Author: martin.3793

Text Review: Mulan (Animated Film)

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“Mulan” is a 1998 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The plot takes place in China during the Han dynasty where Mulan, the daughter of a very old aged warrior impersonates a man to take her father’s place when there is an invasion. Mulan knows that her father’s health and age will interfere with his time in combat, so she protects him and fights not only for her father, but for herself, proving that she was more than just a housewife. Women are taught growing up to fulfill their gender roles as a woman, like cooking, cleaning and being a good housewife. We are taught at a very young age that there is a difference between masculinity and femininity, and since this movie is often shown to children, it starts them thinking about the differences in gender at a young age. Over time though, we have seen that women can do things that men do and succeed beyond their gender roles. We see in the movie Mulan how she breaks gender roles when she proves that women can be tough and endure the pain and sacrifice men did when going to war. 

As the movie plays out, we can see ideas that are parallel with what we have learned in class. For instance, de Beauvoir’s theory of Other is present in this plot. Mulan is oppressed as a woman and she has to hide her true gender because she is underrepresented in the warfare, so this could be considered Otherness as women are looked down upon and treated differently. The men in this movie are considered the One as they have power over the woman in this movie, being stereotypically the more powerful ones in the war. In addition to Otherness, we can also refer to Spivak’s Subaltern, “Can the Subaltern Speak.” Spivak says “identity is its difference.” In this movie, Mulan, as the non-represented subject (women) hides her true identity to make it evident that her gender does compare and even succeed beyond the comparison to the more powerful/dominant one (men). The producers of this movie therefore, inspires conversations about gender roles, power and injustice and we can see how Mulan’s Otherness appeals to the viewers of this movie as she shocks the world with her ability to overcome gender stereotypes in war and even sparks conversations of stereotypes of everyday life.  

Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans On The Rise Due to Pandemic

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Last month, there was a fatal attack in San Francisco that was described as a racially motivated attack. An innocent 84 year-old man named Vicha Ratanapakdee was slammed to the ground by a random man who charged him at full speed. He died of a brain hemorrhage in the hospital two days later. The killing of Vicha has given voice to a united community under the idea of Asian-American identity. His killing brought much anger to a diverse group that encompasses people of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and Southeast Asian heritages. There have been thousands of racist incidents among Asian Americans, probably as a result of  Donald Trump repeatedly referring COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.” The hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise and there have been many Asian Americans coming together in anti-hate rallies with signs saying, “My ethnicity is not a virus,” and “Asian is not a virus, racism is.” Racism is a virus, and it seems as if it continues to spread faster than some viruses. There are many stereotypes and conclusions that people make about Asian Americans, such as them being rich, smart, and struggling in speaking English. They feel as if they are displaced in a country divided between whites and blacks, as they are the in-between race. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus originating from China, the Asian community has faced fear and insecurity as they are looked at as the individuals who brought the virus to America. The death of Vicha moved the Asian community to start protesting against this racial injustice crime.

The amount of incidences of hate crimes have increased as a result of the coronavirus. The New York Police Department says that a 36-year old Asian man in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood was stabbed and taken to a hospital in critical condition and the suspect faces charged that include attempted murder as a hate crime, among other charges. To read about more hate crime incidents:  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/27/asian-hate-crimes-attacks-fueled-covid-19-racism-threaten-asians/4566376001/

The racial discrimination amongst Asian Americans is very unfair given the fact that we are all trying to fight against this virus and we are all in this together trying to stay healthy and safe. As it is said by de Beauvoir in her Second Sex, “it is that no group sets itself up as the One without at once setting up the Other against itself”. The coronavirus outbreak is the overall issue of the whole world combating the virus, but the world is letting their power of One and the Other overpower their identity and setting up injustice for certain racial groups. We can also refer back to what Beauvoir says, “he sets himself up as the essential, as opposed to the other, the inessential, the object.” After interpreting this, we can conclude that the essential her is other American groups and the inessential, the object as the Asian American community suffering from being looked down upon. 

Week 7 Context Presentation. The Iranian Revolution

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Persepolis begins in the days immediately following the Iranian Revolution of 1978–1979.  The throne of Iran was taken over by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1941. He initiated the White Revolution, which was a regime of radical modernization. His monarchy led to rapid urbanization and westernization under an oppressive one-party regime, and sparked concerns over democracy and human rights. The program was economically successful, but the advantages were not distributed evenly, creating several problems in Iran. He and his government were accused of denying political opposition, hoarding oil exports revenues, and pushing Wester technology, concepts, and ideals to be accepted by the people. This monarchy left many citizens angry and feeling powerless. 

The Iranian revolution began in January 1978 when a newspaper report about Islamic scholar Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–89) incited students in a religious school in Tehran(the capital of Iran) (Afray).  Khomeini criticized and opposed the government led by Pahlavi, sparking a period of protests, repression, violence, and mourning among thousands of Iranians. Security forces fired on a large rally in Tehran’s Jaleh Square the morning after the Shah(the title of the monarch of Iran) proclaimed martial law. At least 100 were killed and the incident was referred to as “Black Friday” (Maloney). As Pahlavi fought back, protesters were killed by the regime’s soldiers, who were then considered as martyrs, or people who died for their religion. 

After all of the protests, the Shah fled and the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Rena Pahlavi was replaced with a theocracy led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in February of 1979. Khomeini quickly applied strict religious beliefs in power. Because of the stringent rules and a constant fear of the religious law-enforcement patrols, we see how the main character Persepolis, Marjane, feels restricted living in Iran’s Islamic religious Republic. Iranian women were required to wear the veil, and Western music and alcohol were banned (Afray). Khomeini became Iran’s political and religious authority for the next 10 years and the story of Persepolis describes the life of a girl going through these drastic changes in her childhood life. 

Works Cited

Afary, Janet. “Iranian Revolution.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 Jan. 2021, www.britannica.com/event/Iranian-Revolution. 

Maloney, Suzanne, and Keian Razipour. “The Iranian Revolution-A Timeline of Events.” Brookings, Brookings, 7 Feb. 2019, www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/01/24/the-iranian-revolution-a-timeline-of-events/. 

(these links are really helpful, especially the timeline of events that took place during the book of Persepolis >> https://libwww.freelibrary.org/programs/onebook/obop10/docs/Persepolis_timeline.pdf )