Psychology of a Hero: MULAN

How do you recognize your self-worth when others don’t see it?

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright react to Mulan discovering her self-worth and defying expectations. They discuss what makes her a true hero. Jonathan breaks down the iconic “be a man” montage and what it means for Mulan. Alan shares some of Disney’s smart animation techniques. But he claims there’s too many animal sidekicks. What do you think?

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker, and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright, Alan Seawright, and Corinne Demyanovich
Edited by: Nathan Judd
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen
English Transcription by: Anna Preis

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[ginkgokraut]

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"Would you like to stay forever?"

- I love granny Fa

[batmanvsjoker]

I love how "A Girl Worth Fighting For" ends promptly on the sight of a destroyed village and a little girl's doll, saying that the real "girl worth fighting for" is the one that gets to grow up in a world free of war.

[irishgirlmlml]

A thing I love about this movie is when Mulan confronts the villain, he's not surprised/angry that she's a woman, he's surprised that she's the soldier from the mountain. Historically, among the Huns, women were renowned warriors.

[Juggtacula]

In Fa Zhou's defense, he *couldn't* just say "Hey, don't talk to my daughter like that." He was getting an official conscription notice from Hi Fu, the Emperor's Counsel and a high-ranking military official. If he had stood up for her in that manner, they probably would've killed him for sure, and possibly his whole family for disrespecting the Emperor so much. He did everything he could in that situation and by telling Mulan she dishonored him(which was true because of society and her actions, not him personally but his position as family Patriarch), he at least placated them so the family would be left alone. Context is important.

[HexIsme]

"Why does this music give me chills"
Because it's properly communicating that Mulan is making a difficult choice, that she knows is the right thing to do, but also knows it's seriously risky and could end extremely badly for herself AND her family. It's not a purely empowering melody, it's got that extra flare of anxiety/fear that really adds depth to Mulan's decision.

[d.b.]

One thing I didn't notice in the movie until recently: in "Honor To Us All" they sing about how having 'a tiny waist' will make Mulan more appealing (as they practically corset her into a waist wrap), and then the matchmaker takes one look at her and tells her she's too skinny. So even when she was trying to meet society's expectations, she still had to deal with impossible and sometimes contradictory standards. It's subtle, but it's there.

[crazyinsane]

Jono: "We all have worth."
Alan: "Sure!"
Jono: "Even the Cricket."
Alan: *"No."*

[Laurelleehill]

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful and rare" was my senior quote

[Drewtendo]

I love the double meaning in the line "Men will surely go to war for you, " in "Honor to Us All". By the end of the movie, the men aren't going to war for her to gain her affection. They're going to war for her as her comrades.

[luckytact]

"PUT SHANG IN DRAG YOU COWARDS" is not the take i expected to hear, but is absolutely what i needed 😂😂😂😂

[minibex]

I dont know if you guys didn't notice or just didn't want to talk about it or it was super obvious, but the sequence of mulan getting ready to take her dad's place is a parallel to her getting ready for the matchmaker. Getting her hair ready, tying a sash around her waist, her reflection in a mirror and in the sword. She's getting ready to do battle both times and I really love that little bit of detail

[absolutelynotellen]

What i love about Mulan was, she was almost feel like a regular girl rather than princess, being considered not enough for the standard of being an "ideal" was pretty hitting close to home. Her journey from a whole carefree girl who doesn't took herself seriously to actually show she wants to try and in the end, brought honor ( to us all ) for herself. Until this day, she still is my favorite Disney princess.

[merida]

Fun fact: In the chinese original Mulans surname is Hua, so when she introduces herself to Shang as Ping she says ''my name is Hua Ping'' which translates to Flower Vase and that's why shang is so bewildered because it's a silly name.

[rei_cirith]

I saw the last scene a little differently. He *did* look at the sword and the crest... he looked at them sadly instead of meeting her eye immediately. It was like he didn't know what they were supposed to mean to him, and then he looks at her and sees that she thought this what was necessary to bring the family honor. There's a little bit of sadness and remorse in him as she hands him the gifts. When he hugs her, he goes to her instead of pulling her to him. That hug was as much an apology as it was telling her that he sees her worth as she is.

[genevievec.]

Why doesn't anyone ever talk about how Mulan had the opportunity to go back with no consequences, and while she felt her weakest. Instead, she wanted to overcome her weaknesses, and be a part of something, and probably most of all, just prove she could do it. It's epic.

[Bleuryder]

I'd cut the dad some slack too. Like Mulan, he too is bogged down by expectations. He HAS to tell Mulan she dishonors him when she speaks up, because its what society expects from the patriarch of the family. Mulan understands that it reaffirms her decision to leave.

[Jamvaan]

The delivery of the line "The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter." DESTROYS ME EVRRY TIME. I'm not a dad, but I can only imagine because that line, the intonation and emphasis, breaks me like cheap furniture. Soon-tek Oh, rest in peace, one of the last big roles he had absolutely put the ribbon on Mulan.

[Onattamato]

I always thought that Mulan's solution to the pole climb wasn't actually that much of an outside the box idea, but that the soldiers were supposed to realize that they needed to use strength and discipline TOGETHER to climb the pole.

"Dishonor for you, dishonor for your cow" is one of the greatest and most quotables lines ever.

[tic]

As a kid one of my favorite scenes was Mulans second encounter with Shan Yu. He never outright ever calls her a woman, or even makes a note, he simply calls her "The soldier from the mountain!", he's angry, mad, furious but shows a hint of glee that he would be able to end her wit and skill without ever mentioning her gender. Everyone learns to recognize Mulan's abilities and how she as a woman could perform just as well as a man. But Shan Yu our wonderful antagonist never had any hesitation about it. He saw her put her hair up, recognized and when straight to "I'm gonna end this warrior's life."