Why Did Disney, Who Cried "Against Discrimination," Become the Target of the 'Mulan Boycott'? [Kim Gayeon's Perspective Twist]

"Thanks to Public Security" Disney's 'Mulan' Faces Minority Human Rights Suppression Controversy
Audience Criticizes with 'Boycott Mulan' 'No Mulan Purchase'...Low Ticket Sales
Civic Groups Say "Cannot Consume Such Horrific Violence"

Still cut from Disney's new movie 'Mulan' releasing on the 17th / Photo by Naver Movie

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Disney's new film 'Mulan' was released today (17th), but among audiences, a boycott movement against watching Mulan is continuing. This follows lead actress Liu Yifei's remarks supporting the Hong Kong police and the controversy that Disney has endorsed China's human rights abuses. Audiences, noting that Disney has produced content emphasizing diversity, feel even more disappointed by such actions and are actively participating in the boycott through SNS hashtag campaigns.

The live-action film 'Mulan,' based on the 1998 Disney animation of the same name, had its release postponed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was finally released on the 4th through Disney's online streaming service, Disney Plus.

However, controversy arose immediately after its release when it was revealed that filming took place in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Particularly, the production team expressed gratitude in the end credits to the "Turpan Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China" for their cooperation, which intensified public criticism.

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is a place where the Chinese government is suspected of human rights abuses against ethnic minorities. It is known that over one million people, including the Uyghur ethnic group (a Muslim Chinese minority), have been forcibly detained in "re-education camps."

As a result, Disney has faced criticism for condoning and justifying human rights abuses.

The American daily newspaper The New York Times analyzed on the 8th (local time) that "(Mulan) is becoming a magnet attracting anger toward the Chinese Communist Party's policies promoting nationalism and blind patriotism." Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas also criticized on his Twitter the same day, saying, "Disney is addicted to Chinese cash."

Isaac Stone Fish, senior fellow at the Asia Society, wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post on the same day, "Disney is helping to justify China's crimes against humanity," and pointed out, "Since the 1946 film 'Song of the South,' Mulan has become Disney's most problematic film because Disney made a shameful compromise with China to film in the Xinjiang region."

Since Disney has raised its voice against racism and consistently produced content emphasizing political correctness (PC) as a core value, there are calls that such behavior should not be tolerated. Political correctness refers to efforts to avoid discrimination and prejudice based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, etc., and to make social minorities visible in media.

On June 1st, Disney declared, "We oppose racism. We must stand with Black workers and the Black community," showing support for the Black civil rights movement. This has led to criticism that Disney is showing contradictory behavior by ignoring the human rights of ethnic minorities.

Despite ongoing controversy, Disney has not issued an official statement. Since Disney has previously responded swiftly to various issues, criticism continues that it prioritized "China money" targeting the Chinese market over human rights.

Hashtag campaigns such as 'Boycott Mulan' and 'Mulan Boycott' ongoing on SNS / Photo by Segyesiminseoneon Facebook capture

Such criticism has not only come from the United States but also from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and other places. Joshua Wong, who led the Hong Kong democracy movement, participated in the #BoycottMulan hashtag campaign on his Twitter on the 7th, stating, "Watching Mulan is not only ignoring police brutality and racism but also potentially complicit in the mass detention of Muslim Uyghurs."

Domestic audiences have also condemned Disney through hashtag campaigns such as #boycottmulan and 'Mulan Bulmae' (Mulan boycott) on SNS.

A university student A (24), who recently posted about participating in the boycott on Instagram, said, "I have liked Mulan since I was young and was waiting for the live-action film release, but after seeing the public thanks to the subject of human rights abuses, I decided not to watch it."

He added, "In recent years, Disney has released films pursuing diversity in terms of women and race. Therefore, they should be sensitive to such controversies. However, I think it is even more malicious that they contributed to justifying the oppression of the Uyghurs."

Due to the boycott movement, the reservation rate on the release day was low. According to the Korea Film Council's integrated real-time ticket reservation system on the 17th, Mulan recorded a reservation rate of 31.1% as of 10 a.m. Although it ranked first in real-time reservation rate, the number of viewers was only about 17,000. It is about 5,000 fewer than the film 'Tenet,' which is in its fourth week since release.

Meanwhile, civic groups encouraged participation in the boycott, stating that films endorsing violence and human rights abuses should not be consumed.

The youth group 'World Citizens Declaration' held a press conference declaring a boycott of 'Mulan' on July 1st in front of Walt Disney Company Korea in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and on the 31st of last month, delivered a protest letter urging domestic multiplex theaters to stop screening 'Mulan.'

On the 8th, World Citizens Declaration issued a statement titled "We condemn the domestic release of that is ultimately being forced," saying, "Many citizens in Hong Kong are still unjustly detained. We cannot consume such dreadful violence because we remember them," and criticized, "Disney systematically protected them and dismissed this violence as 'just a political stance.'"

They continued, "This is a fight for all of us. We are all connected and must hold hands and face each other. We all consume violence in life, but we can at least refuse to consume , which clearly contains oppression. We are all great citizens who will overcome inequality. Therefore, our slogans will become results, and the voices of citizens cannot be erased by marketing, firmly imprinting this on big capital."