Gender Representation In Film: Gender Representation In Movies

Gender Representation in movies Gender representation in movies have not changed over the years. Movies are generally male dominated with very few movies where females are the lead. The movie that I chose to look into for this topic is Disney's Mulan. In Mulan the emperor goes around asking each family to send one male to join the Chinese army. Mulan knows that the only male in her family is her elderly father. So Mulan takes matters into her own hands and goes to in list in the army herself. To get into the army she poses as a male because if she were to try as herself she would be denied due to the fact that she is a woman. She ends up traveling with the army and they treat her as just another man. When her identity ends up revealed to the

In the middle to the end of the movie the message that is sent to the audience is that they can follow their hearts and do what they feel is right and what will make them happy. People tend to be more intimated by strong and independent women who aren't afraid to go for what they want. Since the movie was targeted towards young children they could easily influenced by the messages in the movie. You don't normally catch these messages when you are younger but as you get older and watch the movie you see it right away. The second message in the movie is more positive and one that I would hope more young girls especially would listen to. Mulan takes matters into her own hands and saves China. It sends the message that she can do more than cook and clean. " The hidden message in Mulan can only do what she does under the guise of a man. She isn't a true heroine, but a masculinized female heroism who learns how to spit and punch like a man in order to make an impact" (Mumtaz). With this being said women need to have a masculine side to be and feel empowered. Which is true because no one gives woman a second look because they aren't a