The myths, folktales, and fairytales shared within a culture tell a lot about the values of that culture. Take for instance the story of Mulan. There are many different variations of the story, yet each have the same general underlying point to the story: a female pretends to be a male in order to fight in the Imperial army, and eventually her true gender is discovered. However, different cultural versions of this fairytale will differ in other aspects of the story. Insights into the culture that the story stems from can also be gained by analysing the fairytale. A comparison between two cultural variations of the folktale will provide a greater understanding of the moral focus of the story. Additionally, as I have found in the story of Mulan, mythological aspects are also discernible. This is my personal analysis of two different variations of the story of Mulan.
While there are several different versions of …show more content…
I feel that this may have been the original reason for the creation of this folktale, the main original focus. Family is important in both cultures, and therefor telling a folktale that places emphasis on the importance of taking care of your family seems like a logical assumption. Both cultures may have taken the opportunity to demonstrate and point out things such as gender inequality while sharing the tale, or perhaps it was unintentionally. I feel that in Disney’s story, it was purposefully to make a statement that women can do everything a man can do. Where's the Chinese version may have simply been trying to make a statement that even the females are expected to do what is necessary to put the family first. The purpose in telling the story of Mulan, as with all fairytales and folktales, is to pass on to younger generations the values of the culture in which the story is being
While there are several different versions of …show more content…
I feel that this may have been the original reason for the creation of this folktale, the main original focus. Family is important in both cultures, and therefor telling a folktale that places emphasis on the importance of taking care of your family seems like a logical assumption. Both cultures may have taken the opportunity to demonstrate and point out things such as gender inequality while sharing the tale, or perhaps it was unintentionally. I feel that in Disney’s story, it was purposefully to make a statement that women can do everything a man can do. Where's the Chinese version may have simply been trying to make a statement that even the females are expected to do what is necessary to put the family first. The purpose in telling the story of Mulan, as with all fairytales and folktales, is to pass on to younger generations the values of the culture in which the story is being