Trevin Wax of The Gospel Coalition (TGC) asks Are We Missing the Point of Frozen’s ‘Let It Go’? Wax took his family to the movie expecting it to teach them a toxic moral message:
We took the family to see the film on Thanksgiving weekend, fully expecting the common, tired storyline of a princess being true to herself and finding salvation through romantic love. It is the Disney dogma, after all.
Wax was then surprised to see that the movie instead taught a good moral message:
Suprisingly, the movie’s storyline takes us in the opposite direction. The princess who is “true to herself” wreaks havoc on the world and leaves shattered relationships in her wake. Her devoted sister pursues her, even at great personal cost. And when all seems to be lost and you hope a prince will save the day with romantic love, there is instead a stunning portrait of self-sacrifice, described as the only kind of love that can melt a frozen heart.
But then, much to Wax’s surprise, the audience seems to take away the same toxic message he expected when he took his family to see it:
“Let it Go” is the stand-out song on the soundtrack due to its beautiful melody and memorable lyric. The music video has been viewed more than 88 million times. But the success of this particular song leaves me scratching my head, especially when you consider its place in Frozen’s storyline.
If there ever was a song that summed up the Disney doctrine of “being true to yourself” and “following your feelings” no matter the consequences, it’s “Let it Go.”
…
Thousands of little girls across the country are singing this song – a manifesto of sorts, a call to cast off restraint, rebel against unrealistic expectations and instead be true to whatever you feel most deeply inside. What’s ironic is that the movie’s storyline goes against the message of this song. When the princess decides to “let it go,” she brings terrible evil into the world. The fallout from her actions is devastating. “No right, no wrong, no rules for me” is the sin that isolates the princess and freezes her kingdom.
Wax took his family to learn what he expected would be a toxic moral message, and then was surprised when the message was good after all. But then, Wax is baffled as to why the audience took away the very toxic message he expected all along. How could millions of women and girls miss the point, when Wax so clearly gets it?
This kind of mental gymnastics takes a great deal of effort, just like physical gymnastics.
HT Darwinian Arminian
Related: Solipsism as a religious experience.
