Message from tstevenson

[Anonymous]

Mulan

I am going to use the movie Mulan to teach Chinese culture to my students. I sometimes shy away from using any Disney movie to teach history, especially since Disney has sometimes been accused of having a somewhat revisionist view when it comes to interpreting historical fact, i.e. Remember the Alamo, Pocahontas, Fantasia… However, I feel Disney was accurate and most of all, faithful to Chinese culture with Mulan. I can stop and start my video for commentary at almost any point in the movie to talk about something related to Chinese culture.

The first thing I would point out is how the signal flares were lit to warn the Chinese army of invaders. Scholars to this day do not know how those flares were lit to signal danger, but this is a good question and answer for my students to surmise how it was done.

Next, I would explain the context of the Hun invasion into China during this time period. I can also mention the Mongol invasion and its influence on China. I could elaborate at length about this, and the subject matter is relevant for both 6th and 7th graders.

The next representation is the philosophy surrounding ancestor worship. The scenes where Mulan and her family ask for intervention from their ancestors are textbook Chinese belief, and Disney does it with humor, sincerity, and reverence. I talk about this idea as a compare and contrast segment in my class between various religious beliefs around the world, and personalize it with my students with their own beliefs and ideas about their ancestors.

We also talk about the idea of “saving face,” which is the desire to not appear weak or look bad in the eyes of others. Face is all about how other people view you. The twist here is a gender issue mixed in with the idea of saving face and upholding family honor when it comes to the duties and obligations of individuals in a family. The story line is magnificent in showing traditional gender values, the taboos of offending those values, and the ramifications of crossing the line when these values are not upheld.

This lends itself well to Confucian concepts, and I examine this concept to my students for detailed analysis with the help of the movie as a springboard to stimulate discussion.

Overall, Mulan is a fun movie which is very well done, and is an achievement to the animation technology that was cutting edge at the time. It is also a true and spirited story that is endearing to all who watch it.