Frozen: Initial Thoughts

Disney's "Frozen" is the primary reason I'm starting this blog at this time. I was not anticipating it before it came out, like my sister (who is a connoisseur of Disney Animated Classics). In fact, I actually consider Disney to be something of an evil empire (a view that is still at odds with my feelings towards this really incredible movie). But after I watched it, I was emotionally gripped by it, to an arguably unhealthy level. It wasn't immediate; when I got up from my seat, I didn't feel blown away like I did with, say, "Speed Racer." But by that night, I couldn't stop thinking about it. By the next day, it was a significant contributing factor in an emotional slump I was going through. My friend and I talked about it and the moral/religious symbolism during our last conversation before he left for 2 years a religious mission. It is literally a recurring topic of discussion during my therapist visits.

Of course, I assumed that there had to be some reason that this movie was so emotionally compromising in the first place, so I started analyzing the songs and the story, trying to figure out exactly why I was so drawn to it. I soon realized that as great as the rest of the movie is, Elsa is certainly the most emotionally dynamic character, and the one who holds the most fascination for me, so she became the focus of my curiosity. As Anna is the protagonist, and the movie's plot is really about her and her adventure involving the Snow Queen, rather than being about the Snow Queen herself, Elsa's character arc takes something of a back seat. This in understandable, if unfortunate for people like me, as Disney movies are designed to be simple, adventuresome, and comedic. If that's all you're looking for, this movie fits the bill quite nicely. And don't get me wrong, I was laughed at the jokes, was dazzled by animation, and considered the music the best from Disney in the last decade, just like many other critics and viewers. But if you're like me, and you walked away with a feeling that there's more to this movie than an hour and a half of entertainment and some catchy songs, then I think that there's plenty to be thought about. 

Really, this gets into a larger question that I've wondered about for some time: why can fictional stories have such an emotional hold on us? After all, Frozen is hardly the only story I've gone through this kind of intense analysis for. Les Miserables the musical, Princess Mononoke, Avatar: the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, White Fang by Jack London, the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson; all of those stories, among others, have caused varying amounts of mental and/or emotional fixation for me. More than most stories I hear about from the real world. Sometimes, I worry that there should be guilt associated with this- after all, why am I putting so much thought and emotional energy about a completely fictional story, when there are millions of actual people who are going through terrible suffering and affliction? But really, I think that there's a reason for that. After all, if we fixated on every tragedy that people have experienced, we would be nothing but vessels for despair and anguish. That's not our job- we already have someone who has born those pains for humanity. Really, I think that stories are a way for us to learn more about ourselves, in a simpler and more understandable way than an actual study of ourselves would be able to deliver, After all, the Savior taught in parables, for that very reason- so each person could take away from them what was pertinent to them. Those who heard them and saw nothing in them but a story could just walk away. Those who heard simple but profound truths were edified in a very important way. And those who saw a deeper meaning had an opportunity to investigate and learn more than many may have thought possible.

Not that I'm trying to equate the words of the scriptures to Disney's latest bank account booster. Just to be absolutely clear, I believe that if you're looking for spiritual edification, the words of the prophets should be your primary stop. What I am saying is that I think that lessons and inspiration can from unexpected places, just so long as the spirit can be present (which is one advantage of Disney, they tend to keep it clean and morally straight). And if you find inspiration somewhere, why not pursue it with some more pondering? You may learn nothing, but you also may learn something you never imagined before. Either way, you've practiced putting real thought and consideration into something, which is something I certainly don't consider a waste of time. After all, that's one skill I worry about society losing.

Whether or not Disney intended for me to take this much away really doesn't matter (for more on this, you should listen to the wisdom of John Green) If the lessons are there to be found, I say, find them, and learn from them. Which is what I have done, and what I will be sharing with you through these blog posts. I'd love to hear your interpretations and thoughts about the movie, as I write a few more posts about it and the messages I took from it.