Mulan Monomyth

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Heroes, as depicted in literature and film, often undertake the most difficult tasks and place themselves in mortal danger to bring back, for themselves and their communities, knowledge, treasure or freedom. According to Joseph Campbell, most of these heroes’ journeys follow the structure of a Monomyth; it is comparable to a skeleton upon which adventures can be outlined. Disney’s Mulan is no different. Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, Mulan observes the journey of Fa Mulan, a young Chinese maiden who disguises herself as a male to replace her father in the war against the Huns. Mulan emerges as an archetypal hero because her adventure follows Joseph Campbell’s universal monomyth formula; she endures the three major phases of Separation, Initiation and Return, meets archetypal characters and accomplishes her mission by defeating the gender prejudices in Chinese society, saving the Chinese population and ultimately honoring her family. Like all heroes, Mulan begins her journey in the Separation stage, where she begins in the…show more content…
In the Ordinary World, Mulan is depicted as an attractive, yet clumsy, girl, who seems to be a disappointment to her father. Her family attempts to marry her off by sending her to a matchmaker; the conclusion of the meeting was a disaster, resulting in a dishonored family. Mulan does not know who to be besides herself, even though she is a disappointment. This is shown when Mulan says, "When will my reflection show, who I am inside?" It is then that she receives a Call to Adventure. According to Campbell, the Call to Adventure is when “the heroic figure is made aware of a place beyond the world [s]he has known [her] whole life.” In Mulan, this occurs when Chi-Fu, the Emperor’s counsel, hands out a decree to each family demanding the most able
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