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Mulan K 1NC

USMA BS makes it a habit of playing the song Be a Mine from Mulan on repeat
every round since last year. Even when asked to turn off the song at previous
tournaments, it takes multiple times and requests for them to stop joking about the
song and actually turn it off. Their simple use of this song pre rounds should be a
reason to vote against USMA. The background and music in Mulan is rooted in a
patriarchal and racist representation of womyn and culture that pushes the
feminine to the periphery leading to a cycle of oppression, militarism and violence
Specifically, the song Ill make a man out of you should be rejected its super
patriarchal and perpetuates that message under the guise of innocent and harmless
music
Adelyn 2011
[Beth Adelyn, Ill make a Man Out of You~Rhetorical analysis of the song from MulanWhat are we
teaching kids about the weaker sex? http://gendersex.net/fall2011/09/ill-make-a-man-out-of-
yourhetorical-analysis-of-the-song-from-mulan-what-are-we-teaching-kids-about-the-weaker-sex/]jap

Some General thoughts about the Movie: When I saw that Amy had posted the YouTube video and song
lyrics to Ill Make a Man Out of You I was super excited This was definitely one of my favorite movies
growing up. In part that was because it seems to show a woman who makes an unique and strong-
willed choice to act outside of her gender role (even though she has to pretend to be a man to do so).
However if really analyzed closely, this theme open-mindedness can be easily broken down. Not only
does Mulan have to pretend in all appearances and name to be a man, she also ends up with her
prince charmingsomething so common throughout Disney movies I dont think Ive seen one
without that particular ending yet. So we see that only masculine women who appear to be men are
allowed to go to war and perform mens jobs and that even these women eventually end up with a
man and are made beautiful and happy through their man (maybe an extension can be made that
butch lesbians just need to find the correct man to become normal and that they are just confused?
just a tangent thought).
The Target Group of the Movie (and Song): Obviously this movie is aimed towards entertaining young
childreneven if some of the older members of society enjoy it too! Thus it came be easily claimed
that this song is fairly early in a childs life to have such a strong gender role message. Another key
component of the target audience is that English is probably their first or maybe second language since
it is what the movie first came out inAlthough I would imagine (with no backup evidence) that there
would be a number of parents who buy this particular movie because it shows Asians as the main (and
only) characters. So Mulan may have a more racially diverse audience who perhaps is not as fluent in
English or as engrained with American culture as the other Disney movies target audiences.
The Tone of the Song: The entire tone of the song is masculine and warlike. There are only male
voices (with the exception of when Mulan sings two lines about being worried about being found out
as a woman) and there is a definite chant-like style. The under-tones of the song seems to suggest
that only men go to war (and only fairly masculine men with deep base voices at that!) and that to
succeed at war is a great accomplishmentthe voices are excited and the forward movement of the
music seems to convey that the new recruits are moving towards this ideal man warrior.
The Actual Words: When I look at the words (as Amy has made so easy with her posted lyrics) it is clear
the distinction that is made women, or daughters, are pale, spineless, pathetic, the saddest
bunch, a group of people who dont have a clue, and finally unsuited for the rage of war. This is
contrasted with the men that the main male character hopes to morph his crew of warrior recruits
into the goal of manly men has such descripters attached to it as swift, with force, strength,
mysterious, and tranquil. When we look at these word choices and their associated genders we
are able to get a clear picture; women are the weak, emotional, and unstable gender. Disney has
somehow managed to hide this classical and unequal message behind the appearance of creating a
movie about a strong woman.
The Use of Emotion: This is probably one of the easiest Disney songs to get swept intoas a child me
and my sister would sing along to it (we even, Im ashamed to admit, had a dance). Thus it mainly uses
emotion as a motivator and attempts to force young children just to appreciate the cool song without
really thinking about the words or the message behind them. There isnt an appeal to logic or to
authorityjust emotion and the classical idea of women as the weaker sex, unfit for war.
The Creator, DISNEY: As much as I love Disney movies, they all seem to have horrible messages when
looked at closely. Women are always weak and need men to save them (even if its in the animal
kingdom). Only physically pretty girls are attractive to men although men can look horrible as long as
they are rich or princes (Beauty and the Beast anyone?). There are no mainstream Disney movies with
same-sex couples or any sort of minority sexual orientations women seem to swoon all over the
place as the men violently rescue them from dangerous animals/situations the list goes on and on.
While I am not claiming that Disney as an institution is intentionally trying to retain traditional values,
these values are definitely obvious in their moviesMulan is much the same.

