I have not yet seen Disney's Frozen. I'm usually relatively princess-averse; the all-too-common "princess needing rescue" theme does not sit well with me. (I'm more of a paper-bag princess type.) I note that Disney has been attempting to provide female characters with greater strength and courage (see, e.g., Mulan and Brave). While I applaud that effort, I still resist Disney movies on the whole because of the tremendous amount of merchandising. The princess-ification of generations of young girls in cheaply-made gowns and tiaras is not A Good Thing; positive messages are easily lost among the cheap plastic trinkets.
One day relatively recently, I accidentally heard the very-popular song from Frozen: Let It Go. It's musically adequate - not earth-shatteringly musically interesting, certainly, but at the very least, it's rather catchy. Earworm material.
And then there are the lyrics. Well, those certainly resonated much more than I thought they would.
(I know, it's "just a song." I ask you, though, to think of the songs you hold close to your heart, or those that you have tied in your memory with a particular time or place or event, though. You might be surprised at the lasting effect that a song has had.)
Don't let them in, don't let them see.
Be the good girl you always have to be.
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.
That's really rather close to home, not only for adolescents who are just beginning to figure themselves out, but also for me and for many women who grew up as I did. We must behave, we must not cry or display emotion, and above all, we must excel -- work extremely hard, be ever so proper, do All The Right And Expected Things. And we do, as we must; yet we have moments when we feel stifled, restrained, unable to reach for (or even think about) the dreams that we might have, because they are not strictly compatible with the path on which we have been set.
Let it go, let it go!
Can't hold it back any more.
Let it go, let it go!
Turn away and slam the door.
I don't care what they're going to say.
It's a beautiful -- and dangerous -- message for naive pubescent and adolescent princess-admirers. While it might give them the strength to reach for some tremendous goals and to tune out naysayers, it might also allow those who are particularly impressionable to turn their backs on well-intentioned (and perhaps sage) advice given to them regarding school or peers or their future.
It's a very different message for the middle-aged woman. So many of us, sandwiched by our responsibilities to our husbands and offspring and to our aging parents, boxed in by our employment and our activities, long to take a new path. We have been defined for so long by our relationship to others -- daughter, wife, mother -- that we feel as though we have lost ourselves. We want to find ourselves again, to be ourselves, not just to be the women people assume we are or are supposed to be.
Is Let It Go an encouragement to make changes and see where Life and the forces of nature will take us, or a gentle reminder that, pop-culture song lyrics aside, we must leave our dreams in our heads because we cannot turn our backs on our obligations to pursue selfish aspirations? Can we somehow make our dreams one with our realities? It seems an impossible, insurmountable task. Or is it? Food for thought, certainly.
It's funny how some distance,
makes everything seem small.
And the fears that once controlled me, can't get to me at all
It's time to see what I can do,
to test the limits and break through.
No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
I'm free!
Rules must be bent deliberately, purposefully, only after careful thought; we don't want to encourage young girls to do so willy-nilly. Yet this verse also contains a welcome reminder that a bit of perspective can aid a girl in moving forward even if she is afraid. Perspective is always helpful.
Let it go, let it go.
I am one with the wind and sky.
Let it go, let it go.
You'll never see me cry.
It's a bit disingenuous to suggest that no one should see a girl cry, for crying is part and parcel of existence; but if the intention of this verse is to remind a girl not to shed tears of fear or doubt or regret for attempting to forge a new path for herself -- that is a good thing, indeed.
Let it go, let it go.
And I'll rise like the break of dawn.
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand, in the light of day.
Motivation to arise and try anew, every day, and a reminder that one need not be perfect, are both excellent for everyone: young girls, middle-aged girls, old girls -- and boys of all ages as well.
And so it ends. Or begins.
I am curious now to see the context of the song. When I determined that I'd have a weekend evening to myself without adult company in the near future, I decided that I should rent Frozen and treat myself to a quasi-princess evening with Tiny Dog (girls unite!). I will let you know what I think of the movie.
