Stayin' Alive

My first 2D animated music video!

FULL VIDEO

For the past 4 months I have been collab with local indie band, directed and illustrated a 4 minutes short animated music video. The story is inspired by the situation now in Hong Kong, and other places that are still fighting against tyranny.

I guess everyone knows that the live action remake of Mulan is a lot worse than the 1998 original, but as an East Asian person, I want to address how our culture is wrongly represented in this movie. I have not seen this movie and I will not, but I feel like this problem needs to be addressed.

1. The Concept of ‘qi(氣)’

In the movie, Mulan is born with the power of qi and she is special in that way, because normally, only men/warriors can harness qi. However, this is hugely inaccurate. Qi represents the vital energy inside a person, therefore is inside everyone. Qi is not a special power. Therefore, Mulan being born with this ‘power’ does not make sense at all. In addition, most men using qi as a power and Mulan being special as a woman born with that power is even less feminist than the original. This just implies that only women that are born powerful can be equally strong as men and that is not empowering at all.

(I mean wtf)

2. The Phoenix

In the 2020 adaptation, a Phoenix shows up. (And it is supposed to represent Mulan in a way) On the other hand, there is not such a thing as a Phoenix in Chinese (or Asian in general) culture. Disney just deleted Mushu the dragon because it was unrealistic and put in a Phoenix instead which is non-existent in Asian culture. (Though there is a birdlike creature similar to a Phoenix in Asian culture called 鳳凰 but those two represent different things. )

“ Some say the Phoenix is consumed by flame and emerges again.”

THAT QUOTE IS FROM THE MOVIE. WHEN THE CONCEPT OF A PHOENIX BEING REBORN THROUGH FIRE IS ONLY IN WESTERN MYTHOLOGY. THIS IS NOT FREAKIN HARRY POTTER.

3. Mulan Receiving the Sword

First, look at the scene.

The emperor does not directly give the sword to Mulan in the live action adaptation, unlike the animated movie. If the emperor gives a sword to another person indirectly , it means the emperor is ordering that person to kill themselves.

4. The Witch

Instead of the Huns, the Chinese army has to face a powerful witch. Later in the movie, the witch says that people treated her as an outcast because she was a powerful woman with magical powers. However, this does not make sense because ‘witches’ were not a thing in China in that time period. Actually, women with powers (mostly people who can bring spirits or tell the future) existed in China(and other countries including Korea and Japan), but they were not witches, more like shamans. Even though people did not see those women as all good and not dangerous at all, ‘witch hunts’ did not happen. (In fact, many common people sought help from them) Yeah so the witch does not make sense too.

Only western ppl killed witches get your facts right

(And that makeup was totally unnecessary)

This is the representation you want to give people of Asian descend. In a pandemic that happened because of this Asian country’s negligence. That has been seen physically and verbally abusing its citizens of African descend. That is literally committing genocide as you read this. That has been on the verge of colonizing all of Asian and Africa. That doesn’t even care for the well-being of it’s own culture and citizens. 

(Please note I have yet to see the live action movie, I am going off reviews I have found here on tumblr so if anyone who has seen it would like to judge my accuracy please do so)

The strong character that is female:

The original animated series had Mulan grow and become a strong character. Her being a female gave her some advantages over the men but she also has some disadvantages. She had actual character beyond being a girl trying to prove she is better than men, in fact she doesn’t have a trace of that trait, she proves herself as an individual rather than prove herself as a gender. She proved women were capable soldiers by being a capable soldier.

The Strong Female Character:

The live action remake took that and threw it out the window. Mulan was a strong warrior from the start we saw no growth. She only had advantages over the men her only disadvantage was that they would not accept women. Which is weird because if she is already as capable as any soldier even without formal military training, they’d have no reason to turn her away. The movie is all about proving the gender rather than the individual. They didn’t even keep to that because there was no realization moment for the military men between the reveal scene and two scenes later when they put her in charge of a mission.

it’s called “reflection: a twisted tale” and it’s an alternate take to disney’s mulan

i just got through it in two hours and the basic premise is when mulan makes the avalanche and shan yu swings his sword at her,,,,, it’s shang who gets hurt due toi him jumping in front of the blade. mulan is never injured and therefore her true identity hasnt been revealed (yet) and the all of the huns are dead

mulan, as ping, feels guilty for it and takes care of him while hes bleeding out and realizes hes dying so she has to go to the underworld to save his life 

this book has everything i loved from the movie and gives me more

shang/ping and shang/mulan feels

whump (blood, injury, crying, emotional and physical hurt/comfort, rescuing each other, worried shang, protective mulan and shang)

bisexual shang PEAK BISEXUAL SHANG

mulan being very gay and trans

HELLA COOL SWORD FIGHTING SCENES AGAINST DEMONS

so much of the content is shang/ping and shang/mulan im not kidding it’s a lot of scenes of them alone and being dorks or FLIRTY

lots of canon references 

new characters!!!! more family guardians!!! more about mulan’s family!! more about shang’s childhood and his family!!! his hopes and dreams!!! more about how mulan feels as a man or a woman or both!!!!!

shang LITERALLY literally tells her DOESNT CARE if mulan is A MAN OR A WOMAN he still wants her regardless

PEAK BISEXUAL SHANG

HE BLUSHES AROUND PING AND MULAN AND GETS SHY

acknowledgment of Mutual Pining™

(ive been sobbing for over an hour dont look at me)

MUSHU IS GAY?????? LOWKEY??????????

mushu also says mulan should kiss shang better as ping when shang has a fever and insists “it works in all of the folklore”

to which mulan flushes and goes “NO!!!!”

GENERAL LI AND MULAN!!!!!!! MEETING!!!! TALKING!!!!

shang endlessly praising mulan oh my god my heart

THE REVEAL OF MULAN’S TRUE IDENTITY!!!!!! THE DRAMA OF IT ALL OH MY GOD IT HURTS SO GOOD

overall this is a brilliant and in-depth exploration of mulans canon character and how she handles guilt and sorrow and betrayal and love and her journey so far i cant believe it’s so good

PEAK

BISEXUAL

SHANG