I'll Make A Man Out Of You - Music and the Fictive Dream

 

Introduction

    I'll Make A Man Out Of You was written for the movie Mulan by Mathew Wilder and David Zippel and released on June 2nd, 1998. The Movie, also released in 1998, follows the story of the main character Mulan. It was one of the many animated films released during the Disney senescence(Wikipedia). It was a major box-office success based on the Chinese Legend of Hua Mulan. Both the song and the film were released worldwide but originated in America.

    Mulan is her father's only child. During a Hunnic invasion in ancient China, Every family is expected to provide one male for the war. Her father is old but has no sons, so he is forced to go. Mulan takes her father's military equipment and sneaks away. Disguised as a man, she joins the army. Once she reaches her unit, they begin training for their eventual victory over the Huns. This song is a montage of their training to become soldiers.

    During the song, Captain Li Shang trains the Hero, Mulan, and her fellow soldiers for the coming battle. The captain sings about all the aspects of becoming a man to his soldiers. This can be seen as ironic because the hero is not a man; she is a woman. At the song's end, she climbs the pole to retrieve the arrow with the weights named Strength and Discipline, a challenge that the captain laid out before the soldiers. Once she climbs the pole with the weights, she transforms into a man and leads the rest of the men.

Social commentary, then and now

    Mulan is unique for Disney heroes because she is a strong female role who doesn't need any man. This is different from other Disney films at the time, like Beauty and the Beast or Pocahontas. Mulan was, at the time, the only Disney princess who was a warrior and whose tales did not need a man to be told. While she eventually married Captain Li, this was only after showing her skill in battle and being honored by the emperor; she was in every way an equal to Captain Li. This movie was ahead of its time, and so was the song, which is tied to this idea of her becoming a man and being equal to a man.

    The social commentary implications for this are immense, which has given the film and song a lengthy afterlife. This song was empowering to both genders, and many people grew up listening to this song on sports teams or at sports events. At the time, but more so in the modern sense, I'll Make a Man out of You plays with the ideas of gender and sexuality and has made it inspirational to the trans community. 

    

    The way this song shows that women can be equal to men is inspiring for women who grew up hearing it. This is only controversial in small, weird internet sections in the modern day, but in the 90s, this was one of a kind. Many women at the time grew up listening to the song while working out or playing sports. Famously "Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley had it on hers when she was prepping for the action shoots in The Force Awakens"(Grady, vox.com)

    The way that Mulan transforms into a man at the end of the song makes it inspirational to the trans community as well. When this song was released in 1998, most people did not think much about this. It has taken on this new life of showing a woman becoming a man and existing as a man in the modern era.

Music elements:

    The song has a tempo of 114 bpm. The dynamics in the song are done in such a way as to emphasize certain parts and lyrics. Often the strings or the trumpet add to the excitement of certain parts. In the second half of the song, the drums get louder, emphasizing the urgency (Bessey, youtube). The song structure is A, A, B, C, A, C, C ( Bessery, youtube).

Personal Reaction and Interpretation

    I've always found the story of Mulan to be very inspiring, even though I am a man. As a man, I also have a very male-centered interpretation of the song. The song says all these things that a man is supposed to be, like " tranquil as a forest, but a fire within" or "We must be swift as the coursing river,

With all the force of a great typhoon, With all the strength of a raging fire, Mysterious as the dark side of the moon". It always made me feel motivated to try harder and reach further.  

Sources

Bessey, Kevin, director. YouTube, YouTube, 31 Jan. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQJ4rG_uns. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Grady, Constance. “Why Mulan's ‘I'll Make a Man out of You’ Became a Pump-up Playlist Must-Have.” Vox, Vox, 4 Sept. 2020, https://www.vox.com/culture/21418282/mulan-ill-make-a-man-out-of-you-disney-animated-1998.

“I'll Make a Man out of You.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27ll_Make_a_Man_Out_of_You.

Lenker, Maureen Lee. “'Mulan': The Story behind 'I'll Make a Man out of You' and Its Other Hit Songs.” EW.com, https://ew.com/movies/2018/06/19/mulan-ill-make-a-man-out-of-you-story/.

Vargas, Chanel. “With All the Force of a Great Typhoon, ‘I'll Make a Man out of You’ Is the Best Mulan Song.” POPSUGAR Entertainment, 18 Sept. 2020, https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/mulan-ill-make-man-out-you-song-essay-47790546#:~:text=So%2C%20on%20the%20surface%2C%20Mulan,the%20rest%20of%20her%20team.