“Let It Go” Analysis: Empowerment Supersedes Emotional Turmoil

Abstract

The media can have a powerful influence in young people’s formation of beliefs, attitudes, and values; in effect, children could be influenced into thinking in a particular way based on the movies or television shows they watch. Representations of topics like race, gender, stereotypes, and roles within media can affect viewer's perspective. Disney is an established media mogul and their most recent internationally popular film, Frozen, shifted the definition of what it meant to be a princess through the characters Elsa and Anna. Using fantasy theme criticism analysis through a lens of Disney’s worldview, the researcher observed themes of emotional turmoil, solitude, acceptance, and empowerment through a close reading of the text used in the song “Let it Go.”

Keywords: Disney’s Frozen, fantasy theme criticism, children’s empowerment,

individualization, acceptance, princess transformation, children’s identity, Disney

Worldview

FROZEN ANALYSIS 2

“Let It Go” Analysis: Empowerment Supersedes Emotional Turmoil

Frozen is Disney’s newest box office phenomenon with “Let It Go” as the most popular and recognizable song from Disney’s Frozen. It has won several awards, one of which was for

Best Original Song in the 86th Academy Awards (Staff, 2014). The YouTube music video has had 800,000,000 views as of June of 2016. The song “Let It Go” is significant because it is so prolific to a majority, if not all, of Americans right now, and especially is having an impact on children.

Frozen is, as of 2013, one of the newest Disney princess movie about two princesses,

Anna and Elsa, who are sisters. Because of an accident where Elsa and her ice powers endanger

Anna, they become distanced when Elsa blames herself for the accident and isolates herself. The rest of the movie occurs later in life when Elsa becomes queen and accidentally sets in motion another ice age within the town with her ice powers, and when Elsa isolates herself in an ice palace in the mountains, Anna must find her and mend their familial bond with the help of her friends Kristoff (human), Olaf (snowman), and Sven (reindeer). The movie ends with Elsa accidentally freezing Anna’s heart with her powers, which the trolls say can only be healed with the power of love. In contrast to other Disney movies, the love that heals Anna is sisterly love as opposed to romantic love.

In order to identify why the song “Let it Go” resonates with so many people, this research unpacks the lyrics. Utilizing fantasy-theme criticism analysis, the researcher breaks the lyrics down into the units of settings, characters, and actions. These units emphasize primary categories of emotional turmoil, solitude, acceptance, and empowerment in the song. In order to break FROZEN ANALYSIS 3 down the themes found in the song, analysis includes components of the storyline, the character singing the song, and the combined actions and lyrics.

Historical Context and Significance of Frozen

Frozen and “Let it Go” demonstrate a shift in the pattern of who is considered a Disney princess and what happily ever after looks like. In the movie, sibling love is triumphant which is in direct opposition to the usual romantic prince/princess love ending. Interestingly enough, the villain of this movie is Hans. Anna and Hans meet during Elsa’s coronation, share the typical

Disney love ballad, and announce their intention to wed that day, which prompts Elsa to have just enough anxiety to lose control over her ice powers. Anna leaves Hans, a prince from a neighboring kingdom, in charge while Anna searches for her sister, and Hans begins his nefarious plan. Not only is the villain choice significant—never before has a charming prince been the token villain in a Disney film—but so is the response that Elsa has to Anna and Hans’ wedding announcement. Elsa denies their intention to marry because “you can’t marry someone you just met.” Elsa’s response is historically significant because it embraces a feminist perspective, which is a drastic change from the typical patriarchal overtones of other princess films (Bell, 2014; Garcia, 2014; Hecht, 2011).

According to modern American thought, which emphasizes individuality, this new perspective on the princess is an important lesson for young girls to understand that a prince does not need to save the day; rather, American values emphasize establishing independence and self- worth (Hofstede, 2014; Campbell & Kean, 2016). Hofstede, a cultural researcher who compiled thousands of value statistics over a period of fifty years, found that since 2013 Americans significantly value independence and uncertainty reduction (2014). The song “Let it Go,” as with the movie Frozen, also deviates from the typical Disney tunes in that it promotes being authentic FROZEN ANALYSIS 4 and challenges the stereotype of a good girl being self-denying. There are elements of feminist values in the plot focusing on the love between two sisters and not between a prince and a princess.

Erin E. Bell writes a review on these historical changes of the developments of the princesses’ personalities throughout the decades. The princesses’ behaviors tie in directly with how women were viewed during the time period of when the movie was released (Bell, 2014).

