Language, gender, and patriarchy in Mulan: a diachronic analysis of a Disney Princess movie

Abstract

Movies can implicitly promote social and ideological norms on a mass scale, making them powerful socialization agents, especially among children. However, Hollywood movies are no longer confined to the influence of American ideals, as media companies now have to consider the growing influence of markets such as China. With this in mind, this paper explores the portrayal of gender, power, and gendered roles across two versions of Disney’s Mulan (1998 and 2020). Specifically, it explores male-coded and female-coded characters’ talk for portrayals of gender and the enactment of assigned roles through conversational strategies and the content of talk. Findings indicate a subtle shift in the distribution of “dominant” discourse between the two versions, despite female-coded characters being framed as dutiful wives, brides-to-be, and/or mothers in both movies. Specifically, in Mulan 2020, male-coded characters are portrayed as more “feminine” through their talk, while female-coded characters—particularly Mulan and Xianniang—are portrayed as more “masculine”, further highlighting a recent trend for more nuanced portrayals of gender in Disney movies. Based on these results and others, the paper argues that the portrayal of gender in Mulan 2020, while still primarily associated with heteronormative roles in service of a patriarchal world, has undergone subtle changes that may reflect American and Chinese influences.