Fa Mulan - Tumblr Posts
Does anyone else think about how Shang was not present in the song Girl Worth Fighting For because he was thinking about Ping, a guy (well for him, she's a guy!) And the song is GIRL Worth Fighting For 💀
Truth and Arrogance
No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.
When I was a child, I thought this was an issue of pride, of "face" as we say in Chinese culture. That the emperor was a divine symbol of the Chinese people, that to bow in submission to a conqueror would do nothing but forfeit the soul of the kingdom to shame. Perhaps this is still partly true. After all, it's not as if other lives would be spared had the emperor chosen to humiliate himself, while much (if not all) of the respect and faith placed in him by the people would have been lost. Perhaps the emperor had already recognized that Shan Yu had returned with little more than a hunting party, not even capable of conquering a single city, much less all of China.
But there's more to it than simply putting on a strong face, I think. There's that line that's tossed around in films constantly, "We do not negotiate with terrorists." To negotiate means to recognize the other party as at least some kind of equal. And while this may or may not be true in the case of real-life issues of terrorists, in the context of Disney's Mulan I believe it's more a question of universal truths. Shan Yu, having taken the castle by storm and cornered the emperor, asks not for a display of equality, but for submission, to prove his worth as a mighty warrior and conquering lord. But what authority does the emperor recognize in Shan Yu? A powerful leader and dangerous foe, of course, but these things mean little to him. Threatening his life means little as well in the grand scheme of the universe, a truth which eludes Shan Yu to the end.
A telling reversal occurs at the finale when the emperor bows to Mulan, heroine of the day and savior of China. He bows to her before her wisdom, her tenacity, and her virtue. These are things he recognizes as worthy of his respect and humility. The mountain, it would seem, will only bow when it has something greater than itself to bow to.
ᶤ'ᵛᵉ ʰᵉᵃʳᵈ ᵃ ᵍʳᵉᵃᵗ ᵈᵉᵃˡ ᵃᵇᵒᵘᵗ ʸᵒᵘ, ᶠᵃ ᵐᵘˡᵃᶰ. ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵗᵒˡᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶠᵃᵗʰᵉʳ'ˢ ᵃʳᵐᵒʳ, ʳᵃᶰ ᵃʷᵃʸ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ʰᵒᵐᵉ, ᶤᵐᵖᵉʳˢᵒᶰᵃᵗᵉᵈ ᵃ ˢᵒˡᵈᶤᵉʳ, ᵈᵉᶜᵉᶤᵛᵉᵈ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵃᶰᵈᶤᶰᵍ ᵒᶠᶠᶤᶜᵉʳ, ᵈᶤˢʰᵒᶰᵒʳᵉᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᶜʰᶤᶰᵉˢᵉ ᵃʳᵐʸ, ᵈᵉˢᵗʳᵒʸᵉᵈ ᵐʸ ᵖᵃˡᵃᶜᵉ, ᵃᶰᵈ... ʸᵒᵘ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ˢᵃᵛᵉᵈ ᵘˢ ᵃˡˡ.
-> 𝒥𝑒𝑜𝓃 𝒥𝓊𝓃𝑔𝓀𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒶𝓈 𝐹𝒶 𝑀𝓊𝓁𝒶𝓃
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⠀⠀♡ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴏʀ ʀᴇʙʟᴏɢ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴜsᴇ/sᴀᴠᴇ｡
⠀⠀♡ ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏsᴛ ᴍʏ ᴇᴅɪᴛs｡
a sketch of Mulan and General Shang in casual look.
Tis the bicons :))
commissions / speedpaint
Happy International Women’s Day! Here’s my favourite girl
instagram / twitter
so I watched mulan the other day *shakes* ooohhhh bbbBOyyhh!
What happens when I watch Disney without dropping:
remember when Mulan risked her life and her family’s honor to save her dad and ended up saving all of China from the Huns but Anna and Elsa are considered Disney’s feminist icons