Mulan
Someone wrote…
My partner and I (both transmen) were singing along to Mulan (as in the Disney film – as you do) and having a good old natter about the song ‘reflection’, especially the line “who is that girl I see, staring straight back at me, why is my reflection someone I don’t know” – any other trans/queer/etc people out there getting that?! :oP
What’s your experience?
Posted by Freiya on December 27th, 2012 at 08:00 am
Category: your voice 11 comments »
December 27th, 2012 at 9:41 am |
Heck yeah! It’s crazy how much Mulan can sound like a transman movie sometimes. “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” also makes me think about trans stuff.
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December 27th, 2012 at 12:34 pm |
I was always vaguely disappointed as a child when Mulan stopped dressing as a man after she got home. Although it’s good that she figured out more of who she was :) But agreed, strong transman vibes throughout the whole movie…
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December 27th, 2012 at 2:07 pm |
Fuck YES, the song about the reflection is so meaningful to me right now, I am listening to it in an endless loop…I get it totally!!!
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December 28th, 2012 at 3:18 am |
Yes I have always seen the movie under such light as well!!
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December 29th, 2012 at 11:13 am |
Yes, I completely agree. Reflection is an awesome song.
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December 31st, 2012 at 3:11 pm |
Oh yes! I’ve got to get that song for my mP3 player.
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January 7th, 2013 at 3:58 pm |
I have always loved that movie, for that exact reason. I watched it recently with my mother, and we talked about gender identity a lot afterward. The whole movie definitely has strong undertones about gender, and I love that other people have seen it that way, too!
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January 7th, 2013 at 6:58 pm |
Oh Emmit, they’re not *under*tones. The film is tirelessly blatant about gender, I find.
Back in school I actually had the opportunity to spend some time seriously thinking about the intersection of animation with gender/sexuality issues. Endlessly fascinating stuff. I recommend Sean Griffin’s article “Pronoun Trouble: The Queerness of Animation” in case any of you are really interested.
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January 16th, 2013 at 7:16 pm |
What a coincidence! I was just listening to that last night and having a good FEELS session because of it.
I LOVE that song.
The Christina Aguilerea version is even more to the point:
“I am now in a world where I have to hide my heart
and what I believe in
But somehow, I will show the world what’s inside my heart-
and be loved for who I am”
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January 18th, 2013 at 10:28 am |
Ha, I only watched that movie once as a kid, and because of this post I just watched it again. I can definitely see it. It’s kind of annoying how friggin’ easily she passes though XD
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August 13th, 2014 at 12:25 pm |
I’m a cis female and I get this same feeling from Mulan. Actually found this discussion through an internet search to see if people thought the same thing. Mulan seems to be much happier and more fulfilled being a man.
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