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For @RadiiChina I pull together over a year’s worth of thoughts and observations on #DisneyMulan 
, an American movie tailor made for the China market. 1/ https://radiichina.com/disney-mulan-china/
, an American movie tailor made for the China market. 1/ https://radiichina.com/disney-mulan-china/
Last summer, Liu Yifei’s support for Hong Kong police brutality marked the film with politics it never managed to shake off again.
#BoycottMulan has been tweeted continuously by those sympathetic to HK protests. Meanwhile Liu is hailed a patriotic darling in mainland China. 2/
#BoycottMulan has been tweeted continuously by those sympathetic to HK protests. Meanwhile Liu is hailed a patriotic darling in mainland China. 2/
As I observed in @MorningContext, it has been a decades-long balancing act for Disney in China, though of late it has grown increasingly precarious.
Disney remained silent on the Liu Yifei debacle last year & let the media cycle take it away. 3/ https://themorningcontext.com/disneys-new-china-conundrum/
Disney remained silent on the Liu Yifei debacle last year & let the media cycle take it away. 3/ https://themorningcontext.com/disneys-new-china-conundrum/
Given the massive hit NBA took in China, Disney protected its profits by refraining from reprimanding Liu for making a controversial political statement.
If this happened in today’s anti-China climate in the US I think Disney would receive domestic pressure to pick a side. 4/
If this happened in today’s anti-China climate in the US I think Disney would receive domestic pressure to pick a side. 4/
As a Disney “live action remake” Mulan is an anomaly. Unlike previous films, notably The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, which were constructed out of nostalgia and fan service, Mulan eschewed the old plot, along with bisexual icon Li Shang and wisecracking Mushu. 5/
Perhaps Disney is still sore from how 2D Mulan flopped hard in Chinese box office back in 1998, where audiences ripped it apart for cultural inauthenticity and overly Western characterizations.
But from what we’ve seen of the new film is still not without cultural faux pas. 6/
But from what we’ve seen of the new film is still not without cultural faux pas. 6/
A key example is the new music video from Christina Aguilera that dropped about two weeks ago, featuring a bad Chinese tattoo aesthetic and a Google Translate level translation.
In the article you can see how the diaspora crowd ripped it apart for goofy orientalism. 7/ https://twitter.com/ourobororoboruo/status/1294297863791546368
In the article you can see how the diaspora crowd ripped it apart for goofy orientalism. 7/ https://twitter.com/ourobororoboruo/status/1294297863791546368
But the thing is, the things we observed to be cheapening Chinese culture to mere decoration to the taste of American consumers did NOT offend Chinese consumers. Yes the same Chinese consumers that basically chased Dolce & Gabbana out of town for cultural insensitivity. 8/
What this tells me is that Disney has succeeded in pandering thematically to Chinese consumers, by placing traditional virtues front and center in its advertising.
Ironic, for a girl power film about breaking conventions and being true to yourself. 9/
Ironic, for a girl power film about breaking conventions and being true to yourself. 9/
Will all of Disney’s efforts pay off in the China box office? We will know soon enough after it’s September 11 release. I think Disney might just get the hit they so desperately want. /end
I totally forgot to shout out to the good people whose 
tweets I quoted in the piece: @HelenHsuPsyD
@yilinwriter @rzhongnotes @chenchenzh Thank you!!!
tweets I quoted in the piece: @HelenHsuPsyD@yilinwriter @rzhongnotes @chenchenzh Thank you!!!
