Guy On Twitter Points Out Why Disney’s Mulan (2020) Is Effectively Chinese Propaganda
On September 4th, the 2020 Mulan movie (colloquially dubbed the New Mulan) arrived at Disney+ where it seems to be finding commercial success.
According to Forbes, Mulan’s release led to a 68% increase in Disney+ downloads despite the film coming with an additional $30 price tag on top of the regular Disney+ subscription fee.
However, the reviews are not as hot as the sales, getting a 5.6 on IMDB with Metacritic giving it 68% and Rotten Tomatoes—76% (audience’s score of 53%). Though people say it is visually stunning, for the most part, the majority expected the classic story of the ’98 animation, when it was actually based on the original ballad.
However, there is also a rather unique take on why it didn’t go well with certain audiences as explained by Twitter user Rohan Javet Beg.
2020’s Mulan is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to reviews, but this one stands out from many others
Image credits: RohanBeg
Twitter user Rohan Javet Beg gives his own take on the movie, pointing out its shockingly bad themes
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Though Mulan 2020 is based on the ballad, Rohan can’t but compare to the animated film to explain the stark contrast
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
He points out a heavy emphasis on patriarchy and misogyny as themes throughout the film
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
He ends up calling it Chinese propaganda, explaining that its production involved the Chinese government
Image credits: RohanBeg
In a nutshell, Rohan explains that the movie is dedicated to a purely Chinese audience instead of exploring anything about its culture, and is done in a way that feels tone-deaf.
Rohan can’t but compare it to the animation in its spirit, pointing out how the plot is very patriarchal this time around and Mulan as the protagonist is just drifting through this movie wracked with guilt over her betrayal of her sword’s motto of ‘loyalty, bravery and truth’.
He concludes that the movie is borderline propaganda in how it’s made, elaborating that the production of the movie involved four CCP propaganda departments and the Public Security Bureau in Xinjiang.
Image credits: RohanBeg
Image credits: RohanBeg
The tweet found its way to Imgur where it went viral. As of the moment of this article, the post received over 123,000 views with over 4,000 upvotes and 600 comments.
Besides criticizing the added price tag of $30 to stream the movie in the first place, many have commented that it is pandering to China with a story that some doubt is as faithful to the ballad as it is claimed to be.
What are your thoughts on the new Mulan? Let us know in the comment section below!
Even if this movie wasn't pandering to the Chinese government, and even if it didn't film in Xianjang near the CONCENTRATION CAMPS, it's still a very poorly written movie with a Mary Sue lead that has literally no character evolution. She starts 'awesome' and ends 'awesome', doesn't learn any new skills through her trials. Even Goku in Dragonball Z has to overcome adversity and pain and get better at his skills!
Lol，this Propaganda thing just doesn't work out，it's basicly WonderWoman coated with story of Mulan.It got 4.7 on douban(kinda of Chinese version IMDB).The cartoon is better,at least it's fun! 2020091111...c480d1.jpg 
How low Disney has fallen...They now churn out products as if it were an assembly line. Walt Disney must be spinning like a lathe in his grave.
Sorry? When exactly did Disney make hard-hitting films out of sync with mainstream politics? The focus has always been "fairytales" (not in the Grimm but in the saccharine sense) and "family films" with happy plots. The only stuff out of that line is stuff they bought (Pixar, Lucasfilm). The difference Pixar/Disney was always held up as such a gulf of visions (even though Pixar is mostly sweet as well, but with more of a different viewpoint).
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This is nothing new really as the Chinese market is very important for Hollywood. Disney however would literally walk over dead corpses to get that revenue. A truly disgusting company with zero talent of their own. Everything they have was acquired elsewhere; Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and recently the entire 20th Century Pictures.
They have all the original IP of their animated films prior to Pixar, but they're not doing anything interesting with it. :( I loved the animated Mulan film despite some over-the-top humour, because I admired Mulan herself. I was really looking forward to this movie, but I wasn't following it closely enough to know that it wasn't (like the live-action adaptations before it) a recreation of the animated version. This plot sounds really bad, and that's unfortunate. You're right, Disney nowadays is just a conglomerate of everything they've bought out, and everything that's wrong with capitalism.