Disney media use must be rejected it is founded upon sexist and racist ideologies
that constantly erase the feminine and minorities. This rejection must be a constant
calculation USMA must be voted down for their endorsement of this media
Angry Feminist Killjoy 2013 [Disneys Brave: White Feminism Strikes Again!
http://angryfeministkilljoy.wordpress.com/category/heteronormativity/]jap
I was feeling pretty pleased with Brave, only to immediately hear about Disneys redesign of Princess
Merida. Before Merida could be officially inducted into the Disney Princess membership club (why is this
even a thing? Honestly, why?), some official decided she needed to be sexier. Yeah. 16 year old Merida
just wasnt sexy enough to be an official Disney Princess. Even though its antithetical to her entire
character, Merida was stripped of her trusty bow and arrows, stuck into a fancy dress (the exact kind
she literally tore off her body in the film), her wild hair was tamed, and she was made much skinnier.
This is why we dont get along, Disney. Heres where things get interesting: there was a huge public
outcry! The sexed up version of Merida was not receiving any kind of approval. Disney has been
petitioned, the films director expressed anger, and it seems like the entire internet has been yelling, so
much so that Disney replaced Sexy Merida with Original Merida on the official website. Unfortunately, it
sounds like Disney is still planning to use Sexy Merida on their official merchandise. I think this public
response is great. Really, I do. I cant help but to feel frustrated, though. Because this isnt the first time
Disney has redesigned a Princess. Its kind of their MO, honestly. When Mulan became an Official
Princess, her weapons were taken away, too. Not only that, they made her white. Thats right. They
changed her race. And its not just Mulan. Jasmine and Pocahontas? Also suddenly white. Yes, its
wickedly annoying that Merida was completely changed into a sexy cartoon. We should be frustrated by
that. But where were all the petitions and outcry when this exact same stuff was happening to
Princesses of Color? I mean, really, white feminism? Really? Its anti-feminist to care about issues only
when they pertain to people who look like us. That is wrong-headed in so many ways. Im happy that
Brave has been received so well, that people are excited about a princess who breaks out of the
traditional roles. But by getting angry at her redesign and not the same problematic redesigns of her
fellow princesses, were not doing any better. Feminism has an utterly unsavory history of excluding
women of color, lesbians, the working class, basically anyone who wasnt white, straight, and rich. I
dont want to be a part of that feminism. So if were going to have a canary about Merida, we need to
have canaries about Mulan, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and while were at it, lets talk about how Tiana, the
first black princess, spent most of her movie as a literal frog. We need to stop caring about all of
Disneys problems only when they pertain to white girls. Actually, lets stop caring about Disney
entirely! That might be asking too much, but it seems odd that we keep celebrating a company that
consistently makes overt racist, sexist, and heteronormative choices. If you really cant kick Disney,
check out this great blog called Feminist Disney. We have to challenge our media. All of our media. Not
just the parts that cause white tears.

