Frozen and "Let it Go": Letting go of perceived judgments and loving who you are

[RoL34]

I have so many feelings about this movie.

First off, if you haven't seen Frozen yet, get on that. It's restored my faith in Disney. Until then, at least watch this clip:

Let it Go

Did you feel good after that? I did. Especially after watching the first part of the movie. Elsa was conditioned to be scared of her powers and it crippled her ability to connect with anyone most of all her sister Anna. She felt like in order to be a good girl and not a disappointment to her parents she had to stop allowing her power manifest, but the stress of it not only made things worse but turned her into a shut in. She barely smiles, she always looks like she's putting on an act and refuses to allow herself to feel anything. She she finally snaps and lets some ice fly in front of others, she takes off for the mountains where she realizes that now that everyone knows her secret, all the fear and anxiety is gone. Her ability is a part of her, and suppressing it was what was making her so stressed out and fearful. Now she is able to let it all out and revel in herself and what she can do, and it's just a beautiful thing to watch. She goes from looking withdrawn and hunched in to walking around confidently and sassy. She is proud of what she is now, and nothing people say will make her feel bad anymore.

So it got me to thinking why I loved watching it so much and then it hit me. How many of us here can totally identify with keeping a part of ourselves hidden because we're afraid what people think? Sexual orientation, gender identity, hobbies, quirks, abilities, disabilities, whatever. It's a terrible feeling to think something so natural and a part of you can be a source of fear and ridicule to other people, and we hide it, even if it makes us feel like crap. Then think about the time you first said "actually, I'm this gender" or "this is my boy/girlfriend" or "Thanks but no thanks, I'm not into dating, and that's okay". Why the hell should ANYONE have to hide ANYTHING about themselves that is natural to them? When I was a teen I used to hide my love of manga because everyone from classmates to my parents made fun of me for it, and I had no idea how much stress that caused me until I went to college and found like-minded people. It's was such a release.

Further analysis, but don't read if you don't want the ending spoiled:

And then she kind of relapses when her sister tells her she accidentally set of the snowpocalypse, but Anna tries her best to show her Elsa that now that she sees her sister for what she truly is, she understands for the first time the amount of pain her sister was in growing up and what she was going through. Anna loves her and doesn't want her to feel alone anymore. Whatever comes of her powers now being public knowledge they will face together. Anna's love for her sister and her wholehearted acceptance is what helps Elsa learn the secret to controlling her powers and lifts the curse she accidentally put on her kingdom. Fear and blocking out feelings only made her ice powers unmanageable. But having confidence in herself and the love from her family and people gave her the calm she needed to finally have true control over her powers and be at peace with herself. In the end her subjects didn't care that their queen could control ice - year round skating park in the palace courtyard!

This was also a little bit of a tear jerker. When I came out as ace to my best friend, he said "oh, is that all that's troubling you? It's cool, we can fix that." And then he showed me AVEN. My mom said "it's okay, you're still my favorite daughter". Being able to let someone know about something you're not totally comfortable with and having their reassurance that, no really, it's okay, is a huge weight of your mind. There are always going to be people who will judge you on stupid things, you can't stop that. So why make yourself miserable by hiding it? Contrary to popular belief, people can be pretty open about other's differences for the most part. Find those people who will make you feel good, don't only listen to a few people.

Guys, if it makes you feel bad that you have to hide it, you probably shouldn't be doing so. Nobody was born broken or inferior. Revel in yourself! Make an ice castle out of it for everyone to see. If somebody doesn't like it, throw a snowball at them.

So is there anything you guys felt like you had to hide from others because you were embarrassed or afraid what people would think?

Like I said, I was afraid to let people know I was into video games, anime, manga, that sort of thing, even horse back riding. In fact, pretty much every hobby of mine was ridiculed without mercy in my school, so I ended up not talking to anyone except my established circle of friends because I just didn't want to deal with people, and I ended up coming off as antisocial and a little bit of a psycho. I didn't lighten up until I was in college when I found other girls who were just like me. And of course when it came to dating, I had no idea how to handle any kind of relationship because I was afraid to ask for fear of looking like an idiot. I trashed server friendships because of that. Now I know better, and my cousin's looking like she's going the same way. At least I know what to tell her now. ^_^

[peanut-butter-cloud]

I just wanted to say that I agree with everything you said. Frozen is FANTASTIC.

[squishward]

So is there anything you guys felt like you had to hide from others because you were embarrassed or afraid what people would think?

Absolutely! I've still only told my parents and one of my closest friends about my asexuality, and feel like I have to hide it from others for fear of ridicule or dismissal. And I haven't told anyone about my poly-inclined nature yet. It makes me very thankful for all of you here at AVEN who are so accepting. Really. For such an incredibly diverse community, I was almost shocked at the amount of unconditional support from everyone.

P.S. Go Elsa! I agree- let us all build our own ice castles for everyone to see! I'm working on it, step by step ;). And thanks for this post! We could all use a little encouragement from time to time.

[Nasher21]

I love this song! Haven't seen the movie yet (really want to though!) but this song really struck a chord for me - a beautiful message. I've been listening to it almost non-stop for days! :)

[RoL34]

So is there anything you guys felt like you had to hide from others because you were embarrassed or afraid what people would think?

