Disney Princess Series: Mulan

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii.
I finished out last week sitting in on Basic's rehearsals for Little Shop of Horrors! They did a lot of choreography, a lot of singing, and I even got to see a rough run of the show! Highlights include getting to play the piano for them for a bit to help them rehearse, and running lines with Morgan. (And sharing my character ideas with her, because she can actually use them while I can only think about them. She is a fantastic Audrey.) It was excellent to get to see all of my people again. The show is going to be incredible! Go see them at Basic Academy at 6:00 on February 7, 8, and 9.
I was going to be coming back to Basic as a part of the panel of graduates to talk to the current seniors, but I have a singing competition this weekend. Sorry, guys.
Other than that, I'm back in Cedar City! It's a new semester! I'm still taking Jumpstart, and the only thing that has changed there is that I'm taking a new English class, intermediate writing this time. Other than that, I'm still taking voice lessons, I take contemporary math now, and later in the semester I will be taking the first EDGE class. I'll probably talk more about that when it actually happens. It seems that it will be a good semester... as long as I don't think too far into the future and overwhelm myself. On Monday we (the Dead-End Jobs Club, Emily and Josh and I) already watched Friends and ate brownies and it was only the first day. But it's nothing we can't do.
(Oh, and we started going back to the gym! Bless!)
At the institute I am taking a missionary preparation class! It seems like it's going to be really good and talk a lot about things that I haven't thought a lot about but definitely will want to know.
I'm currently trying to make an appointment with my bishop so I can start talking about my mission papers. I haven't been able to make that happen yet, but I'm going to try again soon. Can you guys believe this is actually real now? We've been talking about it as a definite thing for two years, and as a hypothetical thing for five years. This is really happening now.
If you guys will recall the post introducing the Disney Princess Series, Mulan was mentioned a number of times. I was really bothered by the fact that Mulan was viewed as the only option for what a strong princess could be. But guys, I love Mulan. Like, a lot. This post is her time to shine! We are constantly in awe of this heroine. It's not a big deal, but she SAVES CHINA.
Before she does that, though, she's just a normal girl in China. She's getting all dolled up to see the matchmaker. As far as relatability goes, Mulan doesn't feel out of reach. She's late, having a hard time remembering what she's supposed to have memorized, and apparently a slightly inelegant disaster. This will matter later. (Like when she SAVES CHINA.)
Well, it doesn't go well. Everything that could possibly go wrong does go wrong, and our princess is told she "will NEVER bring her family honor!" While I get the impression that everything Mulan had to do to please the matchmaker was forced on her, I don't think the idea of family honor was. Mulan loves her family. The love Mulan has in her heart is why we love her so much, really, because it's what drives her to do absolutely everything. The fact that she couldn't be enough for them destroyed her. She forgets that they love her for who she is, even if that's not who everyone else expects her to be. She's a different kind of beautiful than everyone else, and she fights through the judgment of others by trying to be true to herself.
And we totally get why Mulan loves her family. She has a caring mother, a wise father, and Grandma Fa is the crazy comedic Disney grandmother of our dreams. Mulan was raised with love in her heart which led her to bravery beyond words.
Things start to get even worse when they find out her father will be going to war again. There's no other men in the family to take his place. Mulan is pretty concerned about this, but the family insists that it's going to be fine, and that it will bring the family honor. She tries to let it go, but when she sees how unfit her father is for battle, she knows things really will not be okay.
Honestly, I'm blown away by how brave Mulan is. While watching her leave, you can see how afraid she is, but totally determined. Her love for her father doesn't even leave her with an option in her eyes. This is how Mulan TRULY brings her family honor. She doesn't even know it yet, but what she is best at is doing what is absolutely right rather than what people necessarily think is the best. Mulan is going to show everyone that this idea of honor doesn't have to look the same every time. So she GOES. And this could potentially be giving up everything for this, but it's worth it to her. So she goes.
(Mulan's awkwardness when trying to be a boy is so relatable somehow. I've never been in that situation but I just know that is how I would be.)
