Description:

In this image, I strive to reflect Mulan’s identity as a woman. In the Disney movie, Mulan struggles to come to terms with the “femininity” that was expected of Chinese women in her time. The movie can be seen as a “coming of age” film that chronicles her realisation that a woman is not only of cosmetics and beauty but also of strength and wits. Hence,  I tried to depict that with a Mulan that has undergone the Huns invasion (hence short hair and in female clothing) for it is this Mulan who has come to terms with herself as a Chinese woman and portrayed her warrior side with the fan that chronicles her training process (from being weak to strong, in accordance with the positions).

Visual Analysis: 

I decided to place both her “warrior” side and her feminine side in one picture and decided to portray her in the aftermath of the Huns invasion in which she now has short hair and is discharged from the military. She is in female clothing and has a flower blossoming on her hair to signify her womanhood (the bloom of flowers in both the movie and Chinese culture, signifies the growth of a women). The colors that I used are also softer and brighter to show a more optimistic outlook and the enlightenment she experiences after going through the military.

The background is red to signify the  boldness and strength of a warrior and I used a lighter shade of red as her shadows to signify that the strength she has as a warrior is a part of her strength as a woman and a person too.

The fan chronicles her journey as a warrior and her growth too-from falling down and tumbling to flying in midst air with a kick and I used her position to signify her growth too (from a low position to a flying position) and I placed that in the fan because a fan was used in the earlier part of a movie to be an essential of a woman and is used to hide a woman’s face from her to be husband. Instead of using the fan to hide her identity (that suggests the inferiority of women who must “hide”), I subverted it and used it to show her identity and strength as a warrior instead, suggesting that a woman does not have to hide her strengths, much less herself.

Behind, in the background, I used the “Chinese words” (traditional) that are used in the movie as in the critique, it was suggested and I found the background plain. Plus, fading out the words suggests that Mulan is no longer trapped by the “Chinese culture (rules regarding femininity)” that she felt victimised by.