Absolutely! I've still only told my parents and one of my closest friends about my asexuality, and feel like I have to hide it from others for fear of ridicule or dismissal. And I haven't told anyone about my poly-inclined nature yet. It makes me very thankful for all of you here at AVEN who are so accepting. Really. For such an incredibly diverse community, I was almost shocked at the amount of unconditional support from everyone.

P.S. Go Elsa! I agree- let us all build our own ice castles for everyone to see! I'm working on it, step by step ;). And thanks for this post! We could all use a little encouragement from time to time.

You'll get there! Remember, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Any ridicule is out ignorance and maliciousness on their part, not through any fault of your own. Remember the snowballs :twisted:

[Notte stellata]

Frozen is easily my favorite Disney movie so far (though I haven't seen many Disney movies), and Let it Go is my favorite song in it (which is obvious from my signature :)).

Like squishward, I'm not very open to people about my asexuality and poly relationships, especially the latter. But I can imagine Elsa's relief when she sang Let it Go. Sometimes it only takes a small step, even if it's accidental, and you'll be like "Okay, everyone knows now, so what? They either like me or not, but I don't care."

[GoldFlsh]

Like squishward, I'm not very open to people about my asexuality and poly relationships, especially the latter. But I can imagine Elsa's relief when she sang Let it Go. Sometimes it only takes a small step, even if it's accidental, and you'll be like "Okay, everyone knows now, so what? They either like me or not, but I don't care."

You don't have to imagine it you can see it all over her face! There's just so much darned happy all over I can't help but feel so much giddy for her in that scene.

Watched it six times now and I still can't get over how complex and relateable a character Elsa is.

[xserpx]

Let It Go is a really awesome song, and I agree it was pretty uplifting for anyone listening. I think everyone can relate to the feeling of being able to be who you are.

But the song itself actually far more clever than people give it credit for, and very different to the pretty cliche theme of Being Yourself. In the context of the film, there's a lot of self-deception going on throughout that sequence, and that makes it lot more interesting IMO. It's much more complicated than just Elsa's feeling of freedom after being shut away for so long, and it's things like this that make me love Frozen. I mean, in any other movie Let It Go would speak of triumph - the theme of Elsa Being Herself is the endgame in this movie - but think about it. Elsa's just run away from her kingdom, some people want her dead, she's just left Anna on her own after almost killing her by accident. Taking that into account, letting go = running away.

Despite her happiness at being able to use her powers, nothing really changes for Elsa. She's still fearful, she's still alone. The lyrics are right there: "A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the Queen" - she's always been isolated. "The cold never bothered me anyway", implies that the coldness is still there, but she's just become apathetic towards it. And I absolutely adore the bittersweet irony of her singing "I'm free!" whilst running away from her castle in Arendelle, only to lock herself away in a new castle up on the North Mountain.

[Zerο]

Your opinion of yourself is inescapable, the opinion of others is optional.

[Astrobot]

"Let it go" sung in 25 different languages! Check it out!

[RoL34]

Let It Go is a really awesome song, and I agree it was pretty uplifting for anyone listening. I think everyone can relate to the feeling of being able to be who you are.

But the song itself actually far more clever than people give it credit for, and very different to the pretty cliche theme of Being Yourself. In the context of the film, there's a lot of self-deception going on throughout that sequence, and that makes it lot more interesting IMO. It's much more complicated than just Elsa's feeling of freedom after being shut away for so long, and it's things like this that make me love Frozen. I mean, in any other movie Let It Go would speak of triumph - the theme of Elsa Being Herself is the endgame in this movie - but think about it. Elsa's just run away from her kingdom, some people want her dead, she's just left Anna on her own after almost killing her by accident. Taking that into account, letting go = running away.

Despite her happiness at being able to use her powers, nothing really changes for Elsa. She's still fearful, she's still alone. The lyrics are right there: "A kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the Queen" - she's always been isolated. "The cold never bothered me anyway", implies that the coldness is still there, but she's just become apathetic towards it. And I absolutely adore the bittersweet irony of her singing "I'm free!" whilst running away from her castle in Arendelle, only to lock herself away in a new castle up on the North Mountain.

Which makes the ending that much better. Now she is truly free to be who she is and live in the world she loves. The song out of context is incredibly uplifting, but in context there is a bitter-sweetness to it. But it was necessary. She needed to be able to use her powers and be comfortable with them out in the open before she could gain the composure to control it in front of everyone else. It's kind of like a trans person dressing up and looking like their preferred gender when nobody is looking, or a nerd finding a nice quiet place to indulge in their hobbies out of sight. Yes it is liberating, but it's not true liberation until they can do it and not worry about who knows or cares. It's only a first step.

[Willlow]

When I saw Frozen for the first time, I really enjoyed it, but didn't quite know why. After listening to the lyrics of Let It Go, I just sort of had a mini epiphany. It truly characterizes how I've felt for so long. It's an amazing song that people with all sorts of differentiating from the "norm" can empathize with. It's really important to have things like this in the media because it can slowly change the way that the "norm" is percieved and hopefully one day the people of the world can realize that the girl doesn't always have to fall in love with they guy for it to be a good movie.

Idina Menzel is amazing as well. She has so much power to her voice and it's beautiful to listen too. Unfortunately, I think I'm still stuck at "conceal don't feel", which is sad.