Disney’s Frozen phenom: Letting it go!
The Disney movie Frozen is popular with children and adults alike. The movie theme song "Let it go"is so popular it has been recorded and sung in many languages by men, women and children. Linda Ross, a colleague of mine, shares her spiritual insight on possible reasons for it's enormous success. Here is Linda ...
I may be the last to know, but I was puzzled during a recent visit with our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter by a new behavior – she repeatedly twirled around as she belted out enthusiastically, “Let it go, let it go, let it go!”. Her mom sighed, told us she was singing the theme song from the movie Frozen and said that it had become REALLY big. We then checked in with another daughter who quickly agreed and said our 5 year old grandson can suddenly, unbidden, break into the movie’s dialogue. Every boy she knows loves Frozen even though its heroines are female and its handsome prince is a jerk.
Turns out, Frozen is the highest grossing animated film of all time – with over 1 billion in box office receipts from around the world. This includes “Let it go” being recorded in over 40 languages. A Broadway musical is in development. Countless YouTube covers have spawned millions of views – my favorite being one of a group of Marines singing along with gusto while watching the film.
I think London’s Guardian caught best the reason for Frozen’s popularity with children and adults when they wrote, “The villains aren’t people but emotions: fear and shame.” People are obviously responding by cheering on the heroines. They identify with being helped by protesting these feelings and taking action.
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I consider prayer a conscious protest to anything that isn’t right for me or my community or the world. It guides me in improving relationships and finding health. Several years ago I found I was unable to sleep on my chest or hug anyone because a lump in my breast had become very sensitive. I prayed about the Christ, the goodness and power of God that Jesus lived. I saw we can all discern in ourselves and others the likeness of God, a realization I was cherishing from my practice of Christian Science. For me this led not only to a healthy body (the lump disappeared permanently) but also to a larger sense of forgiveness and some practical steps to take in resolving an injustice.
Fear and shame can be paralyzing and keep us stuck in the past. Perhaps we can now be impelled with song and with prayer to learn from mistakes, make the inevitable progress that comes from spiritual development, and “Let it go!”
