For some people, fictional characters who lie about their identity seem to be a particular berserk button. At least it is among Disney fans; they seem to be harder on characters who do it than those characters really deserve.
For example, Disney's Aladdin. Yes, it's wrong that he lies about his identity and masquerades as Prince Ali. It's portrayed as wrong and he apologizes for it in the end. But when fans call him a "compulsive liar" or claim that his love story with Jasmine is toxic because it's "all based on a lie," aren't they going a little too far? First of all, he's clearly not a compulsive liar. He doesn't lie all the time, or just for fun; he does it because he loves Jasmine and she's required by law to marry only a prince. As for the popular claim that "their whole relationship is based on a lie," I think that would only be true if Jasmine fell in love with him because she thought he was a prince. But she doesn't. She first meets him as a street rat and she likes him then. When he tries to affect a different, "princely" personality as Prince Ali, she disdains him as just another pompous stuffed shirt like all the other princes who have courted her. She only falls for "Ali" when he shows her his true personality again. The fact that he still hides his true identity from her is wrong, but it's not some horrible advantage-taking, the way some fans portray it. To me, that claim seems just as faulty as "Beauty and the Beast is about Stockholm Syndrome"!
Or how about the fans of Mulan who insist that Shang does nothing wrong by dismissing Mulan after the reveal of her gender and refusing to believe her about the Huns' survival. "It's not because she's a woman," they say, "it's because she lied to everyone and joined the army illegally." Never mind that she only did it to save her father's life, or that the law is clearly unjust – Shang himself already went against it by sparing her life after the reveal – or that Mulan is the one responsible for the victory for which Shang and the other soldiers are being celebrated, yet getting no credit. Shang and the other soldiers' expressions show that they feel guilty and torn about this, both before and after Mulan arrives. Shang clearly feels pangs of conscience when Mulan says "You said you'd trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?" So why do some fans bend over backwards to defend him and implicitly shame Mulan for disguising herself?
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this subject?