One day relatively recently, I accidentally heard the very-popular song from Frozen: Let It Go. It's musically adequate - not earth-shatteringly musically interesting, certainly, but at the very least, it's rather catchy. Earworm material.
And then there are the lyrics. Well, those certainly resonated much more than I thought they would.
(I know, it's "just a song." I ask you, though, to think of the songs you hold close to your heart, or those that you have tied in your memory with a particular time or place or event, though. You might be surprised at the lasting effect that a song has had.)
Don't let them in, don't let them see.
Be the good girl you always have to be.
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.
That's really rather close to home, not only for adolescents who are just beginning to figure themselves out, but also for me and for many women who grew up as I did. We must behave, we must not cry or display emotion, and above all, we must excel -- work extremely hard, be ever so proper, do All The Right And Expected Things. And we do, as we must; yet we have moments when we feel stifled, restrained, unable to reach for (or even think about) the dreams that we might have, because they are not strictly compatible with the path on which we have been set.
Let it go, let it go!
Can't hold it back any more.
Let it go, let it go!
Turn away and slam the door.
I don't care what they're going to say.
It's a beautiful -- and dangerous -- message for naive pubescent and adolescent princess-admirers. While it might give them the strength to reach for some tremendous goals and to tune out naysayers, it might also allow those who are particularly impressionable to turn their backs on well-intentioned (and perhaps sage) advice given to them regarding school or peers or their future.
It's a very different message for the middle-aged woman. So many of us, sandwiched by our responsibilities to our husbands and offspring and to our aging parents, boxed in by our employment and our activities, long to take a new path. We have been defined for so long by our relationship to others -- daughter, wife, mother -- that we feel as though we have lost ourselves. We want to find ourselves again, to be ourselves, not just to be the women people assume we are or are supposed to be.
Is Let It Go an encouragement to make changes and see where Life and the forces of nature will take us, or a gentle reminder that, pop-culture song lyrics aside, we must leave our dreams in our heads because we cannot turn our backs on our obligations to pursue selfish aspirations? Can we somehow make our dreams one with our realities? It seems an impossible, insurmountable task. Or is it? Food for thought, certainly.
It's funny how some distance,
makes everything seem small.
And the fears that once controlled me, can't get to me at all
It's time to see what I can do,
to test the limits and break through.
No right, no wrong, no rules for me.
I'm free!
Rules must be bent deliberately, purposefully, only after careful thought; we don't want to encourage young girls to do so willy-nilly. Yet this verse also contains a welcome reminder that a bit of perspective can aid a girl in moving forward even if she is afraid. Perspective is always helpful.
Let it go, let it go.
I am one with the wind and sky.
Let it go, let it go.
You'll never see me cry.
It's a bit disingenuous to suggest that no one should see a girl cry, for crying is part and parcel of existence; but if the intention of this verse is to remind a girl not to shed tears of fear or doubt or regret for attempting to forge a new path for herself -- that is a good thing, indeed.
Let it go, let it go.
And I'll rise like the break of dawn.
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand, in the light of day.
Motivation to arise and try anew, every day, and a reminder that one need not be perfect, are both excellent for everyone: young girls, middle-aged girls, old girls -- and boys of all ages as well.
And so it ends. Or begins.
I am curious now to see the context of the song. When I determined that I'd have a weekend evening to myself without adult company in the near future, I decided that I should rent Frozen and treat myself to a quasi-princess evening with Tiny Dog (girls unite!). I will let you know what I think of the movie.
*
I will be very interested to hear your opinion... as I have a young (three going on thirteen) niece who is all about Frozen -- every song memorized. She constantly tells me she is Elsa ... and I question her on the choice. I am not an Elsa fan, I don't think she handles her challenges well at all. I rather think that Anna (not just because she is my tocaya) is a more appealing "princess" though she learns some hard lessons in the movie as well. I am not a fan of the songs ... but I do think it is a better representation for women than many of the princesses.
ReplyDelete