IndexWomen and HonorMatchmaker and EducationMulan as an Unsocialized IndividualMen and HonorThe EmperorConclusionWorks CitedArt is known to reflect and influence society. The four sociological perspectives tend to manifest themselves in different art forms such as books and films. Some films easily represent a perspective in its ideal, or extreme, state, while others challenge the concept that society can only adapt to one perspective. In Disney's adaptation of Mulan, it is easy to assume at first glance that the film reflects feminist theory, as it is about a woman who joins the army. It sheds light on countless gender inequalities in society, but the core language and values ​​of functionalism fit this film's analysis much better. An in-depth analysis of the numerous institutions in play reveals that it is closely related to the functionalist perspective. However, as many sociological theorists agree, the functionalist perspective does not take into account social change. Mulan is about the journey of transforming society, but it does so by first exploring all the parts that make up society and showing how everything is interconnected. While it reflects a challenge to the status quo, it can only do so by recognizing the performative harmony of all different institutions and their functions in society, a concept that is at the heart of the functionalist perspective. Mulan reflects several social institutions: family, military, government, and education. The film also explores social facts through ancestry and gender roles. Throughout Mulan's journey, viewers are exposed to the functions of these different institutions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The functionalist perspective, like all things, is interpreted differently depending on the source. This article will use the standards outlined by Pope: sees society as a whole as made up of different parts, seeks balance, sees structures and institutions based on the contribution they make to society. This view understands functionalism as the analysis of what makes a society exist and function as it does. It views the parts of a society as dependent on each other and all having a specific function. The distinction of this perspective from many others, particularly conflict theory, is that Durkheim emphasizes the positive contribution of various institutions. In essence, all parts of society make some form of positive contribution that maintains or tends to achieve equilibrium. Women and HonorAt the beginning of the film, Mulan is preparing for the meeting with the matchmaker. Her mother and grandmother obsessively do her hair, makeup and clothes and try to teach her good manners. Gender, as well as gender roles, are socially constructed but with the functionalist perspective we are able to understand them as socially constructed for a specific purpose, good or bad. Throughout this film, the roles of women and men are clearly defined. As Mulan prepares to meet the matchmaker, the women of the town sing a song for her that includes: "a girl can bring great honor to her family in one way, by making a good match and this may be the day." She goes from store to store as each woman adds something different to contribute to her success. Women explicitly state that, as women, the only thing they can do for themselves and their family is to marry a good man. In this society, a woman's role is to be a good daughter, a good wife and a good mother. She must take care of her father, her husband and her children and train membersfunctioning of the company. It is his responsibility to look presentable and be obedient, as the song says. The song goes on to mention the citizens' duty to their emperor: "we all must serve our emperor who protects us from the elements." The Huns, the men bearing weapons, a girl bearing children. Here we have three different areas of society with their clearly defined functions. It is the duty of the government/emperor to protect its citizens from any external threat. In exchange, men from the society are drafted to fight in the army to protect their families. Alongside them are the women who stay at home and take care of things while they are away. This reveals how these three different parts of society depend on each other. The entire song repeats the phrase "you will honor us all". The concept of honoring one's family, although highly cultural, can also be classified as a social fact. Schmaus interprets Durkheim's social facts to mean that in order for society to feel some sort of moral obligation to comply with a specific norm, it must believe that there is a causal relationship between what it does and what the presumed outcome is. This means that the people in the film must believe that to honor their family in both the ancestral world and the one they live in, they must respect established gender roles. Schmaus also rejects the idea that social facts are a collective representation. He does not believe that an individual's opinion on a specific rule can be assumed even if he follows it. This explains why Mulan, although very hesitant and frustrated with the roles, still follows them at the beginning. She wants to please her parents and honor her family the only way society tells her she can. Matchmaker and Education The first song, which introduced us to many different parts of society, leads to Mulan's visit with