A2: Mulan Makes Fun of Patriarchy

The argument that Mulan makes fun of patriarchy is an excuse the message
behind Mulans actions is one of gender stereotyping and militaristic violence
Giroux 2010 [Henry A. Giroux, Penn State Professor, and Grace Pollock, The mouse that roared: Disney
and the era of innocence
Gender stereotyping is somewhat modified in Mulan. The eponymous lead character is presented as a
bold female warrior who challenges traditional gender stereotypes of young women. But for all of her
independence, in the end, the movie is, as film critic Janet Maslin points out, still enough of a fairy tale
to need a Mr. Right. Mulan may be an independent, strong-willed young woman, but the ultimate
payoff for her bravery comes in the form of attracting the handsome son of a general. And if the point
is missed, when the heroines grandmother first sees the young man as he enters Mulans house, she
affirms what she (the audience?) sees as Mulans real victory catching a man and yells out, Sign
me up for the next war! And there is another disturbing side to Mulans characterization as an
allegedly strong woman. Rather than aligning herself against the patriarchal celebration of war,
violence and militarism, Mulan becomes a cross-dresser who proves that when it comes to war, she
can perform as well as any male. By temporarily donning the guise of masculinity and embracing a
traditional view of war, Mulan cancels out any radical rupturing of stereotypical gender roles. She
simply becomes one of the boys. But lest the fantasy be taken too far, Disney reminds us at the
conclusion of the film that Mulan is still just a girl in search of a man, and as in so many other Disney
animated films, Mulan becomes an exoticized version of the all-American girl who manages to catch
the most handsome boy on the block, square jaw and all.

Disneys gender roles are not innocent making patriarchal ideas look silly the way
Mulan does puts an innocent face on heteronormative sexism, making it even
stronger
Giroux 2010 [Henry A. Giroux, Penn State Professor, and Grace Pollock, The mouse that roared: Disney
and the era of innocence]
Given Disneys long standing obsession with family values, especially the middle-class familys position
at the center of consumer culture, it is curious that with the exception of Mulan, very few of the Disney
films produced in the 1990s portray strong mothers or fathers. Not only are powerful mothers absent,
but Jasmines father is outwitted by his aides, and Belles father is an airhead. Only the Little Mermaid
has a domineering father in King Triton, whose protectiveness stems from his inherent benevolence as
the true patriarch heading a natural hierarchal order (it is those illegitimate usurpers one needs to
watch out for!). But Disneys construction of weak or stupid fathers only works to make patriarchy
appear unthreatening, if also sometimes foolish and preoccupied business. Meanwhile, the absence
of involved familial figures has the structural effect of thrusting the protagonist into character-testing
situations unaided by a social support network. Most problematically, instead of exploring how the
familys influence upon identity formation can be at once a source of security and confinement,
Disney films conclude that each and every female protagonist, left to her own devices, will naturally
discover her true feminine, heterosexual self, apparently with no prompting needed from external
familial and cultural forces.

A2: No Impact Not During the Round

Propping up Disney reproduces gender dichotomies that kill agency these are real
effects that should be analyzed
Giroux 2010
[Henry A. Giroux, Penn State Professor, and Grace Pollock, The mouse that roared: Disney and the era of
innocence]
Jack Zipes, a leading theorist on fairy tales, claims that Disneys animated films celebrate gender
stereotyping and have an adverse effect on children in contrast to what parents thinkParents think
theyre essentially harmless and theyre not harmless. Disney films are seen by enormous numbers
of children in both the United States and abroad. As far as the issue of gender is concerned, Disneys
view of womens agency and empowerment is more than simply limited: it reproduces the idea that a
child born female can only realize a gendered incarnation of adulthood and is destined to fulfill her
selfhood by becoming the appendage, if not the property, of a man.

Disney is the devil with the disguise of innocence allowing for these
representations to continue ensure that racism and patriarchy are seen as natural
recurrences of society makes them an unconfronted expectation that makes them
inevitable
Giroux 2010
[Henry A. Giroux, Penn State Professor, and Grace Pollock, The mouse that roared: Disney and the era of
innocence]
Another central feature common to all of Disneys animated films is the celebration of deeply
antidemocratic social relations. Nature and the animal kingdom provide the mechanism for
presenting and legitimating caste systems, hierarchies of gender and race, and structural inequality as
part of the natural order. The seemingly benign presentation of fairy tale narratives in which men
rule, strict discipline is imposed through fixed social barriers, and leadership capacities are derived
from ones inbred social status suggests a yearning for a return to a more rigidly stratified society
based on a neofeudal model, if not an absolute dictatorship. In Disneys animated films, harmony is
bought at the price of dominationNo power or authority is implied except for the natural ordering
mechanisms of nature. For children, the messages suggest that social problems such as the history
racism, the genocide of Native Americans, the prevalence of sexism, and democracy in crisis are
simply willed by the laws of nature.

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