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Nov. 8th, 2009 06:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kd7sov(...by now I really ought to know it's impossible to just quickly check Wikipedia for one thing.)
Last night, in crackchat, there was some discussion of Disney heroines, and as a result I wandered over to YouTube and watched "I'll Make a Man Out of You", from Mulan. Then, later, I got to thinking.
I like the music, but the situation-as-presented bugs me a bit. Not just in the usual Disney "That's not how the story goes!" way, either.
So you've got this batch of recruits, and the camera focuses particularly on young mister Mulan. Fair enough, every story needs a protagonist. It shows the depths of ineptitude and disorganization prevalent in this division of the army. (Also some nice shots of the captain dance-fighting, which is always nice.) But then trouble comes. Mulan, who - this being Disney - has been presented as the least skilled, possibly setting him up as a standard underdog, is presented with a discouraging remark. He decides to give the first task one last try before he leaves. He hits on the trick and succeeds. All right so far.
But then, with no indication that even multiple days have passed, every trace of ineptitude and disorganization disappears. Everyone can do every task set before them, and Mulan instantaneously goes from worst to best.
I get that it's related to the "finding your center" mentioned earlier, but where is the sense of verisimilitude? Where is a way to suspend my disbelief?
Felix, meanwhile, is complaining that Earth is underrepresented in the lyrics, especially compared to "the other dragon element". This is quite an interesting way to put it, as it indicates an odd combination of Weyardian and Chinese views. As Felix sees it, "tranquil as a forest" is all Earth gets. Fire has "but on fire within" (which is, arguably, self-sabotage) and "the strength of a raging fire"; Water has the "coursing river", and Wind and Water can fight over the "great typhoon" and the "dark side of the moon" (Wind's in the running on that last because the moon is being evoked for being mysterious, which falls under Wind's domain). But the reference to "dragon elements" in Felix's opinion edges into the Wu Xing - sometimes called the Chinese Elements.
In Wu Xing it's even more interesting - Earth is the one movement that has no representation. The forest, of course, falls under tree; fire is still fire; river and typhoon are water; and the moon could be argued for metal. Dragons, in China, are associated with all five (unless I misunderstand), but most strongly with earth and water.
Last night, in crackchat, there was some discussion of Disney heroines, and as a result I wandered over to YouTube and watched "I'll Make a Man Out of You", from Mulan. Then, later, I got to thinking.
I like the music, but the situation-as-presented bugs me a bit. Not just in the usual Disney "That's not how the story goes!" way, either.
So you've got this batch of recruits, and the camera focuses particularly on young mister Mulan. Fair enough, every story needs a protagonist. It shows the depths of ineptitude and disorganization prevalent in this division of the army. (Also some nice shots of the captain dance-fighting, which is always nice.) But then trouble comes. Mulan, who - this being Disney - has been presented as the least skilled, possibly setting him up as a standard underdog, is presented with a discouraging remark. He decides to give the first task one last try before he leaves. He hits on the trick and succeeds. All right so far.
But then, with no indication that even multiple days have passed, every trace of ineptitude and disorganization disappears. Everyone can do every task set before them, and Mulan instantaneously goes from worst to best.
I get that it's related to the "finding your center" mentioned earlier, but where is the sense of verisimilitude? Where is a way to suspend my disbelief?
Felix, meanwhile, is complaining that Earth is underrepresented in the lyrics, especially compared to "the other dragon element". This is quite an interesting way to put it, as it indicates an odd combination of Weyardian and Chinese views. As Felix sees it, "tranquil as a forest" is all Earth gets. Fire has "but on fire within" (which is, arguably, self-sabotage) and "the strength of a raging fire"; Water has the "coursing river", and Wind and Water can fight over the "great typhoon" and the "dark side of the moon" (Wind's in the running on that last because the moon is being evoked for being mysterious, which falls under Wind's domain). But the reference to "dragon elements" in Felix's opinion edges into the Wu Xing - sometimes called the Chinese Elements.
In Wu Xing it's even more interesting - Earth is the one movement that has no representation. The forest, of course, falls under tree; fire is still fire; river and typhoon are water; and the moon could be argued for metal. Dragons, in China, are associated with all five (unless I misunderstand), but most strongly with earth and water.