the matchmaker. Here, the matchmaker will accept or reject Mulan as an acceptable woman to have as a wife. The role of the matchmaker is very powerful. After his rejection, a woman may lose her only opportunity to make her family proud. The role of matchmaker seems to be widely accepted by everyone in society. It's unclear when the role was landed, but it's obvious that his abilities aren't in question. It is safe to say that the matchmaker plays a vital institutional role in society, similar to how we may look at education. According to Durkheim “education… is above all the means by which society continually recreates the conditions of its own existence”. The function of the education system, in its many forms, is to reproduce the ideals that sustain society. In this case, Mulan was taught to act a certain way so she could get a good husband. In the song, all the women give her advice and teach her how to be the best woman she can be. That education is put to the test by the matchmaker. Determines whether or not Mulan can uphold the values ​​of their ideal woman. When she first meets Mulan, the matchmaker scolds her for "speaking without permission" and for having a "too thin" body which she says is not good for having children. He then tests her knowledge of domestic manners and tells her that she must have certain qualities to suit her future in the legal field. Matchmaker duties are essentially what we consider the function of our modern educational systems. Our schools are intended to produce law-abiding, well-rounded citizens. The matchmaker aims to produce a woman who upholds all the qualities of the ideal wife. The twist of the film comes from Mulan's failure to fit into that box and how she struggles with it, which leads her to take matters into her own handsof honoring his family. Mulan as an Unsocialized Individual After Mulan is rejected by the matchmaker, she has her moment of feeling like an outcast who will never fit in. Pope points out that Durkheim argues that while parts of the whole society struggle for balance there is a force, and that force is the “unsocialized component of the individual.” At all times, society tries its best to control this aspect of the individual or socialize them to fit into society. This happens through family, education and even career. Durkheim mentions the concept of solidarity or integration and how attached an individual is to the group he or she is a part of. A stronger attachment is believed to generate a more socialized individual. However, when there are so many institutions at play, all contributing to the whole, it can be difficult for the individual to find an attachment to the whole, to the whole of society. If the unsocialized individual feels no attachment, or has even been rejected by society, he or she would feel no obligation to contribute to society. What is not talked about is what happens when the unsocialized individual still feels moral obligations to certain parts or institutions rather than to the whole. Mulan is a great example of an unsocialized individual. She was deemed unworthy of honoring her family in the way women should. Therefore, she feels like an outcast. However, this refusal does not relieve her of her moral obligations to her family, which were ingrained in her growing up. The way he decides to honor his family is by taking his father's place in the war so that he is not killed. This action isn't exactly a direct challenge to the status quo. Mulan is simply fulfilling her duty as a daughter in an alternative way since the matchmaker denied her the right to do so as a woman. It turns instead to "man's duty" to society to compensate. Cole argues that a dialectical approach to functionalism allows for an understanding that “the seeds of change lie within the social structure itself” (Cole, 1996). With this approach, we are able to better understand Mulan's decision as still fitting social institutions. Although gender roles are explicit in the first ten minutes of the film, familial obligations are also emphasized. She makes the courageous decision to disguise herself as a man to take her father's place in the army. Her intentions behind this are not an attempt to fight gender roles and allow all women to join the military, she makes the rash decision to put her family before herself. A value that is emphasized in the film. The institution of family and the duties Mulan feels towards it are what paved the way for her to make such a decision. In other words, the seeds of change were produced by society itself. This outlines exactly what a latent function means in society. While there are many institutions that work to create balance overall, the film reflects that some institutions can play a larger role in an individual's life, thus influencing their decisions. Men and Honor While Mulan is disguised as a man and among the other soldiers we get an idea of ​​the function they perform in society. In the beginning there was the song that outlined what makes an ideal woman. In the middle, we have a song that explains what makes an ideal man, the lyrics include “be a man, we must be as fast as a flowing river, with all the strength of a great typhoon, with all the strength of a raging fire. " These lyrics reflect the qualities of a good man and a good soldier. For men, their duty is to be powerful warriors who protect the/188780