Disney’s reboot of the story of Mulan challenged gender stereotypes and brought the importance of family bonds to light, is now a hotspot for controversy. While the movie has an entirely Asian cast which is a big turn in the American film industry, it is hard to ignore the fact that almost the entire production and film crew is white, all the way from the writers to the costume designers. The weak scripting of the film has made Hua Mulan nothing like the original character and has deteriorated her strong personality.
It doesn’t stop there, the star of the life action movie, Liu Yifei has made comments on supporting the Hong Kong police who are notorious for their use of excessive force, police brutality and blatant disregard for fundamental human rights. Additionally, Disney has publicly thanked a Chinese agency that has allegedly instituted human right abuses in XinJiang as well as several different Chinese government bodies.
Now, the company finds itself being slammed for filming parts of the film in the XinJiang region that is detaining and repressing Uighur muslims by the use of concentration camps and reeducation camps. Disney working in a region that is known for committing genocide definitely isn’t emitting the dreamy image they reach for.
Nonetheless, it is safe to say that these decisions have left several people, Disney fans or not, disappointed and infuriated.