By Milo Akerman
Staff Writer

Mulan is a Disney classic. The movie is about a girl who, in an effort to save her father from being drafted, disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s spot in the army. The film quickly became yet another staple in Disney’s long list of successful animated movies. In 2017, Disney released what I consider the first major live-action remake to garner an above-average amount of attention: Beauty and the Beast. The movie performed decently, with users and critics settling at around 7/10 on most platforms, all of which prompting two more remakes: Aladdin and The Lion King.

Another one of these movies was Mulan. The film was released on Disney Plus, and viewers did not like it. The first thing people noticed was that the lead actress, Yifey Liu, had shared a statement by China’s state-owned newspaper that read: “I support the Hong Kong police. You can beat me now.” and added, in English, “What a shame for Hong Kong.”

However, the most notable problem with Mulan is found in the end credits. There, the movie gives special thanks to an organization who manages a group of Uyghur concentration camps. Uyghur Muslims are one of the 55 Chinese minorities. Recently, the government has taken to incarcerating them simply because of their religious beliefs. For years, the government denied the existence of these camps, but after satellite imagery revealed them, the government admitted their existence. Instead of recognizing their wrong, the government began calling them “re-education centers,” despite the fact that they are clearly internment camps. The racism against Uyghurs in China is similar to the racism against Muslims in the U.S., both targeting a minority because of their alleged involvement with terrorism.

This incident sparked outrage on Twitter, with the hashtag ‘#BoycottMulan’ trending hours after the movie’s release. People around the globe were angry that Disney refused to apologize for their behavior or respond to the lead actress’s comments regarding the Hong Kong police. Amidst all the confusion, one thing is clear: Disney seeks to benefit. This movie has been released in China, available for millions within the country. Disney is making money, and lots of it. Making millions upon millions, even if they risk their public image, is something Disney is willing to risk (frankly, they have done it before). Regardless, Disney needs to be held accountable.  

Nevertheless, Disney refuses to apologize. Their silence is complicity. By avoiding the issue, the public can only assume that Disney either does not care enough to address the topic, or actually supports the statements their lead actress made. 

And yet, people typically forget. Normally, the dust would settle, and we would, once again, forget and forgive these actions; another corporation would do something more outrageous, and we would shift our attention towards them. Now, we should do the opposite. This instance is different, and we should make it so. The more we forget, the more corporations can get away with it. We, as the viewers, should serve as a constant reminder to these companies that they cannot simply avoid their issues and wait for people to forget. We must hold Disney accountable.