Frozen (2013) revolves around the isolation of two sisters, Anna and Elsa. While these two princesses are best of friends as young children, Elsa, who has magical powers that she struggles to control, withdraws from the world, essentially locking herself in her bedroom. When their parents die in a shipwreck, their isolation deepens.
One way to trace the theme of isolation throughout the film is through its soundtrack. The hit song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” appears in the film during a montage that reveals the progression of Anna and Elsa’s isolation. As the line “It doesn’t have to be a snowman” suggests, the titular question is not so much about building a snowman as it is a sister’s plea for companionship. When Elsa’s coronation day arrives and the castle is opened for guests, Anna celebrates that “for the first time in forever / I won’t be alone.”
Although popular culture has embraced “Let It Go” as a song about (female) empowerment, it is also a song about isolation. Consider the extreme long shots of Elsa as she climbs further and further up the mountain and away from everyone else. It is about her embracing her powers, but sadly it’s also about her withdrawing from her sister and the people that she is to rule. We see her embracing her identity, but it's from a great distance against a backdrop of snow. Even from the viewer, Elsa’s isolation deepens, as she becomes harder and harder to see—from this perspective, her visual transformation takes on a new significance. Fittingly, it is later in the film, also against a snowy backdrop, that this isolation is ended by true love’s kiss. In this late moment, it is their reunion that ends the snowstorm—the recurring symbol of isolation—and their isolation itself.
Monday, November 17, 2014
How is isolation shown in Frozen?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?
In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...
-
Friar Lawrence plays a significant role in Romeo and Juliet's fate and is responsible not only for secretly marrying the two lovers but ...
-
Resourceful: Phileas Fogg doesn't let unexpected obstacles deter him. For example, when the railroad tracks all of a sudden end in India...
-
In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...
-
Pablo Neruda's "Ode to My Socks" is full of figurative language, including similes and metaphors. Similes are figurative compa...
-
At the beginning of the Victorian period, science was generally in accord with religion, and the study of nature was conducted in such a way...
-
Evaluate $\displaystyle \int x^2 \cos mx dx$ by using Integration by parts. If we let $u = x^2$ and $dv = \cos mx dx$, then $d...
-
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen is a coming-of-age story about a young man named Cole who undergoes a healing treatment on a deserted ...
No comments:
Post a Comment