More Mulan Thoughts

Since rewatching Mulan, it’s really stayed in my head (and not just “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”!)  I’ve been trying to pinpoint why I love Mulan so much as a heroine, and despite my love for female characters who can throw down – Mulan was likely the first woman warrior I admired – I’m a bit surprised to realize what a small role the action stuff plays in what makes her so great.

At a glance, people might say the film is about a girl proving she can fight with the boys.  There are elements of that, to be sure, and I can see why the theme is touted so often.  It’s a clear, uncomplicated girl-power message that’s pretty accessible.   Which is good – it’s a theme worth presenting – but really, there’s so much more that Mulan is doing, which, for me, is what really elevates the film into something magnificient.

Mulan’s introduction makes it clear that she doesn’t fit in.  She’s awkward and uncomfortable in the ostentatious outfit she’s swathed in to meet the matchmaker, and she really can’t hold her tongue when she has something important to say.  She doesn’t align with the graceful, blandly appealing picture of silent femininity to which the people of her village subscribe.  It’s no wonder she doesn’t truly find herself until she escapes those narrow, gendered expectations.

But that’s not to say she was longing to wear armor, go to war, and do some damage with a sword.  Merida from Brave would’ve been all over that; if she’d been in Mulan’s movie, she’d have joined the army because she wanted to, for the adventure and the chance to show she’s just as good as anybody else.  Mulan, however, isn’t a fighter.  She’s not an Action Girl.  She’s not a “tomboy.”  She becomes a soldier, not for excitement, adrenaline, or a place to belong, but for the love of her family.  Her father is ailing and wouldn’t survive a war.  The whole family knows that, but they also know he won’t refuse the emperor’s call.  Rather than let him go off to fight and die, Mulan takes his place and enters a completely different world where she doesn’t fit in.

Out of the dolled-up frying pan and into the testosterone-fueled fire.  Mulan isn’t herself here, either, and her first day of training goes almost as disastrously as her visit to the matchmaker.  The big difference is that, while the other future brides all seemed picture-perfect, the other soldiers are just as untrained as she is, and unlike the matchmaker, her captain’s job is to teach her, not merely judge her.  Having embraced the army as her last real chance to bring honor to her family, Mulan works her butt off, and she grows immensely in strength and abilities.  It’s not a lark or an opportunity to show off – it’s serious work, and she puts everything she has into it.

I also like that, although Mulan definitely gets her well-deserved share of Big Damn Hero moments, they tend to hinge on her already-established attritube:  her brains.  Mulan fights smart, taking out opponents that are way bigger and more technically-skilled than she is by a) taking stock of her surroundings, b) using what’s on hand to her advantage, and c) keeping her eyes on the big picture.  Similarly, her final triumph involves plenty of (awesome) action, but her biggest personal win has nothing to do with her combat skills.  Again, it comes back to an established trait – her assertiveness – and brings her story full circle.  For her, victory isn’t beating up all the boys.  It’s getting the boys to listen to what she has to say and trust her intelligence and insight, even after they find out she’s a woman.  To protect those she loves, she goes to war in disguise, but when she comes back a hero, it’s finally as herself.