1
greenteaberry
[#BoycottMulan]
-because if I'm watching Mulan, I'm watching an authentic one with a Chinese creative team-
The storyline stayed true to the original poem, painting Mulan as an ordinary girl who worked hard to become an extraordinary hero. She's a flawed character that developed throughout the (very fast-paced) movie. Everything she did, she did because of love for her father, for her fellow soldiers, and for her country. The movie is very down-to-earth and realistic, in the sense that you can't even see the main characters' faces clearly for a large part of the movie because they're all covered in dust and dirt from being at war.
The first 30 min of the movie gets a bit choppy, but sets up the stage for the immense emotions and character development to follow. And then the lead characters' bravery and comradery got me hooked throughout the whole thing. At the end I was so touched by Mulan's lines that I was pretty much in tears. I think the story ended at an appropriate place, leaving a whole bunch of mixed emotions behind in my heart. BRB still trying to get over the movie--
The beauty in this Mulan is she is human. Actor Chen Kun said that she embodies the spirit of a nobody, just like you and me. That everyone can be a Mulan if we are brave. Director Jingle Ma said that we can find Mulans everywhere, even nowadays -- the grassroot girls working multiple jobs to support their families are all modern-day Mulans.
For those choosing between Disney and this:
2009 Mulan is an authentic take of the classical Chinese Mulan poem. Because Chinese people wrote/produced it, the heroine does not have culturally inconsistent superpowers/symbolism (cough cough, Disney live-action). Instead, the film was created only with respect for Chinese history, culture, and values. If we want to even out the playing field for representation, we should be encouraging films written/produced/acted by Asian people to take the spotlight. Like The Farewell. Or Parasite. Let films about other cultures be in their own language. Let them truly shine. Non-English speakers have long relied on dubs or subtitles to access English-speaking films. If English speakers would also do the same, their eyes would be opened to so many more amazing cultures and films out there (to paraphrase what Parasite director Bong Joon Ho said at the Oscars).
-because if I'm watching Mulan, I'm watching an authentic one with a Chinese creative team-
The storyline stayed true to the original poem, painting Mulan as an ordinary girl who worked hard to become an extraordinary hero. She's a flawed character that developed throughout the (very fast-paced) movie. Everything she did, she did because of love for her father, for her fellow soldiers, and for her country. The movie is very down-to-earth and realistic, in the sense that you can't even see the main characters' faces clearly for a large part of the movie because they're all covered in dust and dirt from being at war.
The first 30 min of the movie gets a bit choppy, but sets up the stage for the immense emotions and character development to follow. And then the lead characters' bravery and comradery got me hooked throughout the whole thing. At the end I was so touched by Mulan's lines that I was pretty much in tears. I think the story ended at an appropriate place, leaving a whole bunch of mixed emotions behind in my heart. BRB still trying to get over the movie--
The beauty in this Mulan is she is human. Actor Chen Kun said that she embodies the spirit of a nobody, just like you and me. That everyone can be a Mulan if we are brave. Director Jingle Ma said that we can find Mulans everywhere, even nowadays -- the grassroot girls working multiple jobs to support their families are all modern-day Mulans.
For those choosing between Disney and this:
2009 Mulan is an authentic take of the classical Chinese Mulan poem. Because Chinese people wrote/produced it, the heroine does not have culturally inconsistent superpowers/symbolism (cough cough, Disney live-action). Instead, the film was created only with respect for Chinese history, culture, and values. If we want to even out the playing field for representation, we should be encouraging films written/produced/acted by Asian people to take the spotlight. Like The Farewell. Or Parasite. Let films about other cultures be in their own language. Let them truly shine. Non-English speakers have long relied on dubs or subtitles to access English-speaking films. If English speakers would also do the same, their eyes would be opened to so many more amazing cultures and films out there (to paraphrase what Parasite director Bong Joon Ho said at the Oscars).
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