By Risa Deninta Irawan
Mulan (1998) is an animation that illustrates how women and men are expected to behave. It starts with Mulan’s family who always want her to be an obedient girl. She can’t refuse what her family wants to do like dressing up her to meet the matchmaker. However, she breaks the rule when her father sacrifices his self to join the army in his bad condition. Mulan decides to pretend to be her father. In the end, she successfully frees the country from danger. It can be analyzed by three major part scenes.
In Mulan’s community, women should behave perfectly from personality. A woman who is obedient and sweet is believed can bring honor to the family. It’s happened to Mulan, her family expects an honor that shows in, “You’ll bring honor to us all” [00:06:57]. The camera uses a medium-long shot to show Mulan’s facial expression which seems uncomfortable, but the others seem the opposite. At the same time, the scene shows Mulan is kneeling while the others are standing, which means Mulan can’t do what she wants except follow the others. In this social case, have a good personality like obedient is important for women. Mulan doesn’t even have a chance to express her true self.
Women in Mulan’s community are also expected to be perfect from physical appearance. The scene uses a medium-long shot to show Mulan’s expression which seems unhappy after the matchmaker gives a bad impression to her, “Too skinny” [00:09:23]. Mulan’s position behind the matchmaker implies she doesn’t have the power to argue. In addition, the pink clothes which Mulan wears signify that a woman should be innocent. The fabric wrapped around Mulan’s waist represent that a woman should have a tiny waist because it is what men like. The heavy make-up on her face also represents that a woman has to be beautiful. In this case, the beauty parameter for women is about being innocent, have a tiny waist, and put on heavy makeup to cover up the face, whereas they can be beautiful in their own way.
On the other hand, men are expected to be the protector as in Mulan’s community, only men can join the army. In this scene, the camera is positioned lower than Mulan’s father to illustrates he is powerful. His clenched hands represent that a man should be brave like he says, “I am ready to serve the Emperor” [00:15:19]. He sacrifices his self to protect his family and country by accepting the emperor’s order. This social case signifies that men have a higher position than women. Men are considered to be protectors because they are expected to be brave and powerful.
To sum up everything, women and men in Mulan animation have a different positions. Women are expected to be perfect from personality and appearance. They are considered for being obedient, sweet, and have a tiny waist but can’t express their true self because they are powerless than men. Men are expected to join the army because they have a higher power, strong, and brave. This implies inequality gender that women have a weak position than men.