Snow White And Mulan example essay topic

Compare and Contrast the representation of female characters in Snow White and Mulan. To what extent can Disney be said to have moved with the times? Disney is an international film company that dominates full-length feature animations. Two feature long cartoons, Snow White (1937) and Mulan (1999), are good examples where a female character takes the central role, Snow White being from the first half of the 20th century and Mulan from modern times.

Between the times when these films were made, one might expect the representation of women may have changed, (as female equality has improved) as well as some of the stereotypes of women that Disney has been criticised of conveying in the past. Before Mulan was created Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'The Little Mermaid' had already marked a significant change in the portrayal of women, but it can still be argued that behind the audacious, attractive, and determined characters they are still happy homemakers just waiting to settle down. Other traditional Disney heroines are characters like Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Cinderella. In many ways they are similar to Snow White and became examples of how to act, what to do, and what was accepted and expected as a role model or just a woman. All three of them are shy, passive, and na " ive towards the evils of the world. Their appearance in many ways relates to their personalities.

They lack detail, are flawless, and are extremely unrealistic. Snow White is portrayed, at the beginning of the film, as an innocent obedient, domestic child, who dreams of finding the man she will marry, but is inactive in doing so. In comparison with Snow White at the start of the film, Mulan is very different. Although Mulan wants to be conventional / traditional she is disorganised and clumsy. She is sacrifices herself and tries to be dutiful to uphold the family honour despite the fact that in actuality she feels as if she is trying to impersonate somebody she could never be. Snow White is depicted as a timid, young girl, na " ive towards the dangers that threaten her.

Once her evil stepmother sends a huntsman to kill Snow White her fate is in the hands of a man, much like the power in the world at that time. Since Snow White was made there has been many changes in the way women are treated, they have much more power and autonomy, and this is visible in Mulan. Instead of following the rules of society Mulan opposes and challenges them. It is hard to imagine Snow White resisting society's regulations. Snow White represents the submissive women before the feminist revolution and agrees to keep the house, cook, make beds, wash, sew and keep everything neat and tidy. She illustrated that the place for women was in the house, instilled in the domestic expectations of domesticity for women in society.

Mulan does none of the kind. She instead charges off to join the army in the place of her father and takes her life in her own hands, rather than sitting around dreaming of romance. In this sense Mulan is a true liberated heroine, she is independent of anyone else, and makes decisions on her own. Mulan is far more complex than most Disney heroines; she has personal flaws, which make her easier to relate to than other characters. These flaws are ones such as outspokenness and hubris, which could cost her honour and the future of her family, given the restraints of Chinese culture.

Mulan also achieves nearly everything on her own. Although Mush u (a dragon sent to help Mulan) provides her with self-confidence and companionship he is no fairy godmother. All these things argue that Mulan's character does subvert the traditional idea of a heroine but there are also arguments that she still identifies with male authority instead of seeking her own empowerment. This can be recognised at the end when Mulan is offered a place in the emperor's council, but refuses and instead decides to return home.

Even though Mulan is a courageous and passionate heroine, her incentive for entering the army has nothing to do with her own desires but everything to do with the power of patriarchy (represented by her father and the emperor). It is still clear that men have control over Mulan life, and whether she is to live or die, which could be said to make her conform to being a traditional heroine, still at the mercy of a mans world. In more recent films such as The Little Mermaid, Ariel wants to transform her body so she can win the prince, and in Beauty and the Beast, it's suggested that all an abusive man really needs is the love of a good woman to tame him. The story of Mulan is a unique. It's not what she accomplishes disguised as a man so much as what she achieves as a woman in a world where women are supposed to be beautiful, silent and still.

In the end, she uses specifically feminine accessories like a scarf and a fan to defeat a hulking enemy who calls her "little girl". Even though, like in most Disney films, the hero ends up falling for her, its not because of any tricks on her part; it takes a kick from the Emperor for Shang to understand that you don't meet a girl like Mulan every dynasty, but once he catches on, he realizes that the qualities that make her behavior scandalous are precisely the things he admires about her. Snow White is exceptionally passive in her relationship with the prince. They do not communicate with each other throughout the film, and it seems the entire relationship is based on appearance, and how sexually attracted to each other they are. In the end the prince carts Snow White away to a castle in the sky, while her friends (the seven dwarfs), who have cherished her and been there for her, are left without a care in the world. This relationship is completely unrealistic and vastly idealistic.

Many people may wish that their relationship could be this effortless, and flawless, but human reality would not tolerate it. Mulan isn't waiting for her prince to someday come; when he does arrive, having known her primarily as a man, and having learned to admire her for her deeper qualities, the romance is muted and subtle. One of the most striking features of the way parenthood is represented in Disney's more recent animations is the almost total absence of the mothers. Mothers are absent in far greater numbers than either fathers or mothers of the pre-Little Mermaid era. The maternal vacuum is breathtakingly absolute: With the single exception of Mulan, every single relevant major character of the recent Disney animations - Ariel, Belle, Aladdin and Jasmine, Pocahontas, Hercules, Tarzan and Jane- either loses his or her mother in infancy, or is permanently separated from her during or before childhood, or simply has no onscreen mother at all. Significantly, it's the heroines - Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Jane - who are almost invariably being raised by single fathers with no sign or mention of a mother or mother figure, ever.

