Other Group involves: Yujin Lee Emilija Metlovaite
This is my part of the Presentation:
The case study that I did w
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Category: Placing Popular Culture
1000mapa
Case study: Mulan (2020 version):
1000mapa Cw2 Essay - 1000words
Gender within todays society can be split between being an established old societal construct that is a system that is embedded so heavily in everyday life that mainly benefits cis-people more specifically cis-men. Gender is ‘not something we are born with, and not something we have, but something we do’ (Eckert, P & McConnell Ginet, S. (2006)p1) However, gender can also involve identity which helps break down these constructs and shows that gender is scientifically classed as a completely different thing to sex, such as people identifying as transgender, nonbinary, genderfluid or gender non-conforming.
Feminism can come in different forms and people can be feminists in different ways, for example it is said that there are four different types of feminist: ‘radical, Marxist, liberal and what Sylvia Walby (1990) calls dual-systems theory’(Storey, J. (2018)P1) which demonstrates that people take feminism in different ways and face feminism in whatever way that they practice/are taught it. to one another. However, feminism is to form an equality so that everyone can be equal. Feminism is still an on-going movement to get equality between all sexes, this involves equal pay to taking down misogyny. These two can link heavily to one another as feminism is to create equality and that could include between any gender.
Films show off feminism in subtle and interesting ways. A film that shows a unique representation if Mulan, more specifically 2020 live action version of Disney’s Mulan, as it shows a lot of older Asian cultured traditions that involve a lot of specific gender roles that have been placed upon people by their sex an example of this how straight at the start the audience is made aware that women can not be warriors which is a gender role that is clearly going to be broken within the film.
Mulan fights gender roles in subtle ways and one of the ways that they have done this is having a main protagonist and having one of the main antagonists to be powerful and intellectual women, however they still show a hierarchy where a man is leading warriors which could suggest at the start that women cannot be leaders.
Even though this film has high representation of Asian culture and race as well as the traditional parts of their culture, for example women serving their husbands, within this film if they break this tradition its classed as an humiliation which shows that Mulan is aware of this and starts to take the first step to breaking down these gender roles. With Mulan being the protagonist I think there are very good moments where her character is brave for breaking these gender roles set by this cultural society and due to this bravery it shows the audience that there shouldn’t be these gendered issues within society.
Mulan also shows a slight representation of the trans community and a lot of transgender/gender nonconforming people grew up with Mulan being one of the only slight representation that they have. As it shows a woman that is born at birth can pass as male and this giving hope and representation to young trans people who fighting for their rights. But it also shows the some of the fear of getting caught and how people could treat you very different to what your gender identity is. Sex is biological; it is physiologically what prompts us to be assigned as male or female. As transgender people are trying to break these stereotypes and be themselves, ‘Gender is socially constructed; it consists of the ideas we have about masculinity and femininity’ (Trier-Bieniek, A & Leavy.(2014) p2) which shows that society has constructed this idea that one gender has to more masculine than others. This is highly demonstrated through toxic masculinity and men needing to be stronger than another gender as a lot of the men within the film are very traditional and controlling which hold a lot of what in our society still has. ‘The concern with differences includes the socially constructed categories sex and gender, as well as sexuality and social class’ (Radtke,H,L.(2017).p1) this quote suggests due to gender being an imbedded system from birth that people have build up these stereotypes that need to be broken.
Mulan shows that women are powerful and when given the same treatment as men can do anything they can if not even better. That strength can come from perseverance and practice and skill not gender/sex. This is done a lot throughout the film but one of the times it is prevalent would be when Mulan rides into battle with her hair down and shows people her strength. Not only that but she shows that she has wit and intelligence with her motives breaks the stereotype of women being fragile, weak and only here to serve men as well as only being shown as objects. Mulan’s journey within the film beats the concept that only men can do successful and therefore she begins the movement that women can be warriors.
Even though Mulan does feminism and gender representation some justice, media in general still has a long way to go to break the more damaging stereotypes and gender roles that they are still placing on people to this day.
References (APA List):
Eckert, P & McConnell Ginet, S. (2006). Language and Gender, Second Edition; Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. Pg1-3. Chap1 (stanford.edu)
Storey, J. (2018). Gender and sexuality, Women at the cinema; Routledge. P1-2. someTitle (aula.education)
Trier-Bieniek, A & Leavy.(2014). P. Gender & Pop Culture; Sense Publishers. P2-3. someTitle (aula.education)
Munro, E. (2013) Feminism: A Fourth Wave? ; Centre for Cultural Policy Research at Glasgow University. P1. Feminism: A Fourth Wave? (aula.education)
Radtke,H,L.(2017). Feminist theory in Feminism & Psychology [Part I]: Dealing with differences and negotiating the biological; University of Calgary, Canada. P1. Feminist theory in Feminism & Psychology [Part I]: Dealing with differences and negotiating the biological (sagepub.com)