For some reason while thinking about this topic one of the first things that popped into mind was one of my favourite movies as a kid Disney’s Mulan. I think this is because Mulan came across to me as a different kind of “princess”, one that had the drive to do things herself, rather than wait for Prince Charming to come along and do it for her. This was even evident in the barbie dolls for different princesses as my Little Mermaid doll couldn’t really do much, whereas Mulan was more of an action figure with movable limbs that I could use to have her karate chop her way to justice.
When I thought more deeply about the Movie and character I realized that Mulan’s character development is a good example of someone moving from solely being extrinsicly motivated to someone finding a balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. At the beginning of the movie she feels the pressured to conform to society’s standards and has a hard time being as graceful and ladylike as others would like her to be. She tries very hard to make herself into a lady but is doing it more to bring honour to her family than for her self. She even cheats by writing on her arm, because she is terrified of “failing” her family. This is demonstrated in the “You’ll Bring Honour To Us All” number in the movie.
It is only when Mulan joins the army in place of her father (and disguises herself as a man) that she begins to seem determined within herself to do better. While she struggles at first to fit in as “one of the guys”, she is determined to improve and doesn’t cheat or despair like she did earlier. Her heart seems to be in this training much more than her training to become a “lady”.
Mushu (her family’s guardian dragon) acts as her motivator and comical sidekick. Mulan also benefits from the tough but devoted instruction of General Li, who shows her the ropes of being a soldier. He may be hard on her, but he also believes that Mulan has what it takes to become an excellent fighter. In the song sequence “I’ll make a man out of you” we get to see Mulan’s progression and dedication. By the end of the video she has cemented her place amongst her peers. She has also found a healthy balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation., as she seems to start her scale of the pole for her self (as she does it at night when no one is watching), but also seems happy and proud to be receiving praise from others at the end.
-Katelyn
intrinsic & extrinsic motivation 