After Mulan gets to training with the guys, two things happen. The first is that it is made clear that this is going to be terrifying and near impossible for her. The second is that everyone's absolute JAM and ultimate motivational song is introduced. As the song goes on, Mulan and the guys train for the army, and things are going about as well as they did with the matchmaker. She's even SENT HOME. If that doesn't break your heart, nothing will.
But Mulan is the queen of determination. You will recall at the beginning of this powerful number that Shang, our military captain, orders everyone to try to retrieve an arrow atop a tall stake. No one is successful. As Mulan leaves, she tries one more time.
You can see the difficulty and pain in her face. But Mulan is not a quitter. She can't give up everything she was trying to do for her family that fast. She succeeds where none of the other men did. It mattered that much to her, and it probably didn't mean as much to anyone else. What a hero!
It's pretty safe to say that Mulan is good to stay in the army after that.
I can't imagine how strong Mulan had to have been in her time there. She doesn't seem super comfortable relating to the other guys. Maybe that's just because she's trying to be one, but I myself am like that too, so who knows. She intelligently kept her secret safe and became a valued part of the team, and a good friend to all of them.
In one fateful battle against the Huns, Mulan uses her wit to help win the battle. However, she is badly hurt, and her secret is revealed. This would typically cost her her life, but due to the friendship they developed, Shang spares her. Mulan is left heartbroken as she is removed from the army.
HOWEVER, Mulan finds out about Shan Yu's plans to attack the Imperial City, where the emperor is and where the army is headed. Does Mulan let her sorrow and her release from the army stop her? NO WAY! When something matters to her and there is work to do, our girl Mulan DOES it.
She goes to the city to warn Shang, but he won't listen to her, a person he used to trust so much. He wouldn't listen, even though it was the same mind that was behind everything else that "Ping" accomplished. Mulan drops some serious truth that resonates with the feminist in all of us: "You trusted Ping. Why is Mulan any different?"
Preach, girl.
And that wasn't to say that men and women AREN'T different, but rather to say that Mulan hasn't lost her value suddenly now that everyone knows she's not a man. It was ALWAYS Mulan, and the value was ALWAYS there.
Well, since Shang didn't listen to Mulan, the Huns take over the palace and have seized the emperor! Mulan is back on the team, because they desperately need her thinking skills. Mulan had an ability to plan.
I can't get over it. This girl is so BRAVE. She and her friends sneak their way into the palace and start taking things back over. Mulan makes her way to the roof, this girl who just got kicked out of the army, who wasn't even supposed to be there and risked everything, and started SINGLE-HANDEDLY fighting Shan Yu. To SAVE CHINA.
Ultimately, she knows that love is stronger than fear. The things that were important to her were too important to let fear take over. She had a job to do and she did it.
Shan Yu is defeated, thanks to our heroine who almost wasn't allowed to fight. Sometimes you just have to do what's right.
And then, the entirety of the Imperial City bows to her.
Mulan, our ordinary girl who could never seem to measure up, just wasn't being tested in the right places. She had intelligence and determination, but no one was looking close enough at what she had to offer. She went through all of those hard times, often feeling desperately alone, but kept on, and in the end is recognized by the emperor and all of the people of China.
Just watching Mulan react to the people's gratitude is beautiful. She can't believe this is happening to her. She is so ordinary and was just trying to do her job. She never thought it would end like this.
Anyway, Mulan is offered a position in the government, and goes home to live a happy life with her family, plus a nice visit from Shang. Living the dream.
Now that we have highlighted all of Mulan's beauty throughout her story, let's go back to the beginning where she appeared to not be anything extraordinary. She really was just a normal person.
That normal person? Is the same one who SAVES CHINA.
Mulan is here to show us that you can be who you are, whoever you are, as ordinary as you may be, and still find a way to make an enormous difference in the world. There is a place for you.
Keep that in mind. I will too.
Thanks and much love.
--Lizzo