The heroine's motherless life serves to accentuate her own feminine virtues and independence, since her father is invariably either domineering, feeble, and / or ridiculous, and there is no "competing" feminine figure to suggest that the heroine needs any support or guidance. The one non-absent mother is Mulan's, but she only plays an inoperative role in the story and poses no threat to her daughter's autonomy. I would therefore argue that Disney has not moved with the times, if Disney had we would expect mothers (older women) to have a more prominent influence and be role models as they often are in real life. Snow White is contrasted with her stepmother right the way through the movie. Many stereotypes can be recognised when comparing and contrasting the two female characters. One of these stereotypes is that women in a powerful position are evil and potentially dangerous.

In this era women were regarded as being insubstantial and incompetent. They were supposed to stay tranquil, and it was not a woman's place to express her own opinion, if they gained power it would turn them vain and merciless. Another of these stereotypes is one of appearance. When the stepmother transforms herself into a disguise, it is not one that just makes her unrecognisable, it also is shown to reflect her true personality, cruel. These features of her personality are hidden inside an old, ugly, crone, representing the stereotype that old woman and unattractive people are also unkind. These kinds of stereotypes are not exploited in Mulan, and to this extent Disney could be said to have moved with the times.

Even they may have found love for different reasons apart from attractiveness every one of them still does have to find love and romance to be happy. And no matter how adventurous or empowered they may initially seem, they always settle for traditional roles of security and domesticity in the end. Even though there is evidence that Disney may have moved with the times gender stereotyping in our society is still made even more pronounced by the caricaturing process of cartoon animation and simplified scripting. One worrying factor is that these gender stereotypes are not aimed at audiences who can evaluate them thoroughly but at younger children who absorb the information and use these stereotypes to reflect upon society in later life. It could be argued that there has been some progression in the portrayals of female characters in Disney over time.

Belle of Beauty and the Beast is far more interested in reading books than in the overtures of the macho Gaston. Pocahontas saves the life of Captain John Smith and averts a war, not by her figure but by her words. Mulan saves the lives of Captain Shang and the emperor, and proves herself a war hero. All this is evidence, to support the fact that as society has changed, and so has Disney's portrayal of women. Disney has produced many different representations of women throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Some of the more modern heroines have aspects of them like independence and determination that it would be excellent for young woman to aspire to.

There are social lessons to be explored in this movie. Mulan is expected to be a good wife, not a war hero. Her credibility and good sense are compromised exclusively on the basis of her gender. Parents can easily use the treatment she receives as a discussion starter on why we give some people credibility and not others.

It can also encourage a child-no matter what the gender-to aspire to reach their dreams, no matter how out-of-reach they may seem. Snow White, on the other hand, has good moral lessons about not trusting strangers, but it also could persuade children to discriminate against unattractive people because they could be evil. It has been widely published that Disney movies display strong gender stereotypes. Some writers even go so far as to suggest that Disney is actively trying to reinforce stereotypes. However, very little has been written about how stereotypical presentations of men and women affect the most easily influenced part of society, children. The effect of Disney movies on children is critical to the argument that Disney movies reinforce traditional gender stereotypes in society, but has been largely ignored by those that deride Disney for its sexism, leaving a relatively hollow argument.

Everything produced by a society inevitably shows the social biases of its creators. Disney movies have undeniably displayed men and women in stereotypical roles and in stereotypical body forms. Some critics would suggest that this is the result of ulterior motives, while in reality it is only a side effect of common societal norms and the very nature of animation. Devoid of all other considerations, Disney movies could be seen as a very sexist influence on children only starting to form their views of the world. However, when considered with the society that created them, Disney movies fall in line with the sexual biases that exist in society. A child that watches Disney movies will be no more sexist than one that does not.

In the end, all prejudices come from society as a whole and all children will be exposed to them, regardless of Disney. However, there are elements of Disney movies that can lead to the characterization that they impart sexist views on developing children. One of these elements is the timelessness of the movies. Compared to most forms of entertainment, Disney's animated works have remained very much in the public consciousness despite their age. A sexist society produces sexist entertainment, even for its children.

The two qualities of Disney animation, its age and its stylization, make sexism much easier to see, and have resulted in much more criticism for Disney than for other companies producing entertainment for children. The fact that Disney movies are marketed toward children also increases concerns that they support sexism and for good reason. Society should not impart sexist views on its youth. And although Disney may encourage gender stereotyping it is by no means responsible for it.

Disney has produced films that do show more modern views of gender, and there are definitely some qualities in Mulan that women should aspire to.