Review of Encanto

Encanto Review

When I started watching the Encanto film, I was admittedly skeptical. I never really got into the Disney film fandom in part because I was so turned off by the whole marketing of raising girls to be like Disney princesses. That was never something that appealed to me. Having two parents who worked in advertising, I have always looked at Disney with a critical lense and a money-making machine designed to manipulate their consumers. But they do it well. In fact, they teach us many of the lessons we've learned in this class - like Baby George, it's okay to fall and try again. Which is something that happens often in Encanto. Like many young girls, I didn't see myself in these Disney princess tropes. As author Linda Christiansen writes in Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us, "My waist didn’t dip into an hourglass; in fact, according to the novels I read, my thick ankles doomed me to be cast as the peasant woman reaping hay while the heroine swept by with her handsome man in hot pursuit." I'm glad to see that Encanto is pushing away from this and creating an environment where more kinds of girls can see themselves not as the princess in distress, but as the hero. 

Disney is very aware of the power it wields across the globe and it looks like they're actually starting to listen to the long-standing criticism of their characters. "The messages, or “secret education,” linked with the security of their homes, underscore the power these texts deliver. As Tatum’s research suggests, the stereotypes and worldview embedded in the stories become accepted knowledge," said Christiansen. Encanto is in fact very progressive in its messaging, which is part of the reason why it has been such a hit. It not only says that you don't need a superpower to be special or important. 

    It also addresses the crucial theme of dealing with stress and your emotions, like Luisa dealing with carrying the burden of her town and family, and Isabella dealing with the stress of feeling the need to be perfect all the time. These themes mesh perfectly alongside the overarching theme that generational trauma is something that needs to be dealt with and healed, which started with the death of Maribel's grandfather. The mental health organization Cultured Space defines generational trauma as, "the pattern of challenges a family may experience as a result of a major historical or traumatic event that is passed down to younger generations." It shows us through the story of Abuela Alma that taking that trauma and burying it only really compounds it over time. 

    Encanto is a step in the right direction of teaching the Disney audience about diversity, being part of a community and dealing with emotions in a healthy way. I hope they continue to produce movies like Encanto that address real themes that are impacting their viewers, rather than having them look up to lofty and unrealistic characters.

Links:

https://www.culturedspace.org/post/therapist-thoughts-encanto-and-generational-trauma

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LakonRFLM8mzZGiBBdQOi1Mut7ea0Uxv/view

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7dbl0rJS0