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[–]luckystar 17 insightful - 1 fun17 insightful - 0 fun18 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

As a side note, it's interesting how the story of Mulan is interpreted differently by different audiences. In the West, it seems to be interpreted as a you-go-girl, women can do anything just as well as the boys can, female empowerment narrative. In China, the narrative is actually about filial piety -- the idea is that Mulan is so loyal to her father that when he is too ill to fight in the war, she goes to great lengths to fight in his place. The moral is kinda like "even this woman went to war out of respect for her elders, what's your excuse?"

Either way you look at it, Mulan being female is central to the story.