Elsa is a more independent princess compared to the typical princess archetype formed by patriarchal tradition throughout thousands of years. There are qualities considered by most feminists to still be integrated into princess’ personalities—such as passivity or weakness—and it will take more than just an empowered princess like Elsa to subvert these qualities (Davis, 2005;

Hecht, 2011). Perhaps it was the guidance of Jennifer Lee, Frozen’s co-director, who has contributed the most to the movie’s success as a leading example of creating such multi- dimensional female characters. No longer are there damsels in distress, but instead active princesses who take charge with female agency and power (Garcia, 2014; Wloszczyna, 2013).

Personal Empowerment in the Disney Context

Disney’s worldview and princess feminism developed over time due to the foundation set by Walt Disney and the business model evolving and matching the broad culture of their audience. Disney had established its business foundation on fairy tales due to its phenomenal success with princess films. Children generally believe or know about the Disney version of fairy tales rather than the original written versions (Hecht, 2011). While making their earlier films before the 1950s, Walt Disney did not think of his audience as a specific age range, but instead saw the audience as largely female, and a study looking at Walt’s notes noted three main assumptions Disney made about the female audience: 1) women do not like physical or crude FROZEN ANALYSIS 5 humor, 2) women enjoy child-like and soft characters, 3) all women fall into the first two assumptions (Davis, 2005; Hecht, 2011). These assumptions about the female audience are carried out in major themes of Disney princess films, which suggests both that women’s happiness lies in marriage to a man who will take care of her, and the princesses are always happiest when being home makers. Each has a child-like innocence in how she can communicate with animals and maintain a cheery disposition despite what may be happening around her.

In every Disney princess movie there is a point where the heroine sings about her goals and dreams. The song “Let it Go” is important to explicate because it shows a shift in content of what Disney princesses are singing about. This context change within princess’ songs can best be examined by comparing “Let It Go” to past songs. Snow White’s (1937) song “Someday my prince will come,” and Cinderella’s (1950) “A dream is a wish your heart makes” both focus on the princesses dreams of finding a prince to marry before they are happy. Ariel (1989) sings about being “where the people are,” and Belle (1992) dreams of “more than this provincial life” in a slow demonstration of the shift Disney made towards more independent and self reliant female role models. Pocahontas (1994) stood up to her father and prevented a war. Mulan (1997) disguises herself as a male soldier and saves the country from invaders. The two newest Disney princess films, The Princess and the Frog and Tangled, have likewise more modern perspectives matching the culture of the 21st century. Tiana (2008) has a deep connection with her father’s entrepreneurial spirit and is hard working to the point of pursuing her dream to own her own restaurant. Rapunzel (2010) dreams of living a life of her own, independent from her overbearing mother who is actually a witch in disguise. The themes of independence, determination, and self reliance were added to the Disney worldview, themes that are common to 21st century America

(Campbell & Kean, 2016; Hofstede, 2014; Wynns & Rosenfeld, 2003). FROZEN ANALYSIS 6 There is a characterization within American culture that suggests individual identity is attached to individual happiness. Being true to oneself is becoming a core value taught in the

United States (Hofstede, 2014). The development of individual agency, financial stability, and self reliance has risen in importance with the millennial generation (Campbell & Kean, 2016).

There is especially a shift in prominence of feminist values and gender equality (Wynns &

Rosenfeld, 2003). Within the film, Elsa is the only one who can reverse the eternal winter and save the kingdom. There is no prince to save the day. Elsa represents an example of someone who is separating herself and developing her own identity without the input of outside sources.

In a moment of feeling rejected, Elsa finds that she can accept herself.

Wolin and Wolin, experts on identity formation, developed a wheel for the growth of the self. In this wheel is the wedge for independence, which is composed of different stages: straying, disengaging, separating, and independence (1991). In the movie Frozen, the song “Let it Go” becomes an artifact for Elsa’s identity formation of her independence. In the movie

Frozen, Elsa, the singer of “Let it Go,” had been taught by her deceased parents to hide her powers, an aspect of her identity, and to protect her sister Anna by distancing herself. The song analysis shows this independence formation through demonstrating Elsa’s progression from solitude and emotional turmoil to acceptance and empowerment. The song is a product of the

American environment and mentality for independence and self-development. It communicates a freedom of one’s path in life.

