March | 2014 | Sarah Beechay's Passion Blog

Here we are, ladies and gentlemen. A week I’ve been looking forward to is finally here. It’s time to talk about…

I can hear you all cheering already.

Mulan is by far the most feminist character Disney has created to date. Here’s two arguments against that and my response:

1. But Mulan doesn’t even pass the Bechdel test!

The Bechdel test is a test that was created by Alison Bechdel to determine if movies are really feminist. The requirements to pass are simple: The movie must have two women in it who talk to each other about something other than a man. You would think this is super easy to do, but of the 4,990 movies officially tested, only a little more than half meet all three criteria. It’s not surprising to me that Mulan doesn’t pass the test because well… she spends a significant chunk of the movie pretending to be a man in a place only men are allowed. And the one conversation between her and her mother surrounds marriage which I guess implies a man in that context.

2. But Mulan gets romantically involved!

So? That’s not the point of the movie or a significant plot point at all. Also, it only becomes clear that they’re going to be love interests in the last ten minutes of the movie when, oh, yeah, they’re celebrating the fact that Mulan just kicked the scariest guy in China’s ass (and his entire militia) and saved the whole population. Like I said in a previous post, Mulan’s goal was to save her father from being killed in war, Shang was merely a bonus prize.

3. Mulan only achieved success by acting like a man!

She did, to some extent. This was obviously required though. I mean, how was she supposed to achieve those things in her culture without dressing like a man and pretending to be one? Answer: She couldn’t have. Also, let’s not forget that her greatest victory comes after she has been outed. She fights Shan Yu on top of the palace holding a fan and wearing a dress. What part of that scene doesn’t convey that women are just as capable as men are of being heroes?

I’d love to hear your comments about this commentary.

Let’s have some fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSS5dEeMX64

Meg, from Disney’s Hercules, was one of my role models growing up. Not only was she beautiful, she was witty, clever, and independent. She’s also who I would consider to be my first “feminist friendly” role model.

Meg’s first line addressing Hercules (a handsome, muscular, young man) is “I’m a damsel, I’m in distress, I can handle this.” Here’s a woman, in the clutch of a huge, disgusting river god, and she eschews Hercules’ help like he offered to carry her bags for her. I can’t communicate how much I love this line. Meg is the Disney queen of sass, and this isn’t the only example of it. She quickly nicknames Hercules “Wonderboy” and announces that her friends call her Meg (if she had any friends.)

After Hercules shuts down her refusal of help (based on advice from a goat man) and sort of saves her, she gives a pretty feminist observation that I interpret as a hatred for rape culture:

And, finally, Meg becomes the heroine of the story by tossing herself in front of a falling column to save Hercules, thereby breaking the deal between Hercules and Hades, thereby saving the day, thereby blah blah blah.