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Movie Review: Frozen
I don't typically go to see Disney movies in theatrical release. And I suppose I should be spending all day squeeing about my own (book) release. But having been hit unexpectedly by a head-cold, and having driven to work (because I was feeling tired, which was the beginnings of the cold) and thus deciding I wanted to kill some time to avoid rush hour, and having heard some interesting things about <i>Frozen</i>, I stopped off at Emery Bay after work.
tl;dr = Ohmighod! Who make this amazingly feminist and transformative movie and what have they done with Disney?
I'm going to put the review behind a cut because it has spoilers (for things I'm glad weren't spoiled for me), though I suspect everyone else who cares has already seen the movie.
It's tempting to sort through all the possible metaphoric interpretations for Elsa's condition -- an ability that can create powerful and wondrous things yet that can carelessly hurt those closest to you despite your best intentions. It could stand in for any number of non-majority self-expressions (e.g., sexuality), for mental illness (particularly given the frozen imagery), the list goes on. But the most tempting for me -- and I think we're all free to choose our own favorite metaphor here -- is to interpret it directly and transparently as the personal power inside us all that girls are uniquely encouraged to suppress, to keep inside, to "be the good girl you always had to be." The repressive parents aren't "bad guys" -- they act out of genuine love and concern -- but that doesn't lessen the hurt and damage they inflict on both their daughters before conveniently dropping out of the story. (Because it's hard to have Real Adventures unless you're an orphan.) That damage is most apparent in the joyous relief expressed when Elsa is finally pushed so far she feels she has nothing left to lose by running away. I can imagine an entire army of suppressed girls throwing off their cultural chains to a rousing chorus of <i>Let it Go</i>.
But if the story had simply been about a symbolic stand-in for adolescent rebellion, it would have been easy enough to teach the characters the lesson of conformity and offer the happy ending only to those who returned to the conventional script. Instead we have not one, but two self-rescuing princesses. The male lead (and one of these days we need to talk about this convention of upper-class heroines falling for working-class suitors) may be supportive, but his best efforts at rescue fall short precisely because he hasn't escaped that conventional script. I was near to biting my nails at the climax thinking, "Are they going to blow it now?" but Anna's redemption is by an act of true love that is not passively received but actively given. And, in turn, Elsa's redemption--though a bit rushed and pat--comes from within as well.
And, as others have noted, the embedded messages about being wary of love at first sight and the importance of getting to know people before trusting them run counter to the usual cartoon tropes. (There's also a subtle message thrown in about consensuality and PDAs that doesn't go amiss.)
Bechdel Test = pass, with extra credit for female friendships
tl;dr = Ohmighod! Who make this amazingly feminist and transformative movie and what have they done with Disney?
I'm going to put the review behind a cut because it has spoilers (for things I'm glad weren't spoiled for me), though I suspect everyone else who cares has already seen the movie.
It's tempting to sort through all the possible metaphoric interpretations for Elsa's condition -- an ability that can create powerful and wondrous things yet that can carelessly hurt those closest to you despite your best intentions. It could stand in for any number of non-majority self-expressions (e.g., sexuality), for mental illness (particularly given the frozen imagery), the list goes on. But the most tempting for me -- and I think we're all free to choose our own favorite metaphor here -- is to interpret it directly and transparently as the personal power inside us all that girls are uniquely encouraged to suppress, to keep inside, to "be the good girl you always had to be." The repressive parents aren't "bad guys" -- they act out of genuine love and concern -- but that doesn't lessen the hurt and damage they inflict on both their daughters before conveniently dropping out of the story. (Because it's hard to have Real Adventures unless you're an orphan.) That damage is most apparent in the joyous relief expressed when Elsa is finally pushed so far she feels she has nothing left to lose by running away. I can imagine an entire army of suppressed girls throwing off their cultural chains to a rousing chorus of <i>Let it Go</i>.
But if the story had simply been about a symbolic stand-in for adolescent rebellion, it would have been easy enough to teach the characters the lesson of conformity and offer the happy ending only to those who returned to the conventional script. Instead we have not one, but two self-rescuing princesses. The male lead (and one of these days we need to talk about this convention of upper-class heroines falling for working-class suitors) may be supportive, but his best efforts at rescue fall short precisely because he hasn't escaped that conventional script. I was near to biting my nails at the climax thinking, "Are they going to blow it now?" but Anna's redemption is by an act of true love that is not passively received but actively given. And, in turn, Elsa's redemption--though a bit rushed and pat--comes from within as well.
And, as others have noted, the embedded messages about being wary of love at first sight and the importance of getting to know people before trusting them run counter to the usual cartoon tropes. (There's also a subtle message thrown in about consensuality and PDAs that doesn't go amiss.)
Bechdel Test = pass, with extra credit for female friendships