At a time when individualism is advocated as the answer to not only surviving, but most importantly to success, how much is too much of a uniqueness one should be proud of owning in relative to one’s personality? Do we – all of us – truly believe that conformation is only part of a past forgettable by the best of us? What is rebellion if not the part of a person we dare not be?
In the Chinese poem the Ballad of Mulan, the heroine, Hua Mulan, joined the army when only males were supposed to defend the country. Or when talking in a more familiar territory, the heroine Mulan in the Disney animated film of the same title, it is not only her decision to do the unthinkable that makes her different, it is also her traits that were exaggeratedly portrayed during the opening scenes of dancing and singing whilst getting ready to meet a matchmaker that introduce us to a more complex individual.
But, is her personality really complex, or is it complex because society refuses to see her as she is until it is agreed for her to stop all eccentricities in the name of acceptance?
At the end of the movie, after all her adventures involving an eagle-whistler and a talking dragon neared to an end, she returned home with the sword of the enemy, and a gold medal by the emperor. All these presented to her father, yet he did none but hugged her. And so we found out that she is, and always will be, loved by her family without having to endure harsh weather and war in her effort to bring honor to the family – finally.
Sometimes I wonder, after centuries of the same story being told, why hasn’t the epic of fighting insecurities be in favor of a more open-minded society which realizes a cocoon is no more but a danger in creating a rigid community that knows not a way of speaking love, only of forcing it?
After Mulan’s ridiculous failed attempt at finding a perfect match, her father sat by her and said these unforgettable words: “My my, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one’s late, but I’ll bet that when it blooms it will be the most beautiful of all.”
Unfortunately, one can’t expect everyone in life to be as well-articulated as a Disney writer, eh?
-C-
The Mind Is Where The Body Isn't
2 comments:
disney films always give us good moral lessons. unfortunately, there are few enough people who could really read between the lines and get the best of it. i can say that you are among the few ones.
speak of the devil! i just watched it just now :))
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