The Representation of Gender in Walt Disney's "Mulan"


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Osnabrück (Institut für Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Introduction to Gender Theory, 28 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: 'How can they tell if I am male or female?' With this last line of 'The Ballad of Mulan' the (anonymous) author raises the gender question already in the 6th century. In this essay, I would like to analyse The Representation of Gender in Walt Disney's 'Mulan', using the structure of the movie to focus on The Protagonist Fa Mulan, the Treatment of Women and the Depiction of Men. Additionally, the inquiry concerning the Meaning of Song Texts in Disney's 'Mulan' appears useful as these always play an important role in conveying movie themes. In order to establish a connection to the seminar on which this paper is based, I will illustrate how the movie is a good example for Judith Butler's theory of Gender as Performance. Last but not least, I would like to show the Influence of Disney's 'Mulan' on Society because fairy tales and movies '[...] do influence the manner in which children conceive the world and their places in it [...]'. Drawing the 'Conclusion', I will try a careful approach to find out if Disney's 'Mulan' might even be considered as a feminist movie. (...)




The Representation of Gender in Walt Disney's "Mulan"


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Osnabrück (Institut für Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Introduction to Gender Theory, language: English, abstract: 'How can they tell if I am male or female?' With this last line of 'The Ballad of Mulan' the (anonymous) author raises the gender question already in the 6th century. In this essay, I would like to analyse The Representation of Gender in Walt Disney’s 'Mulan', using the structure of the movie to focus on The Protagonist Fa Mulan, the Treatment of Women and the Depiction of Men. Additionally, the inquiry concerning the Meaning of Song Texts in Disney’s 'Mulan' appears useful as these always play an important role in conveying movie themes. In order to establish a connection to the seminar on which this paper is based, I will illustrate how the movie is a good example for Judith Butler’s theory of Gender as Performance. Last but not least, I would like to show the Influence of Disney’s 'Mulan' on Society because fairy tales and movies '[...] do influence the manner in which children conceive the world and their places in it [...]'. Drawing the 'Conclusion', I will try a careful approach to find out if Disney’s 'Mulan' might even be considered as a feminist movie. (...)




Heading towards Equality? An Analysis of the Representation of Ethnicity, Culture and Gender in Disney’s "Mulan" and "Moana" from Postcolonial and Feminist Perspectives


Book Description

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Bonn, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to point out how the authenticity of Disney’s depiction of cultures differing from white American culture in Mulan and Moana can influence the perception of represented cultures by analysing raised criticism with respect to the postcolonial concepts of white supremacy, othering and cultural appropriation. At the same time it shall be shown if, by means of Mulan and Moana, Disney manages to promote gender equality with its representation of male and female roles in both films by examining it from a feminist perspective. In order to do so, this paper subdivides into four main parts. The following chapter will offer a brief introduction to feminist theory and gender roles by focusing on feminist theory and intersectionality, the role of women as members of society and family and the representation of women in media. The third chapter will concentrate on the representation of cultures and ethnicities in media and take a look at postcolonial concepts in order to critically analyse the authenticity of the representation of Chinese and Polynesian culture through an American film studio. Chapter four, the first part of the actual analysis, will be provided in three subchapters dealing with aspects of gendered representation. Thereafter, the fifth chapter will scrutinise the authenticity of cultural representations in the two films with the aim of pointing out what has improved and what aspects still require closer research by Disney. The final chapter will then synthesise the findings to draw a comparison of the two movies and find out how the representations of gender, culture and ethnicity in Disney movies have changed from 1998 to 2016. This shall offer a conclusion about the authenticity of the cultural representation and portrayal of gender roles for each movie.




The representation of gender roles in Disney movies


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject Communications - Movies and Television, grade: 1,3, University of Duisburg-Essen (Department of Anglophone Studies), course: Applied Linguistics, language: English, abstract: Media is a big part of people’s everyday lives. It influences both how we see ourselves and how the world sees us. Media can be divided in many different types, for example: television, shows, movies, the radio, newspapers, advertisements and the internet. One of the most famous producers of children’s media is the Walt Disney Company. Since 1937 many movies, shows and other products were designed and published in order to entertain children. Thus, results a huge influence on children’s perception of the world and how they see themselves in the world. In all of them are images of women and men, which are represented in different ways and with different traits. One popular production of Disney is the Disney princess line which was created 2001 and includes more than 25,000 different products. Currently, the line includes ten movies; four of them will be analysed in this term paper: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), "Pocahontas" (1995), "Tangled" (2010) and "Frozen" (2013). These movies have an influence on children and their images of gender roles. But, how are gender roles represented in these movies and is there a remarkable change over time? This term paper will give an overview about the most influential movies of the Disney Princess line and how the image of female characters is presented. It is difficult to analyse all aspects of gender roles but the most obvious ones are regarded and how many differences exist in these four movies.




Gender Performativity in Disney’s "Mulan"


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Gender Studies, grade: 1,0, University of Luxembourg, language: English, abstract: Gender and its meaning are often discussed by anthropologists, feminists, and other researchers. However, the way that each defines the word gender is very different and there seems to be no fixed definition as to when one identifies as man or woman. This problematic, that there are so many different definitions for gender, Judith Butler takes as the center of her work, and tries to explain what they understand behind the notions of sex and gender. I will therefore base my analysis on Judith Butler’s "Gender Trouble", published in 1990. Butler’s approach is very interesting, as it brings in the notion of culture as well. And because Butler brings in culture, and culture is the subject of anthropological research, I will take some ideas of Lila Abu Lughod’s "Writing Against Culture", published in Recapturing anthropology: working in the present. The anthropological approach will only lead to a better understand of how culture and gender are so similar, as they are both not innate. The fact that gender is not innate and has to be learned, or as Judith says performed, will be the key idea that I will represent in this paper. The idea that gender is performed and is a social construction, is clearly represented in Walt Disney’s "Mulan". I will, therefore, use this movie to prove the point that I am aiming to elaborate. My point is that any individual can perform different gender identities and that individuals are able to change their gender. So, gender is not related to the sexual organs or chromosomes one has, but gender is simply a behavior that adapts to its environment and is fluid.




