East Asia Watch

Mulan missteps: How Hollywood lost the plot

Beyond the film's many cultural crossover mistakes, US film-makers face a larger problem of changing Chinese tastes and being caught up in Sino-US tensions.

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"Your chi is strong, Mulan. But chi is for warriors, not daughters. Soon, you'll be a young woman and it is time for you to hide your gift away," Hua Zhou tells his tomboyish daughter, who has a knack for jumping across rooftops, flying down buildings and chasing chickens.

Wait a second. Chi is for warriors? Says who?

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 29, 2020, with the headline Mulan missteps: How Hollywood lost the plot. Subscribe