The Reimagined Princess, The Empowered Female Warrior

Abstract

For nearly a century, the Walt Disney Company has been constructing the world-famous Princess Line and enjoying a lengthy reign of female-centred, female-targeted media productions. Relying upon a problematically androcentric formula, these princess fairy tales advocate stereotypical femininity and romanticise imbalanced heterosexual relationships. Nevertheless, as gender progressive ideas become increasingly popular and accepted in the 21st century, Disney's princess fantasies face repeated criticism and elicit concerns among modern-day audiences. To alter such a negative reputation and reinforce its control over the media market, Disney turns its princess animations into live-action remakes and upgrades these classic stories and characters with feminist zeitgeists. Taken Mulan (1998) and its recent remake as the case study, this article identifies specific differences between the two princess protagonists and demonstrates that fourth-wave feminist discourses -the emphasis on choice, the construction of contemporary female ideals, and nuanced attitudes towards stereotypical masculinityplay a key role in reimagining Mulan into a more independent and empowered female warrior. This comparative textual analysis also examines particular flaws and biases contained in the fourth-wave feminist ideology, including the narrow definition of 'aspirational women,' the overemphasis on individual efforts, and the neglect of structural inequalities.