How can they tell if I am male or female? Gender stereotypes in Disney movies


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Communications - Movies and Television, grade: 2,3, LMU Munich, language: English, abstract: If we look behind the “sparkling stars” and “memorizing magic” that is Disney, we might see that these Disney princesses are not the best role models for children. Therefore, this research paper aims at showing these role models in Disney movies and give an awareness of problems they bring with them. “How can they tell if I am male or female?” This last line of The Ballad of Mulan shows that the gender question was already raised in the 6th century. This research aims at analyzing the representation of females in Walt Disney movies: the appearance and intelligence, helplessness and the need of protection and domestication. Before doing so, there has to be a definition what gender role is, in general, but also in Disney movies.




Mulan


Book Description

Mulan is a curious, clever young girl with a love for adventure and learning. But there is no greater love than the one she has for her family. She will do anything for them—even if it means joining the army disguised as a man in her father’s place. In battle, Mulan must find her bravery and her strength to become the legendary woman warrior she is destined to be. In this retelling of The Ballad of Mulan, the Chinese folktale comes to life through striking full-color illustrations. Readers will cheer for our hero in this classic story of courage, persistence, and standing up for what one believes in.




Diversity in Disney Films


Book Description

Although its early films featured racial caricatures and exclusively Caucasian heroines, Disney has, in recent years, become more multicultural in its filmic fare and its image. From Aladdin and Pocahontas to the Asian American boy Russell in Up, from the first African American princess in The Princess and the Frog to "Spanish-mode" Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 3, Disney films have come to both mirror and influence our increasingly diverse society. This essay collection gathers recent scholarship on representations of diversity in Disney and Disney/Pixar films, not only exploring race and gender, but also drawing on perspectives from newer areas of study, particularly sexuality/queer studies, critical whiteness studies, masculinity studies and disability studies. Covering a wide array of films, from Disney's early days and "Golden Age" to the Eisner era and current fare, these essays highlight the social impact and cultural significance of the entertainment giant. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.




Female Masculinity


Book Description

Masculinity without men. In Female Masculinity Judith Halberstam takes aim at the protected status of male masculinity and shows that female masculinity has offered a distinct alternative to it for well over two hundred years. Providing the first full-length study on this subject, Halberstam catalogs the diversity of gender expressions among masculine women from nineteenth-century pre-lesbian practices to contemporary drag king performances. Through detailed textual readings as well as empirical research, Halberstam uncovers a hidden history of female masculinities while arguing for a more nuanced understanding of gender categories that would incorporate rather than pathologize them. She rereads Anne Lister's diaries and Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness as foundational assertions of female masculine identity. She considers the enigma of the stone butch and the politics surrounding butch/femme roles within lesbian communities. She also explores issues of transsexuality among "transgender dykes"--lesbians who pass as men--and female-to-male transsexuals who may find the label of "lesbian" a temporary refuge. Halberstam also tackles such topics as women and boxing, butches in Hollywood and independent cinema, and the phenomenon of male impersonators. Female Masculinity signals a new understanding of masculine behaviors and identities, and a new direction in interdisciplinary queer scholarship. Illustrated with nearly forty photographs, including portraits, film stills, and drag king performance shots, this book provides an extensive record of the wide range of female masculinities. And as Halberstam clearly demonstrates, female masculinity is not some bad imitation of virility, but a lively and dramatic staging of hybrid and minority genders.




Movements of Movements


Book Description

Our world today is not only a world in crisis but also a world in profound movement, with increasingly large numbers of people joining or forming movements: local, national, transnational, and global. The dazzling diversity of ideas and experiences recorded in this collection capture something of the fluidity within campaigns for a more equitable planet. This book, taking internationalism seriously without tired dogmas, provides a bracing window into some of the central ideas to have emerged from within grassroots struggles from 2006 to 2010. The essays here cross borders to look at the politics of caste, class, gender, religion, and indigeneity, and move from the local to the global. What Makes Us Move?, the first of two volumes, provides a background and foundation for understanding the extraordinary range of uprisings around the world: Tahrir Square in Egypt, Occupy in North America, the indignados in Spain, Gezi Park in Turkey, and many others. It draws on the rich reflection that took place following the huge wave of creative direct actions that had preceded it, from the 1990s through to the early 2000s, including the Zapatistas in Mexico, the Battle of Seattle in the United States, and the accompanying formations such as Peoples’ Global Action and the World Social Forum. Edited by Jai Sen, who has long occupied a central position in an international network of intellectuals and activists, this book will be useful to all who work for egalitarian social change—be they in universities, parties, trade unions, social movements, or religious organisations. Contributors include Taiaiake Alfred, Tariq Ali, Daniel Bensaid, Hee-Yeon Cho, Ashok Choudhary, Lee Cormie, Jeff Corntassel, Laurence Cox, Guillermo Delgado-P, Andre Drainville, David Featherstone, Christopher Gunderson, Emilie Hayes, Francois Houtart, Fouad Kalouche, Alex Khasnabish, Xochitl Leyva Solano, Roma Malik, David McNally, Roel Meijer, Eric Mielants, Peter North, Shailja Patel, Emir Sader, Andrea Smith, Anand Teltumbde, James Toth, Virginia Vargas, and Peter Waterman.