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What I loved about the original was Mulan's perseverance, she trained and outwitted her way through the army so she could save her father and honour her family. In this remake, Mulan seems to be born with immense power, so what an audience is meant to admire about her changes. I also have the sneaking suspicion Li Shang wasn't included because they didn't want to imply that he was attracted to someone presenting as male. This movie, in isolation, is pretty spectacular, but the message of the original is closer to my heart. <3.
This is what all American action movies look like to non-Americans. This movie is only different in that it caters to Chinese megalomania instead of American megalomania.
Exactly but I see that it seems difficult to understand for those who have been wallowing in US propaganda until yesterday.
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None of the soul of the animated films. Takes itself too seriously and made by committee to avoid offending these hypersensitive Chinese government.
Mulan (cartoon) is my favorite Disney movie (again, cartoon). Love everything about the original. Still gives me all the good feels when I watch it. I think I will avoid the remake just to keep the original from being tainted.
Thats all im going to say in this post because I never liked the remakes. The original cartoons were good as they were
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The war in live-action is not epic or colossal enough. Maybe Pixar should take over and remake Mulan with the Full CGI
I am a lot more worried about the US govt than China
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For sth supposedly targeted at the Chinese market, the themes r so one-note and cringey. This movie's mindless repetition abt 'honour and loyalty to the emperor' etc w/o any depth (e.g protect the country to protect the people to protect the ones she loves etc) just sound like she was brainwashed.
Coming from a person who knows Chinese culture - it absolutely butchers it. The stuff about qi is completely wrong, there are no witches in Chinese legend.
I love how people have to flood multiple tweets, instead of writing in some blog and sharing the link afterwards.
Oh, and Hollywood has not produced propaganda for a 100 years. Welcome to other nations catching up.
Nothing really new here. Film has always been a propaganda tool since its invention. Look at all the movies the US and the UK lot churned out during war time but what's more interesting is that the propaganda cinema in each country then kicks it up a notch after the war (depending on the outcome of the war), so as to justify their actions. But lately things seem to have taken a darker turn where legitimate directors and actors have decided that to hell with artistic integrity and let's just cash in on this wave of populist right wing rhetoric being spewed up authoritarian governments (China, India, turkey just to name a few). The result of which is that it seems to somehow legitimise this doctrines mindset or at the very least makes it acceptable. A very visible example of this was Birth Of A Nation, it literally brought about a resurgence of KKK.
what i got from this is that the live-action remakes continue to be a horrid idea that's being executed poorly. the little mermaid is the only one i have any hope for at all, and that's mostly because of the great casting choices. also tim burton's/disney's alice in wonderland was phenomenal, but that's tim's handiwork, not disney's.
Yeah, disney should try and adapt another fairy tale, not just remake their old adaptations.
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I thought the movie was really well done. The whole honour and family thing is kind of what mulan is all about. As for the whole propaganda thing, have you seen the marvel universe!? It basically stereotypes all Russians as bad unless they're Americanized.I don't see anyone calling that out.
Its really cause there is no depth. Just because people know the story alr doesn't mean it gets to skip out all the character development. And some bits just... don't make any sense. When she was made the warrior's vow and became inspired to admit she was female to the commander, that part made 0 sense. Its not like its the first time she saw the words on the sword before and just before battle too?? And we all know lying will get her a 'dishonourable discharge' so its a direct conflict. Plus, trying to mix in the 'Frozen' storyline just muddles up things: she gets 'shamed' for having powers and meets someone who has been telling ostracised telling her 'to be true to herself'. Forget about all the hard work or training, she is the chosen one.
Load More Replies...
You know, I just can't stand "critics". I've seen some really beautiful movies released that I enjoyed to the fullest get reviews that sounded like they were shot in a dump. Why can't people just watch it for the movie it is instead of trying to find something wrong with it? I read a whole bunch of bad reviews on the original Disney animated films and was disgusted with the "critics". Its a frickin cartoon, made to make people happy. I have enjoyed them my whole life, and I'm about to turn 74. Some of these paid "critics" need to have their head pushed into a toilet bowl and flushed. Just enjoy the damn movie. My whole family saw Mulan, and although it was different from the original, everyone enjoyed it!
So just in contrast...If i told you to watch "Birth of a Nation" what would you take away from that film? Would you think "wow! That was a cool movie!"? The point is that movies are NOT just meant for entertainment. They can carry a message. And sometimes, that message is ill received/conceived or...you know, total brainwashing propaganda. You may be 74, but you obviously still live in a bubble.
