Before I could even walk or talk, my mother would show the film Mulan to me. Throughout my childhood, I remember watching it over and over again and it instantly became my favorite movie of all time. I never got tired of watching it, and to be completely honest, I still don’t.
In no time at all, I learned every word to every song in the movie. However, this was no passing childhood infatuation. Mulan grew to be my role model, teaching me that girls can be as strong and as powerful as anyone else. Beside my mother, Mulan was the first character to introduce me to the concept of feminism.
As a little girl, I saw Mulan as someone who took matters into her own hands and controlled her own destiny. She was strong, clever and independent; qualities that I desperately wanted to have then and still strive to have today. I admired her ability to combat every obstacle she faced, physically and emotionally.
In the film, Mulan was told to look, act and behave a certain way. She was primped and dressed up to look more dainty and feminine. By being made to look this way, Mulan believed that she had to be someone that she wasn’t. I watched Mulan overcome her mental, cultural and physical obstacles and I was able to see that women can be beautiful, in control and who they want to be all at the same time.
I think that all people growing up have some kind of role model, in real life or in fiction. Role models can be anyone from favorite pop singers to favorite superheroes. Mine happened to be a Disney princess, although I never thought of Mulan as a princess.
When I hear the word “princess,” I visualize a damsel in distress, waiting to be saved by the prince. In my eyes, Mulan was nowhere near this. She was expected to be beautiful and obedient, but she found the strength within herself to defy expectations and to be her own person.
As someone who struggles with insecurity, watching a female character who could be exactly who she wanted to be helped me to see that women can be as confident and tenacious as any man.
– By Leah Kallam