Young children may be frightened of the Huns, the villains of the film. They’re evil and fairly grotesque looking. The film does a good job of making them convincingly villainous. They are always accompanied with ominous music and dark colors, so children should easily understand that they’re the bad guys. If your children are scared by the Huns and their scary nature, just try and assure them that they are not real and cannot hurt them, as young children often have trouble understanding the reality and fantasy of media.
Due to the polarity of the gender norms presented in Mulan, children most likely won’t have any trouble identifying male and female characters, what their roles are, and what they’re “supposed to do.” Instead, children under the age of seven may have a hard time discerning whether or not these gender roles are accurate reflections of their own life and the society at large. The ultimate goal of a woman in the film is to work toward acting favorably in a manner that will get her a man. If a woman doesn’t accomplish this, she is seen as dishonorable to her family and therefore worthless. If a child, regardless of biological sex or gender, sees the film without any idea of how the real world operates, they may begin to believe that women are supposed to be all of the things that the film celebrates as being “a real woman.” Although they may pick up on the fact that Mulan is an intelligent, strong, brave young woman, the more preferred gender roles in the film's society are the ones that are emphasized.
Due to the polarity of the gender norms presented in Mulan, children most likely won’t have any trouble identifying male and female characters, what their roles are, and what they’re “supposed to do.” Instead, children under the age of seven may have a hard time discerning whether or not these gender roles are accurate reflections of their own life and the society at large. The ultimate goal of a woman in the film is to work toward acting favorably in a manner that will get her a man. If a woman doesn’t accomplish this, she is seen as dishonorable to her family and therefore worthless. If a child, regardless of biological sex or gender, sees the film without any idea of how the real world operates, they may begin to believe that women are supposed to be all of the things that the film celebrates as being “a real woman.” Although they may pick up on the fact that Mulan is an intelligent, strong, brave young woman, the more preferred gender roles in the film's society are the ones that are emphasized.
In contrast to the success and fit nature of Li Shang’s character, the weak characters are often shown as being either extremely thin and bony or heavier and uncoordinated. There are no middle ground body types in the film. Either a man is thin or fat and weak or muscular and successful. This could also contribute to a negative idea of what men should be like for children, especially those in the process of developing their ideas about gender and the roles that accompany them.
In order to diminish the effects of these binary roles on
children while they watch the film, it is recommended that parents watch the
film with their children and discuss the gender roles presented as they appear.
Explaining to children that one's gender doesn't dictate their worth and promoting healthy emotional expression can
facilitate early emotional education. In addition, having a parent express
immediate discontent with a problematic component of the film is the best way
for a child to learn what is or what is not appropriate. Since children have
limited memory capacity, sitting down with a child after a film has ended will
not be as beneficial because there is a high chance they have already forgotten
the specifics of the scenes or events in question.
Due to Mulan being a story about a young woman in war, it is obvious that
you are going to be exposed to countless scenes that involve violence. As a
parent you may find the fantasy and sanitized violence in a cartoon film to be
harmless, however a child may interpret what they are seeing much differently.
Their lack of real world experience is going to give them a different
developmental perspective on certain scenes in this film.
In the start of one specific scene, the viewer is given a high
energy and comical performance about each soldier’s perfect women and how they
are fighting for these ideal women. They then abruptly stop singing and
you are shown a piercing red and black devastated, scorched village left over
from the Huns. As the scene continues on it shows a wide-screen shot of a field
covered in black dots, ultimately representing the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Although the characters don't discuss the sight they're seeing, their sad
demeanor portrays to children that what has happened is not positive. As their
journey continues, Mulan and her fellow soldiers are attacked in the snowy
mountains. During the brawl Mulan is sliced by the enemy’s sword and pulls her hand away to find
blood. A child could understand that Mulan is hurt but may not understand the
damage a sword could do to an individual. As a parent, sitting with your child
and partaking in social co-viewing would be beneficial to help a child
understand these powerful scenes. Explaining that violence in the real world
and violence in cartoons is different can help them understand that the film's
messages about violence aren't realistic or acceptable.
