If you haven't seen it (and I applaud you for it), the movie is based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale, The Snow Queen. (I think if you'd ever read the story, you'd be hard-pressed to explain the correlation between the two.) The two main characters are princess sisters Elsa (the older) and Anna. Elsa, as it turns out, has some sort of special powers to freeze stuff. Playing with her younger sister, she almost kills her. So the younger is revived by trolls, her memory of it erased, and Elsa is forced to hide from Anna to avoid hurting her again. When Anna decides to marry Prince Hans, Elsa accidentally exposes her powers and flees the castle in a panic while engulfing the kingdom in eternal winter. And on her way she sings her cute little ditty, "Let it Go". Her point?
She bemoans her loss of control.
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried.She bemoans her previous efforts to "be the good girl".
Be the good girl you always have to beBut now she's free.
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Let it go, let it goPoor Elsa. Originally controlled by fear of doing bad things to people she loved, she sings,
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care
What they’re going to say
It’s funny how some distanceReleased now from fear and "good", she exults in her new freedom.
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 doWho knows? There may be redeeming messages in the movie. Anna forgives and forgives her sister and even is ready to sacrifice her own life to save Elsa. Good stuff. And it's true that artificial limits can be a problem, preventing people from reaching their potential, and this would address that. But that is not the message of this song. This song specifies "no right, no wrong, no rules for me." This song is about moral values--any values at all. "The only value worth having is whatever I want." It plays in the sinner's heart because this is exactly what the father of lies wants us to believe.
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free.
"Oh, come on, Stan," I hear, "it's a movie from 2013. What's the harm? It's over." You'd think so. But it was on Pentatonix's Christmas album this year. It is still getting play and Youtube hits. And it is precisely the message that a large segment of the world wants you to hear and believe. "So, should we ban it?" No, of course not. But I would suggest you pay attention to the stuff you're feeding into your mind--or your children's minds--even when it's cloaked in "Disney" garb. Oh, and just so you know, "No right, no wrong, no rules for me" is not freedom; it's anarchy.
12 comments:
My wife and I enjoyed the movie. We hated that song, which could be a theme song for narcissism, anarchy, and just about any other lawless ideology. It really didn't make sense with the story, either.
What's further sad is that the movie is supposedly based on The Snow Queen, where the young girl sings to her love, "infant Jesus thee we hail!", the heroine prays the Lord's Prayer to get past the evil magic, and in the end the grandmother reads, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Now that's more of a story I could get behind.
Believe it or not, it wasn't until after I saw the movie that I learned it was supposed to be based on "The Snow Queen." I think the only things in common were a queen, snow and ice.
Yes, I read it was based on that story and, having reviewed both, can't really figure out in what way.
I bet you could say the same about many of the books that have been "Disney-fied"
I've actually been reading some of the original books that favorite Disney movies have made popular and have been shocked. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for instance, was nothing like the book. So Disney ... "Disney-fies" stuff to be sure, but I think it has only been in the last couple of decades that they've decided that "Disney" should be equated with not family friendly.
Well, not your definition of family friendly. Apparently everyone else's definition of either family or friendly has changed, just look at the line up for ABC "Family"
My point exactly. They call it "family", but it's anything but.
Oh, by the way, anticipate the same with Disney's In the Woods. It won't go well.
In fairness, one thing needs to be remembered: the song was originally planned to be the turning point where Elsa turned evil. However, the song was seen as too empowering (really, it's about her embracing her powers instead of being afraid of them), which caused a drastic change in the script.
Even then, the context is that the song is about her running away from her problems, which - as the movie shows - did not solve anything.
The song could have used some editing to go with the new direction of the movie, but it's not that bad in context.
If you're curious, the TV show Once Upon A Time goes into a little more detail about her parents' fears; a tragic accident involving the queen and her sister (with the same powers) were a big part of the parents' fears.
Perhaps, but what is taken away now by every fan is the "empowerment" theme. "I will do what I want!" "Don't let anyone tell you no!" People don't see it today as a warning, but a celebration of self. That is my concern. That and the fact that people--Christians, even--continue to think "Disney"="nice family fare" without evaluating what they're seeing and hearing.
(And what is "072591"? A birthdate?)
Stan: Sort of. July 25, 1991 was the day of my salvation.
Exactly! A birthday!
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