Abstract
The animation of (gendered) bodies has long been central to Disney’s style, but one specific Disney film puts gender and body at the forefront of its story as well: Mulan (1998). A detailed analysis of the film’s animated images reveals a multitude of ideas concerning body and gender that are far more complex and challenging than it may at first appear. The body of the titular heroine is the site of constant and effortless transformation—a potentially subversive quality that is only matched by the animalistic body of the villain Shan Yu, with which Mulan’s is covertly aligned. Transgressive and ‘wild,’ Mulan and Shan Yu are a threat to the static power relations upheld by the ‘male’ characters of the training camp, whose bodies are shown as stable and fixed. While it can be argued that the film’s narrative ultimately reinforces traditional gender roles, the film’s visual elements provide a unique look at the constructedness of the gendered body.
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Notes
- 1.
This potentially subversive quality has not gone unnoticed by fans, who seem to find a certain satisfaction in how easily the perceived gender of a Disney character can be changed. The internet is full of drawings and compilation videos that show Disney characters who have been given a gender swap, in some cases by making only minor changes to their appearance.
- 2.
As a matter of fact, in the live-action remake (Caro 2020), Mulan is indeed portrayed as a magical character: she wields the power of ‘chi’—depicted in the film as a magical force that when possessed by men is valued and encouraged but vilified when possessed by women. However, this magical power does not help Mulan to transform her body or to pass as a man. Whereas in the original film Mulan’s bodily transformation happens with ease, the remake actually focuses on the difficulties the transformation gives Mulan, especially the pain of binding her chest. The viewer is told that Mulan’s disguise weakens her ‘chi.’ Only once she leaves her disguise behind can she be at her most powerful. Thus, while in the original Mulan’s greatest strength is her ability to transform, the remake portrays this as a hindrance for her actual magical powers. Comparing these two versions of Disney’s Mulan and their configurations of gender and identity would make a fascinating topic for future research.
- 3.
This is true not only for the shot that introduces her new face but for the rest of the film. When Mulan is masculine-presenting, the reflection symbolism is supplanted: even when Mulan is bathing in a lake, her reflection does not really appear on the water’s surface; her body only throws a vague shadow in a slightly darker shade of blue (cf. Bancroft/Cook 1998, 00:42:06–00:44:36). The reflection symbolism is only reintroduced when Mulan is uncovered as a woman and ‘returns’ to her former facial design. Using her helmet as a mirror, she once again is disappointed by what she sees (cf. ibid., 01:02:38–01:03:00). The theme of self-alienation seems to surface only when Mulan’s body wears the markers of femininity. While masculine-presenting, the question “When will my reflection show who I am inside?” never arises, either in dialogue or visually.
- 4.
There are also racial implications to this, since the presence of an eyelid crease is perceived to be a Western attribute. (Kind note from Eugenia Lao.)
- 5.
This is something the animators at Disney seemed very much aware of. In his analysis of Minnie Mouse, character animator Fred Moore describes how he relies solely on attire and gesture to convey Minnie’s ‘femaleness.’ Moore’s phrasing and tone also speak to the effort that was put into achieving and maintaining Minnie’s gender performance: “Drawn same as Mickey, substituting a skirt and lace pants for his pants, and high-heeled slippers in place of his shoes with addition of a small hat and eye-lids and lashes. Minnie’s poses and mannerisms should be definitely feminine. This means, too, her expressions, reactions, etc. […] In order to make Minnie as feminine as possible, we should use everything in her make-up to achieve this end. […] Her eyelids and eyelashes could help very much in keeping her feminine […]” (1981, 553, emphasis added).
- 6.
As the film Mulan heavily relies on the principles and rules set by the ‘illusion of life’ paradigm, one could argue that this potential is only realised within the boundaries of this style. According to Griffin the ‘illusion of life’ style quelled animation’s inherent ability to expose the constructedness of identity and therefore gender when it attempted to base animation on some form of ‘realism’ and to animate bodies that move and look ‘natural.’ However, readings that went against the grain by focusing on the constructedness of the animated figures became even more satisfyingly rebellious (cf. 2000, 71–72).
- 7.
- 8.
It is important to note that Mulan not only places its characters on different sides of the culture/nature or human/nonhuman dichotomy, but in doing so simultaneously creates and defines these very categories. As Donna Haraway reminds us, there is nothing self-evident about any of those dichotomies; they are always constructed and highly specific: “Remember, however, that what counts as human and as nonhuman is not given by definition, but only by relation, by engagement in situated, worldly encounters, where boundaries take shape and categories sediment. If feminist, antiracist, multicultural science studies—not to mention technoscience—have taught us anything, it is that what counts as human is not, and should not be, self-evident” (1994, 64).
- 9.
As already argued in a previous essay, a new kind of Disney villain emerged during the 1990s who was a departure from the tall, thin and graceful villains that dominated earlier Disney films. This new villain is marked as excessively masculine—towering height, enormous hands and extreme muscularity being his most striking features. In my analysis of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast (Trousdale/Wise 1991), I termed this kind of villain ‘hypermasculine’ (cf. Festl 2019, 3). Shan Yu is another example of this type of Disney antagonist. In contrast to Gaston, he is not portrayed as particularly vain or narcissistic (cf. ibid., 14–17). Whereas most of the time Gaston is presented as somewhat comedic in his villainy, Shan Yu is always unironically presented as a menace. His hypermasculinity is never the object of ridicule.
- 10.
‘Supposedly’ because, as Dyer notes, while “[t]he potential for muscularity in men is seen as a biological given,” visible muscularity—and extreme muscularity especially—reveals the muscular male body as something that is far from ‘natural,’ but intentional and achieved (1982, 71). While Gaston revels in his own muscularity, always showcasing it, but never ‘legitimising’ it through activity (cf. Festl 2019, 17–24), Shan Yu hides his muscles under furs: he only shows off his physical abilities, never his body.
- 11.
In the Mulan remake (Caro 2020) the male villain, Bori Khan, is accompanied by the witch Xianniang. Thus, in this version a ‘wild’ man as well as a ‘wild’ woman are featured as antagonists. The character of Xianniang is used primarily as a cautionary tale for Mulan as they are both women who wield the power of ‘chi.’ Yet, Xianniang has chosen to turn her back on a society that is punishing her for her powers, while Mulan ultimately strives to thrive in it.
- 12.
An element that was included in the film, according to producer Pam Coats, because fireworks as an invention represent one of ancient China’s cultural legacies (cf. Making of: Character Design 2004, 00:02:41–00:02:55).
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Festl, Y. (2022). “Be a Man”. In: Dettmar, U., Tomkowiak, I. (eds) On Disney. Studien zu Kinder- und Jugendliteratur und -medien, vol 9. J.B. Metzler, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-64625-0_4
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