Text in Context: Song Analysis

Nothstine, Blair, and Copland mention the importance of language as being a largely social phenomenon, having different languages based on culture and social groups (2002). It is important to analyze the actual lyrics of the song—the words that are used—in order to have a FROZEN ANALYSIS 7 foundation of understanding why “Let it Go” resonates so strongly with so many people. The critical method I used to explore “Let It Go” is fantasy-theme criticism, which Ernest G.

Bormann created with the perspective of investigating a group’s shared worldview (2009).

Specifically, the fantasy theme method of analysis was used by looking at the actions, settings, and characters within the lyrics to explore themes within the text. Fantasy-theme criticism analysis is a method that looks at how people’s responses to things like songs bring our values into awareness (Bormann, 2009). Additionally, it is important to look at the body language Elsa exhibited while singing certain lines to reiterate the themes of emotional turmoil, solitude, acceptance, and empowerment.

This rhetorical vision reveals important categories of fantasy-themes developed in the song. Kidd wrote about fantasy-theme criticism analysis with the understanding that the method does not follow a step-by-step process, but is to be utilized by the researcher to notice any prevailing themes of “text” (1998). The themes identified in this analysis were: emotional turmoil, solitude, acceptance, and empowerment.

FROZEN ANALYSIS 8

Each of these categories shows a theme that helps listeners understand Elsa’s transformation from feeling emotional turmoil and solitude to acceptance and empowerment.

The extreme shift in words demonstrates her ability to overcome an inner struggle for independence. For example, for the emotional turmoil and solitude tables, the settings mentioned were: in (2), inside, all around, mountain, kingdom of isolation. In contrast, the settings for acceptance and empowerment were: the light of day, here, back, past, air, and ground. Emotional FROZEN ANALYSIS 9 turmoil and solitude were largely focused on Elsa’s inner world, whereas acceptance and empowerment were focused on her outer world.

When comparing the action terms within emotional turmoil and empowerment, there is a stark difference. Some of the words in emotional turmoil are: howling, swirling, spiraling, conceal, don’t feel, and I tried. There are strong storm-like words—howling, swirling, spiraling—as well as self-denial words. Elsa is concealing, not feeling, and yet still trying. There is a strong struggle towards the beginning of the song, on the other hand, the action words for empowerment are strong and resilient—can’t get to me, stand, stay. The pattern from emotional turmoil to empowerment is a shift from an inner storm to a strong stand—from living in fear

(isolation) to living in freedom (independence). There is a pattern with these words, and when put in the different themes, this pattern emerges and displays the conversion of Elsa’s character from isolating to independent. Elsa is a strong, empowered princess.

Brummett, author of “Technical Aspects of Close Reading”, talks about how form is more important than the content of a text. In our case, the song’s form—or rhythm, organization, structure, pattern—needs to be analyzed as well. He talks about the narrative and sequence of how words flow (2010). There has to be a tension and resolution—elements of the song’s story—that makes a song evoke a strong experience in the audience. Anthony Sheppard, a noted musicologist, mentions how the song contains tension in the form of dark, descending opening notes, contrasting with the break in tight, circular rhythm and notes with the line “well now they know,” where the music shifts into a slower piano rift in major key instead of monotonous minor

(2014). The camera even pans upwards like the theme of acceptance while the notes ascend into the major key, using visuals, music, and lyrics synchronously to emote the shift from Elsa’s state of fear to a state of freedom—the passage of emotional turmoil to empowerment. FROZEN ANALYSIS 10 We should not dismiss the song’s title. Those three words, let it go, are simple yet resonate strongly with many people. Judith Sills, writer of the article “Let it Go!” in Psychology

Today, discussed how letting go of past events or behaviors takes concentrated work and a shift in thought process. Inevitably, we encounter resistance when we attempt to change our thought process (Sills, 2014). Letting go psychologically dregs up the strongest emotions capable in the human psyche: rage, love, and fear. In the song “Let It Go,” Elsa is letting go specifically of her fear of not being in control of her powers, her love of her sister, and her rage of being discovered as having ice powers as well as rage at herself for not being in control. Elsa is letting go of her sibling relationship, even though Anna is her only living relative. In order to move on and grow as an individual, Elsa has to go out on her own, similar to the pattern of gaining through the act of losing (Mendoza, 2009). Towards the second half of the song, Elsa moves into acceptance and empowerment as she says, “the fears that once controlled me can’t get to me at all.” The rhetorical vision of the song surrenders to the notion that humans are capable of transforming themselves.

