Mickey Mouse is at it again with another one of those live-action remakes.
I love the 1998 Disney film “Mulan”; it’s one of my favorite movies, and I have seen it at least more than 10 times. Obsessive, I know. Which means I, of course, couldn’t help but be excited about the live-action remake (even though I knew it undoubtedly wouldn’t be as good).
I am sure you all remember the story of Mulan: A young girl who is incapable of making a match and upholding her family’s honor decides to take her father’s place in the Chinese army by impersonating a warrior. In the face of adversity, she rises to the top of her regiment and achieves her family honor in the most unlikely circumstances. It is a story of valuing each other’s differences by fighting the status quo.
Last month, Disney released a recycled version of another classic cartoon as a live-action film. Disney released it on Disney+ for a premium of $29.99, aside from subscription fees already required of subscribers. The film was released amid mounting controversy and calls to boycott a year before its release.
Let’s get down to business.
Last year, at the height of the Hong Kong protests, Disney’s “Mulan” lead actress Liu Yifei reposted in Chinese on her Weibo, a social media platform similar to Twitter, in support of the Hong Kong police.
The post read, “I support the Hong Kong police. You can all attack me now.” The post follows in English with “what a shame for Hong Kong.” Soon after, pro-democracy protesters and human rights activists started #BoycottMulan, drawing attention to Yifei’s stance on the police’s misconduct.
What is particularly damn is that Yifei is a naturalized American and enjoys American freedoms. Some interpreted her police support as forced; it has been previously found that Chinese actors are pressured to express government support. Perhaps she wishes for a unified China — not that it justifies police violence of any sort. However, the actress has not refuted these statements nor provided disclaimers.
I can overlook this post, hoping that there are broader factors at play, but “a single grain of rice can tip the scale.” Disney filmed parts of the film in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, site of concentration and reeducation camps of the Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim non-Han Chinese ethnic group.
To further damage Mickey Mouse’s squeaky-clean reputation, Disney’s final film credits thanks the Xinjiang government, especially the Chinese Communist Party’s “publicity department.” The credits reveal that Mickey Mouse has turned a blind eye to the injustices occurring right next door to its film production in its ravenous hunger to turn a profit.
Disney has not responded to these controversies — Alan Horn, co-chairman and chief creative officer of Walt Disney Studios, said it doesn’t “want to be dragged into a political discussion.”But there’s no need; no comment can fix Mickey Mouse’s mistakes in both the Hong Kong protests and the “thank you” note to a country guilty of human rights horrors that it has consistently denied.
Disney has taken a story of fighting about individuality and celebrating differences and devalued it by supporting a government against this very idea. So, for this worthy cause, join me in declaring, “Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!”