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If it was about US values it would be "promotion", so now it's propaganda. What you call "walking over dead corpses" is just plain capitalism, becoming more appealing for the customer. Welcome to the matrix folks.
"(...) and attempt to target the PRC market, instead of earnestly exploring anything about the culture." This statement sounds like coming from someone who's never seen a Hollywood, a Disney film before. That's what they've been doing for so long, just replace "PRC" with any other kind of target audience. Besides that, to be fair, actual Chinese films (no, not Hong Kong classics, I'm talking about Chinese cinema), the recent ones at least, kind of are a huge propaganda for the values their government wants to impose. Yes, even The Great Wall, the one with Matt Damon, which was criticised for all the wrong reasons. It's a shame, really, because, politics aside, China has a lot to offer culture-wise.
Because every 2nd movie made in Hollywood is not cultural propaganda, its the ethos of mankind itself. With say, Mark Wahlberg, a tone deaf racist, portraying a patriot in every single TV background movie I happened to stumble upon. So to summarise, if the West does it its entertainment but if the East does, its propaganda. Well, a crappy movie with a cultural agenda is old news, so please, sell your rant somewhere else, we are all stocked up here.
Even if this movie wasn't pandering to the Chinese government, and even if it didn't film in Xianjang near the CONCENTRATION CAMPS, it's still a very poorly written movie with a Mary Sue lead that has literally no character evolution. She starts 'awesome' and ends 'awesome', doesn't learn any new skills through her trials. Even Goku in Dragonball Z has to overcome adversity and pain and get better at his skills!
Lol，this Propaganda thing just doesn't work out，it's basicly WonderWoman coated with story of Mulan.It got 4.7 on douban(kinda of Chinese version IMDB).The cartoon is better,at least it's fun! 2020091111...c480d1.jpg
How low Disney has fallen...They now churn out products as if it were an assembly line. Walt Disney must be spinning like a lathe in his grave.
Sorry? When exactly did Disney make hard-hitting films out of sync with mainstream politics? The focus has always been "fairytales" (not in the Grimm but in the saccharine sense) and "family films" with happy plots. The only stuff out of that line is stuff they bought (Pixar, Lucasfilm). The difference Pixar/Disney was always held up as such a gulf of visions (even though Pixar is mostly sweet as well, but with more of a different viewpoint).
Load More Replies... This is nothing new really as the Chinese market is very important for Hollywood. Disney however would literally walk over dead corpses to get that revenue. A truly disgusting company with zero talent of their own. Everything they have was acquired elsewhere; Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and recently the entire 20th Century Pictures.
They have all the original IP of their animated films prior to Pixar, but they're not doing anything interesting with it. :( I loved the animated Mulan film despite some over-the-top humour, because I admired Mulan herself. I was really looking forward to this movie, but I wasn't following it closely enough to know that it wasn't (like the live-action adaptations before it) a recreation of the animated version. This plot sounds really bad, and that's unfortunate. You're right, Disney nowadays is just a conglomerate of everything they've bought out, and everything that's wrong with capitalism.
Load More Replies... What I loved about the original was Mulan's perseverance, she trained and outwitted her way through the army so she could save her father and honour her family. In this remake, Mulan seems to be born with immense power, so what an audience is meant to admire about her changes. I also have the sneaking suspicion Li Shang wasn't included because they didn't want to imply that he was attracted to someone presenting as male. This movie, in isolation, is pretty spectacular, but the message of the original is closer to my heart. <3.
This is what all American action movies look like to non-Americans. This movie is only different in that it caters to Chinese megalomania instead of American megalomania.
Exactly but I see that it seems difficult to understand for those who have been wallowing in US propaganda until yesterday.
Load More Replies... None of the soul of the animated films. Takes itself too seriously and made by committee to avoid offending these hypersensitive Chinese government.
Mulan (cartoon) is my favorite Disney movie (again, cartoon). Love everything about the original. Still gives me all the good feels when I watch it. I think I will avoid the remake just to keep the original from being tainted.
Thats all im going to say in this post because I never liked the remakes. The original cartoons were good as they were
Load More Replies... The war in live-action is not epic or colossal enough. Maybe Pixar should take over and remake Mulan with the Full CGI
I am a lot more worried about the US govt than China
Load More Replies... For sth supposedly targeted at the Chinese market, the themes r so one-note and cringey. This movie's mindless repetition abt 'honour and loyalty to the emperor' etc w/o any depth (e.g protect the country to protect the people to protect the ones she loves etc) just sound like she was brainwashed.
