OK, I know that I am late to the whole Frozen thingee. (It turns out that I am at that awkward age between my youngest being too old for Disney princesses and my oldest grandchild not being old enough to handle movie theaters.) I finally had a chance to watch Frozen the over the summer.
I get why the song Let It Go has been so celebrated. It is very earworm-able, getting stuck in the playlist of your brain and can easy become a soundtrack in the background of life decisions. Something bothering you? Let it go! Situation is repressing your basic instinctual response? Can’t hold it back anymore. Not pleased with how folks are responding? The cold never bothered me anyway! … except these are all rather remarkably narcissistic responses.
I think that many view the Wicked-ish show-stopping song from the movie as a moment of feminine empowerment. It’s not. It conveys the transition of Elsa who is in an imposed confinement to protect her from hurting anyone to Elsa’s self-imposed solitary confinement to protect her from connecting with anyone who might be harmed. The song indicates movement of setting but not of heart. The soul of the movie moves around the story of Anna who starts the story wanting to play / connect with her sister (Wanna build a snowman?) to eventually desiring to partner with her sister in problem-solving / leadership. (Wanna build something out of this snow, man?) So, the cold of this story does bother me anyway!
A later song identifies the “fixer-upper” nature of all humanity. We are imperfect but we do need one another despite our broken humanity. In the end, acts of true love become not about a romantic kiss at the end, but about selfless sacrifice for another, as in No Greater Love (John 15:13) It is a much different Disney princess ending here. Unfortunately, singing along with Let It Go does little to perpetuate it.
