Jessica N.
When I first watched Disney’s animated film Mulan in 1998, I loved it so much that I watched it more than 10 times! Many of us know the theme song performed by Christina Aguilera, “Reflection,” from the original soundtrack. The lyrics of this song reveal the main message of the movie in just a few touching lines:
“Reflection” Look at me I will never pass for a perfect bride Or a perfect daughter Can it be I’m not meant to play this part Now I see That if I were truly to be myself I would break my family’s heart Who is that girl I see Staring straight, back at me Why is my reflection someone I don’t know Somehow I cannot hide Who I am Though I’ve tried When will my reflection show who I am inside?
At the start of the film, Imperial China is at war with the Northern Hun tribe, and a military draft requires every family to send one male to fight. Mulan, an only child, cannot join the war because she is a woman. Instead, she is expected to be a “good daughter” by marrying through a matchmaker while her frail father prepares to enlist.
When Mulan sings this song, she looks at her reflection in the water, expressing her desire to throw away her false self and find her true self. Later in the film, we see her do just that. She bravely decides to disguise herself as a man and joins the army to protect her father.
Mulan did not see herself the way society did. Even though she was physically weaker than many of the male soldiers, she showed her true self as a courageous warrior fighting for her family and country. In the end, Mulan becomes a heroine who saves China with her intelligence and bravery, accomplishing something that even the strongest men could not.
Mulan could never have become a heroine if she had believed that only men should fight and women should stay at home. So, are you living as your true self like Mulan, or are you living a false life based on what society or your family expects of you? If you are not living as your true self, isn’t it time to find out who you really are?
Come find your true self, become real, and live your true life!
