Issue 1 October 2020

opinion 3
Open Letter to Everybody in the
Baldwin Community
Co-Editor-in-Chief Ava Olson ‘21 urges her peers to take COVID-19 seriously and make smart choices
By AVA OLSON ‘21
Over the past few months, one
of the phrases I heard my peers
say most often is “We aren’t
susceptible to COVID-19, so
it doesn’t really matter if we aren’t super
careful. We just won’t see our grandparents.”
While this mentality might have held
true throughout the summer, the start of the
school year opens a completely new chapter
in the timeline of the global pandemic.
his health has still not fully rebounded. The
fatigue and muscle aches from the virus are
still lingering in his body. Additionally, he
no longer has antibodies, thus making him
susceptible to contracting CwOVID-19
again.
I don’t get nervous very easily. I rarely
have pre-testing jitters, and my voice
doesn’t shake when speaking in front of
a large crowd. However, seeing the way
others around me are acting in spite of the
pandemic, I feel incredibly uneasy returning
home and having dinner with my dad. I
worry about driving his car and leaving unwanted
germs all over the steering wheel.
can make, and it’s imperative that we start
consistently making the right ones.
I share this story not to add more concern
among our student population but to
shine a light on the reality we live in today.
We need to learn how to put others before
ourselves. We need to recognize that most
of us students, as a generation, are incredibly
fortunate not to have serious health
concerns during a global pandemic.
There is nothing enjoyable about
breathing through two layers of fabric for
most of the day. There is nothing enjoyable
about washing your hands until they’re
chapped. But it is imperative that we realize
we are all sharing these negative experiences
together in order to follow safety
protocols and protect the welfare of our
families, friends, and communities.
So please realize that everybody in our
Baldwin community has a person in their
lives that is at risk of severe illness from
COVID-19. That person can be a parent,
sibling, or close friend, and not necessarily
a grandparent. We need to start acting
like every person is at high-risk for severe
illness. It is unreasonable to tell those who
have high-risk members in their family to
stay home when there are simple ways to
keep everybody safe.
We are so privileged for the opportunity
to learn at school in person. But this
privilege is something that can easily vaporize,
and engaging in unsafe activities
will have consequences beyond harming a
single family, friend group, or class. Your
choices impact the entire future of our
in-person community.
This past March, my dad contracted
COVID-19 and spent several days in the
hospital. Upon leaving the hospital, he had
lost over 20 pounds and lacked the aerobic
I know I am not the first person to feel
ability to walk up a flight of stairs.
anxious about unknowingly transmitting
COVID-19 to an at-risk loved one, and I
Now months after being discharged, won’t be the last. But there are choices we
Mulan 2020
After six months
of missing out
on movie theaters,
Mulan’s
2020 live-action remake is
the first movie I have seen
in an actual theater, as many
begin to reopen in China
with strict guidelines. The
experience was an utter
disappointment, and it was
not only because I had to
wear a mask and there was
no popcorn. (Spoiler alert
below, but you don’t need
to watch it anyway).
Setting aside the lackluster
action scenes, unnecessary
edits, weirdly
worded passive voice, and
even the political controversies,
this is a bad movie.
The 2020 remake of Mulan
removed all of the funny,
entertaining parts from the
1998 animated version and
added in elements that were
not historically accurate or
symbolically relevant; this
resulted in a plain, boring,
and easily overlooked film.
Mulan’s 1998 animated
counterpart, which became
a cultural phenomenon and
an integral part of many of
our childhoods (including
mine), was a vastly different
movie. The character
“Mulan” was portrayed
as a brave soul but a weak
warrior, and the plot revolved
around her training
to become stronger, eventually
using her wit to defeat
enemies. Audiences loved
the movie because of its
funny dialogue, discussion
of gender dynamics, and
complex female character.
These are qualities that the
2020 Mulan remake ultimately
lacks.
The most obvious fault
of the movie is the poor
screenwriting for the story
arcs. In an attempt
to make Mulan
more “realistic,”
the screenwriters
and directors decided to
cut out the fan-favorite tiny
dragon Mushu but instead
gave Mulan a GPS-like
phoenix and a magical Chi
that makes her the strongest
warrior. Mulan had her
Chi all along, and the only
conflict of the story is that
she must activate it within
herself, which is apparently
totally real and not at all
fantasy.
I just have so many
questions about this Chi:
Does everybody just have
a little bit of it? Can you
make it grow or make it
stronger? If boys have more
Chi than girls in reality, is
this movie saying that only
boys should be allowed in
the army? Can you destroy
your Chi? Should I go to
work at Cinemasins?
While this element
could be a fun tweak of
the story, the subsequent
Graphic by Sanae Hagino ‘21
the worst disney
Live-Action Remake?
By LAVENDER HUANG ‘22
writing fails to make Mulan
connect with the audience
at all. Throughout
the movie, Mulan was not
relatable, nor an interesting
person. Though Yifei
Liu’s unimaginative performance
may contribute to
the unlovable character, the
writing pushed the character
Mulan to a pedestal that
the audience cannot easily
empathize with. She’s no
longer the girl who was bad
at pouring tea and trying to
escape her chores but rather
the magical warrior who
can easily jump from roof
to roof catching a chicken.
Throughout the movie,
Mulan had no growth that
I could grasp. While I was
rooting for 1998-Mulan to
finally become strong and
powerful, the only enemy
of 2020’s Mulan is, apparently,
herself, fighting
against the barriers of her
own Chi (which, not speaking
for everyone, isn’t an
everyday struggle I wake
up to). Since I couldn’t care
less about her growth, her
success felt like a party that
I was not invited to and involved
none of the joy that
I usually feel towards
Disney characters.
But even if we don’t
talk about Mulan’s growth
(or lack thereof), there’s little
to praise about the movie.
I guess I liked the scene
when Mulan takes off her
armor and flings her hair
around?
Even Gong
Li, a brilliant actress
by all accounts,
couldn’t make much out of
her character, who had an
incredibly awkward
and unexplained character
development that
looks extremely forced.
Furthermore, the ending
of her character made no
sense: why did she have to
take an arrow for Mulan,
when her character was apparently
able to kill someone
before they blink? Why
not just kill the enemy?
Also—what is a witch even
doing in Ancient China,
where they’ve never heard
of witches?
Like many of the movie’s
cultural inaccuracies,
this could be easily solved
by having a more diverse
team of screenwriters, or
even just humble screenwriters
who remotely care
about their story, their characters,
and the movie’s legacy.
The 1998-Mulan told
little girls and boys out
there (including me) that
we don’t have to fit into societal
stereotypes. We have
the power in ourselves to be
whoever we want to be, as
long as we work hard. But
what’s this movie’s message?
That Mulan is strong
because of her Chi, and it’s
too bad that you don’t have
it? Why does this movie exist,
except to make Disney
even wealthier?
Even when wealth is
the goal, I would much
prefer the 2019 remake
of Aladdin, which had an
excellent soundtrack and
amazing visuals, or even
the 2017 remake of Beauty
and the Beast. Although
Belle had an extremely
underwhelming dress and
Emma Watson was typecast
based on her role as
Hermione, at least Disney
had the decency to preserve
the souls of the original stories.
Even The Lion King
with its creepy, Cats-like
CGI, brings out my childhood
nostalgia with many
heartwarming moments.
Mulan could’ve been
inspiring. It could’ve
been entertaining. But the
screenwriters ran away
from any opportunity of
making this movie remotely
bearable. The 2020 remake
of Mulan fails on all
accounts. And no, it’s not
worth the 30 dollars plus
Disney+ subscription.