Impact

When assessing the impact of a song on an audience, especially since the audience consists largely of children, it is important to note what kind of influence the television medium has on children in particular (Corsaro, 2007; Mares, 1997; Papalia, Gross, & Feldman, 2003).

There is a similar frequency of repeated watching that occurs when children own movies compared to the frequency at which they watch television. In a report by the Kaiser Family

Foundation, they found that children watch 2.5 to 3 hours of television on average per day; in other words, they watch about 20 hours a of television a week (Bryant, 2001). Interestingly enough, preschool children spend more time than adolescents when it comes to watching movies FROZEN ANALYSIS 11 (Bryant, 2001). Children are categorized as active agents who are in control of their construction of the social world around them and how they fit into this social world. A good majority of developmental psychologists view children as significantly more active than passive when it comes to organizing and constructing their interpretations of the world with what information they choose to appropriate into their world (Gutner, 1995).

In light of the extensive literature revealing the impact and influence media can have towards children's concepts and behavior, it would seem important to closely examine media produced for children, especially regarding Disney films. Mass media has the potential to exert powerful influence when it comes to children learning social norms (Bryant, 2001). The media can have a powerful influence in young people’s formation of beliefs, attitudes, and values; in effect, they could be influenced into thinking in a particular way based on the values portrayed in the movies or television shows they watch (Gutner, 1995; Hogg, Sherman, Dierselhuis, Maitner,

& Moffitt, 2007). Representations of thematic concepts involved with value formation places a heavy weight on the shift in the definition of what it means to be a princess that Frozen accomplished through Elsa. Although the shift was slight, it is a distinct move towards more female self-reliance.

As of May of 2015, the Frozen soundtrack broke 1 billion dollars worth of revenue.

Frozen has been the top selling album in America for three straight weeks, with nine weeks in the top ten (Staff, 2014). “Let it Go” is iconic and resonant with children and adolescents, and, based on the song analysis, part of why this song is so popular is due to the strong message of individual empowerment.

In the movie Frozen, Elsa had been taught by her deceased parents to hide her powers, an aspect of her identity, and to protect her sister Anna by distancing herself. Elsa is a very FROZEN ANALYSIS 12 uncertain character. By starting out more isolating—“conceal don’t feel”, “kingdom of isolation and it looks like I’m the queen”—and then ending more empowering—“the past is in the past”,

“my power flurries through the air into the ground”—the song shows that Elsa is reducing her levels of uncertainty and fear. The scene in the movie where Elsa sings “Let it Go” is the turning point in the movie for this Disney princess. There is a motivation to be more authentic, which is an inspiring factor for audiences listening to the song. “Let it Go” allows the audience to strongly identify with Elsa due to the nature of group identification. Hofstede, a cultural researcher who compiled thousands of value statistics over a period of fifty years, found that since 2013

Americans significantly value independence and uncertainty reduction (2014).

Conclusion

Letting go is an easing, a shift against resistance of clinging to the norm of reluctance or avoidance of something. Americans value independence but, as with any other culture, find it difficult to change. Letting go requires change. As Vuust and Frith say, “we are creatures of habit and inertia” (2008). Elsa undergoes the most change during her singing “Let it Go”—her independence, empowerment, and even her outfit and hairstyle undergo change. In an interview with Jennifer Lee, the writer and director of Frozen, she stated:

It was Chris [the co-director] who pitched that the act of true love should be different

back in 2008. But the biggest struggle was changing Elsa. In the original, it was more

about love conquering negativity. When I came on, I wanted to push toward Elsa being

more complex, to be ruled by fear. Once we made them sisters, Elsa represented fear and

Anna represented love. We combined the power of both of those. (Wloszczyna, 2013)

Elsa, through her representation as the princess of fear, eventually changed herself to be an empowered, independent princess. Through the analyzing the words used in “Let it Go” and FROZEN ANALYSIS 13 looking at how movies can have an impact on children, it is fair to say that “Let it Go” is an understandable anthem for young people in America. Within the United States, because the values of independence and individualism are so prominent it is understandable how Elsa’s character resonates with so many young people. Independence, determination, female agency and self reliance are all important themes that make up Elsa’s personality—all of which are common to 21st century America (Campbell & Kean, 2016; Hofstede, 2014; Wynns &

Rosenfeld, 2003). In a moment of feeling rejected, Elsa finds that she can accept herself. This message of female agency and self acceptance is a powerful development within Disney’s princess history.

FROZEN ANALYSIS 14

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