ABSTRACT
In this chapter, Jing Yin interrogates the power of U.S. popular cultural text in shaping the public imaginary of non-Western cultures and attempts to open up the possibility of reconstructing alternative narratives, imaginaries, cultural spaces, and identities. Grounded in Stuart Hall’s theory of articulation, she examines how the Chinese legend of a woman warrior was appropriated by Disney to produce the feature film Mulan. She uncovers that in the process of transforming the Chinese story of Mulan into a “universal” classic, Disney projects the Western value of individualism as universal, depicts Chinese culture as Oriental despotism, and co-opts feminism as racial hierarchy. Through an introduction and interpretation of the original Chinese Ballad of Mulan, Yin propounds to restore and rejuvenate the non-Western cultural meanings that were displaced by the dominant narratives presented by the U.S. culture industry and to bring forth a new standpoint into dialogues on non-Western ethics and feminisms. According to her, contrary to the overriding theme of individualism in the Disney version, the original Ballad reflects the Chinese ethos of relationalism, filial piety, and loyalty and embraces an alternative form of feminism that is predicated on the Chinese preference for the collective.
