We watched the Disney movie Frozen last night. It was pretty good. We do have some concerns about a few points, though. Let us contemplate.
NOTE: SPOILERS. If you are one of the three remaining people on the planet who have not seen the movie, you should probably read elsewhere. You have been warned!
Let us start with the good points:
Sven the reindeer is adorable and amusing.
Olaf, though a tiny bit creepy, certainly lightens the mood.
Kristoff makes a good friend to Anna, respecting her status as a bethrothed person despite disagreeing with the speed at which she chose to become engaged.
The act of true love that thaws a frozen heart is a truly significant act between sisters, rather than a mere kiss between lovers. That's quite a change from the usual Disney boy-and-girl-fall-in-love fare. Brava.
I have some issues, however:
First, Hans, who professed his love for Anna with a catchy song, suddenly (and actually, unexpectedly for me) turned into a bad guy, revealing that he manipulated Anna -- as well as fooled many other people with his apparently false fervor for protecting Anna and Arendelle -- in order to steal the kingdom. I found that disturbing. It's a depiction of very adult (and in my opinion, rather evil) behavior, right there in a Disney movie.
Second (and this is a minor quibble), Elsa is rather... how shall I put this? Woo woo, with her swinging hips and the above-the-knee slit in her dress when she sings the popular "Let It Go." Why must the princesses be curvaceous and wear such body-hugging dresses? I suppose no one wants a frumpy princess. Still.
There's one more quite complex matter: the thawing of a frozen heart.
Elsa shuts Anna out of her life for years and years, even though Anna tries frequently to rebuild their previously close bond; and Elsa (inadvertently) puts ice into Anna's heart. Despite being metaphorically and literally hurt by Elsa, Anna's last act -- which ultimately saves them both -- is to sacrifice herself for Elsa.
Hrm.
We understand that Elsa has avoided Anna out of fear of (physically) hurting Anna again. What isn't addressed sufficiently is that her avoidance is emotionally hurtful to Anna. Anna keeps trying and trying, even when Elsa runs away and sets up physical and verbal barriers against Anna. Mercifully, there is a happy Disney ending, when Elsa and Anna bond once more and understand one another. That's lovely. It's also quite possibly an unrealistic and slightly dangerous message for young girls: "even though a person has wounded and rejected you, you should sacrifice your all for that person, who will then change and love you and you will both live happily ever after."
Granted, the message is softened a bit because Elsa and Anna are sisters -- it's a Family (with a capital "F") sentiment. As the trolls sing:
Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper, that's what it's all about.
Father
Sister.
Brother!
We need each other to raise us up and round us out. Everyone's a bit of a fixer upper, but when push comes to shove,
The only fixer upper fixer that can fix a fixer upper is...
True, true, true, true, love. Love, love, love, true love.
That's well and good, but what of those whose families are rather far from ideal? What of the child who has an emotionally (or physically) abusive parent or sibling or family member? Is the film inadvertently telling her to keep trying, that if only she tries hard enough, she can fix the family? She can get the relationship that she craves, if only she sacrifices herself?
That's not a message we would want any child -- or adult -- to take into her heart.
I know; it's "just a movie."
-----
My final takeaway from Frozen? I do agree that the best way to thaw a frozen heart is an act of true love -- an act performed by the person whose heart is frozen.
Only by loving again -- newly, differently -- can we heal wounds of the heart.
And a wee bit of humor from a large-snouted reindeer or a rather peculiar animated snowman might help, too.
Olaf and Sven were found here: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/File:Olaf_and_sven.jpg.
*
No comments:
Post a Comment