Hua Mulan

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

After the AP World History exam this year, my students watched Disney’s Mulan and Hua Mulan. Students had a lot of fun watching Disney’s Mulan, but most struggled to focus on Hua Mulan. Unfortunately I was only able to find the English dubbed version last minute, and I do not recommend it. Find the subtitled DVD and order it instead, it will be worth it.

After the AP test, I try to incorporate films and have more relaxed assignments as a reward for students at the end of the academic year. I did not create any criteria for notes during the film. Next time I will create a simple graphic organizer for Hua Mulan with titles and hints as to the chronology of main events to help students remain focused and pay attention to the film.  After the film, students applied their AP skills to the two versions of Mulan and wrote Short Answer Questions (SAQs are on the AP exam) comparing the films’ historical accuracy. They also wrote a thesis statement comparing the films, but I did not require an essay this late in the year. Looking back, I think I should have started with Hua Mulan, and then followed with Disney’s Mulan. Starting with Disney gave students high expectations for Hua Mulan. While Disney is more inaccurate, it is a fun film to watch.  

After the AP World History exam this year, my students watched Disney’s Mulan and Hua Mulan. Students had a lot of fun watching Disney’s Mulan, but most struggled to focus on Hua Mulan. Unfortunately I was only able to find the English dubbed version last minute, and I do not recommend it. Find the subtitled DVD and order it instead, it will be worth it. After the AP test, I try to incorporate films and have more relaxed assignments as a reward for students at the end of the academic year. I did not create any criteria for notes during the film. Next time I will create a simple graphic organizer for Hua Mulan with titles and hints as to the chronology of main events to help students remain focused and pay attention to the film.  After the film, students applied their AP skills to the two versions of Mulan and wrote Short Answer Questions (SAQs are on the AP exam) comparing the films’ historical accuracy. They also wrote a thesis statement comparing the films, but I did not require an essay this late in the year. Looking back, I think I should have started with Hua Mulan, and then followed with Disney’s Mulan. Starting with Disney gave students high expectations for Hua Mulan. While Disney is more inaccurate, it is a fun film to watch.  

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