I hate spoilers. I don't like knowing endings before I reach them, I don't like knowing plot twists before I can attempt to predict them, I don't even like knowing about a character before I'm officially introduced to them in the media itself.
With that being said, *MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*
Of course,I just don't like putting out a huge effort to watch movies. Either way, even when I hear about a movie I really want to watch, it usually takes me several years to ever sit down and watch something. I say all this because, honestly? I really was interested in watching Frozen when I first returned from Jamaica, but it didn't take me long to know everything about it.
In less than a few months, I knew which source of love would solve the problem. I knew which character was the real bad guy. I even knew about the snowman and the rock people.
So, when my friends finally sat me down to watch this thing, I decided to turn my critical eye not toward the plot or the delivery, but on the aspects which I felt have had the biggest cultural impact since the movie's release - namely, everything about Elsa.
Oh, and just so you know, I loved the movie. Now that that's out there, let's sally forth.
For starters, I understand why Elsa's personality was so, well, cold (Ha!). She was incorrectly taught, from a very young age, to suppress her emotions. There's a ton of literature out there criticizing her parents' poor parenting style, so I'll gloss over that, but shoot! It would have been nice for mom and dad to, I don't know, do something about how miserable the family was becoming because of their constant attempts to separate and control everyone, but hey! Go them, yeah?
Regardless, so Anna isn't allowed to know about Elsa's ice powers. That's fair. I can imagine they would worry that young Anna might pester young Elsa into breaking her promise. However, as they grew older, and Anna demonstrated growing responsibility, why couldn't she know about them then? And besides, Anna pestered Elsa enough as it was, so ... I guess that failed.
Anyway, all these factors come together to explain why Elsa is so frigid (Ha!) in the first act of the movie. All right, then. That's great. But that doesn't explain why Elsa became the breakout character of the entire ensemble!
I don't blame Elsa for her inability to cope with problems; she'd been taught poorly her entire life. However, because of this inability, she came across as unlikable to me. I mean, we see her expressing mild acts of joys at the coronation, like in the chocolate scene, so it's unreasonable to assume she couldn't have felt like she could express those milder emotions around Anna before. She purposefully shuts Anna out of everything... for what? And she was totally going to tell Anna about her powers following "Love is an Open Door," anyway, so why was it such a big deal that she could't say anything until it was dramatically significant?
Of course, a lot of reviewers cite Elsa's story as an example of empowerment. I didn't see it. Elsa is continually constrained, throughout the entire piece, by what her well-meaning but ignorant parents told her to do. We see her 'freeing' herself in "Let it Go," but after that song, she still fears she lacks control, she still strikes out when pressed by someone who loves her, she still struggles to properly express herself. Elsa's empowerment does not come from her suddenly deciding she's not going to be held back by social constraints. When she decides that, midway through the movie, she nonetheless is sucked right back into the cycle. For me, her character arc wasn't about empowerment, but about trust, trust she'd never before built. And that's why I felt like the movie was more about Anna. That's why I feel like Anna was the person we were supposed to emulate.
Anna was my favorite character, hands-down. She was smart, spunky, full of cheer, and fun to watch in any setting. And it was her character arc that I felt universal. In the first act, Anna was torn between pining for her sister's love and being angry that her sister had shut her out. These two conflicting emotions continued on throughout the piece. Elsa had consistently turned Anna away, striking out at her at least twice, and had done very little to prove her love for her sister. Anna struggled throughout the movie to prove the love she did have, and when she had every right to give up on Elsa, she nonetheless chose to give everything for her.
So, yes. The movie does have the message of, 'Be yourself! Don't hold back!' But, for me, I feel like the movie was more about, 'Trust your loved ones! Don't give up!' Yes, there may not be an incredibly catchy song to match that theme (I mean, "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" is arguably that song, but it's admittedly not as catchy as "Let it Go"), but I feel like we shouldn't aspire to be like Elsa as much as we should aspire to be like Anna. I had a hard time relating to the parents and Elsa's obfuscating philosophies, but I completely understood how hard it is to keep loving someone when they knock you down again and again. I think, in the state of the world today, it's easier to be yourself than ever before. But, in the state of the world today, it's harder to love than ever before.
I realize I may have thrown down some fairly controversial opinions here. If you think I'm wrong, be sure to comment below! Love you guys! See you for the throwback tomorrow!
Beautiful. Insightful. And so true. It is indeed so much easier to assert our own wants and needs today than ever before, but our society values less and less the greater virtue of sometimes making sacrifices in order to serve or lift or encourage others around us. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDelete