pippinish:

Thinking about the Disney animated film Mulan. When Mulan cuts her hair in order to take on the role of a man what we see is entirely western symbolism of gender roles. In those times hair was seen as a gift from one’s parents and so Han men, as well as women, did not cut it (which is the reason for the topknot- a practical solution to keeping one’s hair out of the way). Cutting one’s hair was renunciation of title and family, against the Confucian ideal of filial piety (like when Zuko and Iroh cut their hair off in Avatar: The Last Airbender it’s not just to disguise their identity). So there would have been absolutely no reason for Mulan to do this when her aim was for the benefit of her father. But of course we’re talking about a Disney adaption of a poem about filial piety adapted for western viewers so obviously the themes are going to have to be accessible to western viewers.