Coming from a person who knows Chinese culture - it absolutely butchers it. The stuff about qi is completely wrong, there are no witches in Chinese legend.
I love how people have to flood multiple tweets, instead of writing in some blog and sharing the link afterwards.
Oh, and Hollywood has not produced propaganda for a 100 years. Welcome to other nations catching up.
Nothing really new here. Film has always been a propaganda tool since its invention. Look at all the movies the US and the UK lot churned out during war time but what's more interesting is that the propaganda cinema in each country then kicks it up a notch after the war (depending on the outcome of the war), so as to justify their actions. But lately things seem to have taken a darker turn where legitimate directors and actors have decided that to hell with artistic integrity and let's just cash in on this wave of populist right wing rhetoric being spewed up authoritarian governments (China, India, turkey just to name a few). The result of which is that it seems to somehow legitimise this doctrines mindset or at the very least makes it acceptable. A very visible example of this was Birth Of A Nation, it literally brought about a resurgence of KKK.
what i got from this is that the live-action remakes continue to be a horrid idea that's being executed poorly. the little mermaid is the only one i have any hope for at all, and that's mostly because of the great casting choices. also tim burton's/disney's alice in wonderland was phenomenal, but that's tim's handiwork, not disney's.
Yeah, disney should try and adapt another fairy tale, not just remake their old adaptations.
Load More Replies... I thought the movie was really well done. The whole honour and family thing is kind of what mulan is all about. As for the whole propaganda thing, have you seen the marvel universe!? It basically stereotypes all Russians as bad unless they're Americanized.I don't see anyone calling that out.
Its really cause there is no depth. Just because people know the story alr doesn't mean it gets to skip out all the character development. And some bits just... don't make any sense. When she was made the warrior's vow and became inspired to admit she was female to the commander, that part made 0 sense. Its not like its the first time she saw the words on the sword before and just before battle too?? And we all know lying will get her a 'dishonourable discharge' so its a direct conflict. Plus, trying to mix in the 'Frozen' storyline just muddles up things: she gets 'shamed' for having powers and meets someone who has been telling ostracised telling her 'to be true to herself'. Forget about all the hard work or training, she is the chosen one.
Load More Replies... You know, I just can't stand "critics". I've seen some really beautiful movies released that I enjoyed to the fullest get reviews that sounded like they were shot in a dump. Why can't people just watch it for the movie it is instead of trying to find something wrong with it? I read a whole bunch of bad reviews on the original Disney animated films and was disgusted with the "critics". Its a frickin cartoon, made to make people happy. I have enjoyed them my whole life, and I'm about to turn 74. Some of these paid "critics" need to have their head pushed into a toilet bowl and flushed. Just enjoy the damn movie. My whole family saw Mulan, and although it was different from the original, everyone enjoyed it!
So just in contrast...If i told you to watch "Birth of a Nation" what would you take away from that film? Would you think "wow! That was a cool movie!"? The point is that movies are NOT just meant for entertainment. They can carry a message. And sometimes, that message is ill received/conceived or...you know, total brainwashing propaganda. You may be 74, but you obviously still live in a bubble.
Load More Replies... If it was about US values it would be "promotion", so now it's propaganda. What you call "walking over dead corpses" is just plain capitalism, becoming more appealing for the customer. Welcome to the matrix folks.
"(...) and attempt to target the PRC market, instead of earnestly exploring anything about the culture." This statement sounds like coming from someone who's never seen a Hollywood, a Disney film before. That's what they've been doing for so long, just replace "PRC" with any other kind of target audience. Besides that, to be fair, actual Chinese films (no, not Hong Kong classics, I'm talking about Chinese cinema), the recent ones at least, kind of are a huge propaganda for the values their government wants to impose. Yes, even The Great Wall, the one with Matt Damon, which was criticised for all the wrong reasons. It's a shame, really, because, politics aside, China has a lot to offer culture-wise.
Because every 2nd movie made in Hollywood is not cultural propaganda, its the ethos of mankind itself. With say, Mark Wahlberg, a tone deaf racist, portraying a patriot in every single TV background movie I happened to stumble upon. So to summarise, if the West does it its entertainment but if the East does, its propaganda. Well, a crappy movie with a cultural agenda is old news, so please, sell your rant somewhere else, we are all stocked up here.
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