war”.
The connection between men and
women is only based on war – “boys will gladly go to war for you/with good
fortune and a great hairdo” and for men “when we come home in victory they’ll
line up at the door/what do we want?/ a girl worth fighting for”. Women in
order to marry well must marry a man who is a strong warrior, and men must be
strong warriors to get the best women. Aside from the war connection between
men and women they are only ever compared when men are compared to women as an
insult “did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?/you’re the saddest
bunch I’ve ever met”. Being a woman is
the worst insult, and is synonymous to being weak or useless.
Finally Mulan herself is an example
of role conflict – her role as a woman is in complete conflict with her work as
a soldier. When she reflects on the way she breaks these gender roles we see
the expectation of gender roles “I will never pass for a perfect bride/or aperfect daughter/can it be/I’m not meant to play this part?” and the perceived
damage done by disrupting this sex role theory (Conley 2009) of men as warriors and women as
holding down the household “If I were truly to be myself/I would break my
family’s heart”.
Although
in the end Mulan shows a strong woman who can break gender boundaries and
literally save the world, the extremely gendered society that hinders her along
the way by causing role conflict weighs heavily on her. Making Mulan an exception only strengthens the ideas of gender roles and stereotypes that the
movie categorizes through songs.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
The direct actions of a woman to sacrifice everything for a man displays the dangerous norms presented to children by Disney.
Let's just get straight to the point, Ariel gives up everything - her family, her home (kingdom), and her voice - all for a man she has barely laid eyes on. That is the obvious dangerous lesson to teach young women but looking beyond that, what are the more subtle ways Ariel is perceived.
Ariel spends most of her time collecting objects;
Look at this stuff, isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl
The girl who has everything?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl
The girl who has everything?
Look at this trove, treasures untold
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here, you'd think
Sure, she's got everything
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here, you'd think
Sure, she's got everything
These objects define her, she questions others perceptions of her based on her belongings "Wouldn't you think I'm the girl/the girl who has everything?". In one swift song Disney portrays women as being obsessed with possessions - especially "trinkets" bright shiny baubles that reflect jewelry (Bell 1995), and basing their worth on their possessions. Ariel describing her worth as depending on her amount of possessions allows others to look at her in this way as well, comparing her not as a person but as an inventory, and object.
The emphasis on others perceptions is reinforced in the constant obsession with appearance. Multiple times throughout the movie Ariel and her sisters are shown grooming themselves, especially their hair, and adorning themselves with objects (often sea creatures) to improve their appearance. The most "miserable, lonely, and depressed-- Pathetic!/Poor unfortunate souls, in pain, in need" are described as those "longing to be thinner" reinforcing weight as a reflection of beauty.
Much like the images of beauty in today's magazines as seen in "Killing us Softly" Ariel is finally silenced in the name of getting a man.
The men up there don't like a lot of blabber
They thing a girl who gossips is a bore
Yes, on land it's much preferred
For ladies not to say a word
And after all, dear
What is idle prattle for?
They thing a girl who gossips is a bore
Yes, on land it's much preferred
For ladies not to say a word
And after all, dear
What is idle prattle for?
[Come on]
They're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue
Who gets her man
They're not all that impressed with conversation
True gentlemen avoid it when they can
But they dote and swoon and fawn
On a lady who's withdrawn
It's she who holds her tongue
Who gets her man
Girls are repeatedly told that their opinions, and voices are not worth anything in this world, and that their way of expressing themselves, should be by negating their voice to ensnare a man (Craven 2002).
The weak resolution in the end, as Ariel wins the man with her voice, only serves to enforce the unspoken idea that a woman must give up everything. Although she regains her voice, and the Prince still accepts her, she ends up leaving her family and home, a seeming trade for regaining her speech.
Bell, E. (1995). From Mouse to Mermaid : The Politics of Film, Gender, and Culture. Indiana University
Press.
"Beauty and the Belles:
Discourses of Feminism and Femininity in
Disneyland." The European journal of women's studies 9.2 (2002): 123-142.
England, D.,
Descartes, L., & Collier-Meek, M. A. (2011). Gender Role Portrayal and the
Disney
Princesses. Sex Roles, 64(7/8), 555-567.
Images of
Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated
Films. (2003).
Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15(4), 19-44.
doi:10.1300/J086v15n04_02
