In the film “Mulan” produced by Barry Cook and Tony Bancroft, the stereotypical view upon women’s capabilities is completely smashed. At the beginning of the movie Mulan is trying to conform to her family’s and country’s views of how women should act, by reciting words like “poised, punctual, graceful and quiet” (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan), as she prepares for an interview with the ‘matchmaker’. She is constantly harassed and put down for acting un lady like, especially when she tries to volunteer for war, in the place of her ill father: “You will do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man’s presence.” (Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan). However, her true-self comes through and convinces her to dress up as a boy and replace her father as a fake son. Once, she arrives to the camp she is shown through her own efforts and the remarks of others, how weak she is compared to the other soldiers. Despite the fact that she was told to go home due to her inabilities, she works hard all day and night and by the morning she proves to everyone that she is the strongest “man” there by not only completing all the tasks, but also coming first in all of them. As she breaks free from her gender labels and is able to be her true self, she thinks of an elaborate plan, takes the last cannon and shoots it at the mountains to create an avalanche and kill almost all the enemy’s army. The other soldiers are thrilled of the win but as she shows that she is in fact a woman, they shun her and say she is a huge dishonour to the country. Notwithstanding her being completely hated upon, she comes back and saves the kingdom from the rest of the evil army and saves the day. Mulan’s gender affected her identity because people believed that because she was a woman, she was not strong or smart enough to take place in the army, even after she proved to them the capabilities that she does posses, they still shunned her for entering the army. Furthermore, her country its self believed that woman were solely allowed to look pretty, sit there and be quiet. She proves to her country and herself that women are not only strong but they are capable, they are intelligent and they can too, be heroes.

Mulan. Walt Disney, 1998.

“Popular Feminism – Breaking Down Assigned Gender Roles (Yes Amy, I Really Wrote This).” Spencer Gates’s Blog. N.p., 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.