Frozen Agendas: A Bit of Paranoia Satire

***WARNING: SPOILER ALERT***

If you haven't seen Frozen yet, I'd suggest watching it before reading this post.

By now, you may have heard about or read a blog entry by a woman named Kathryn Skaggs, all about how the film Frozen is part of Disney's Big Gay Propaganda Machine. Basically, her argument is that Frozen seeks to normalize homosexual behavior...not just in the appearance of a gay character or two, but in the ENTIRE PLOT OF THE MOVIE. There have been plenty of great responses, including this one and this delightfully snarky one. (There's also this post from the NY Post summarizing some of the other "hidden agenda" theories.) I joined the discussion on facebook, and a friend came up with a brilliant game she called:

"Fabricate a Moderately-to-Totally-Plausible 

Agenda Behind 'Frozen'!"

Here are some of the highlights of our satire-creation:

It's about mommy issues. The mother represses the eldest daughter's true nature out of protectiveness for the younger daughter, then dies, causing intense but suppressed emotional trauma. Elsa, as the oldest sister, defaults into the mother role, but isolates herself from her "daughter," perhaps due to her own conflicted emotions about her own mother. Anna matures into the mother role and attempts to bring her sister home and rescue her from her self-imposed isolation, but the relationship is too damaged and Anna receives a wound that symbolizes the emotional pain and "coldness" that results from a lack of maternal affection. Ultimately, the sisters save one another by taking on their mutual maternal responsibility. With this, the eternal winter fades and the world is restored to spring/fertility.

ACTUALLY, it's about communism. Elsa's abilities regarding cold make her symbolic of the Soviet Union, since that part of the world is cold. As a "Soviet communist," Elsa is feared by the villagers, who are all essentially McCarthyists. Elsa's self-proclaimed isolation in the mountains is symbolic of communist nations' tendencies to insulate themselves from outside forces. And her famous anthem "Let It Go" is CLEARLY about giving wealth and possession up to the state. You'll notice there's a TOTAL lack of religion in "Frozen"? That's because religion is the opiate of the masses, comrade. Anna's sacrifice for her sister is symbolic of the sacrifices all citizens must make to "Their Dear Leader." From "Frozen" we learn that it is only by giving up everything to communist power that we can be saved.

It's clearly a liberal attack on puritan value systems. The parents cause Elsa to feel that something intrinsic to her is a source of shame which should be hidden. This causes Elsa to believe that her only choices are pain for her and those around her caused by her nature or a life of isolation. Only after Elsa has accepted her inherently sinful nature is she able to control her power. When others are willing to accept her without shaming her the world is restored to it's natural order. This implies that puritan values lead to a culture of shaming and that we should try to avoid making other people feel the shame that they need to feel in order to... do something good. Because shame is good. Yeah...

Obviously Frozen is about the dangers of an Iran armed with nuclear weapons. First, duh. Nuclear winter. Elsa obviously is Iran. The movie's agenda is to get the American public on board with renewing diplomatic ties with Iran. As Elsa's isolation made her kind of unbalanced it will do the same to Iran, therefor it is only through diplomacy and understanding that Iran can use its "power" for good and become a peaceable nation and reliable US ally. The sequel will promote complete rejection and annihilation of the Israeli state in order to further cement the agenda of the prequel. See. Obvious. Stand by Israel. Boycott Frozen!

I thought is was about being nice to snowmen, and reindeer instead of real men.

"Frozen" is pushing for the legalization of meth. It's only after Elsa fully indulges in her "crystal" powers that she's able to actualize as a human being. Her song "Let it Go" is about rejecting the societal norms that shame her drug use (not being a good girl anymore, "no right, no wrong, no rules for me," etc.) and using the altered state of consciousness provided by her crystal use to come into her own as a creative being.

As for me, I'd say that Frozen's agenda is all about bestiality. I mean, Kirstoff is very close to Sven, too close to suggest their relationship goes beyond that of owner and pet. This message is all there in the song "Reindeer are Better than People." Hello! What other message can you get from this aside from the belief that bestiality is okay?!

Frozen is clear environmental propaganda. The story tries to trick you into thinking that you somehow have the power to save the earth or create a new ice age. It's disturbing that Disney is indoctrinating our children with the lie that we have some sort of control or responsibility to the earth. Written by liberals trying to distract us from the REAL problems! Like the gaaaaays!

I don’t think it is pushing ANY of those liberal agendas. It is clearly fraught with religious undertones. This is the story of two different types of believers, Anna, to whom faith comes easily, and represents the Protestant Reformation, and Elsa, who dually represents the convert, as well as the pre-Reformation church. After her first spiritual experience, Elsa chooses to leave and go to the mountains, where she builds a castle. There is no mistaking the ornate, cathedral appearance of her new home. “Let it Go” refers to her baptism of sorts, where she lets go of her previous life of sin, and embraces her new life of Christianity. She even mentions “heaven.” Her statement that the “perfect girl is gone” is her acceptance and realization of her fallen, sinful state, and need for a Savior. However, still early on in her spiritual journey, and still representing the pre-Reformation church, she believes her baptism to have absolved her of all sin past and future, leaving “no right, no wrong, no rules.” Anna comes to decry the error of Elsa’s selfish ways, and is punished with ice through her heart, or an attempt to “freeze” the Protestant Reformation in its tracks. Elsa only truly comes to understand the true power and grace of Christ later through her sister’s own sacrifice, where she is willing to give her own life to save Elsa’s. With both of them now behind the Reformation, they oust the supporters of the old religion (the duke and prince). There is nothing liberal about this at all, unless you are talking liberal for the 16th century.

It's a commentary on the importance of authentic spiritual expression, and maybe even a promotion of pagan/nature-based/magickal spiritualities over Christianity. In fact... Yes. Let's run with that. The cathedral-like palace and ritual of coronation obviously refer to the accoutrements and ritual of Catholicism and, to lesser extent, various Protestant denominations. This environment represses Elsa's true creative (and therefore god-like) spirit. It's only after she flees this restrictive environment and embraces her intrinsic connection to nature, in an environment of solitary contemplation and magick-working, that she is able to return, heal her sister, and replenish her kingdom's abundant natural resources.

Dude. The movie is totally phallic. Hello. The snowman's nose? Really. Those people are all gonna go blind.



Here's the thing about everyone saying "Frozen has a hidden agenda! Frozen has hidden symbolism! Here's what Frozen is REALLY about!"*

At it's heart (ba-dum-chhhhh), Frozen is about fear and love.

Which means that if an agenda has ANYTHING to do with fear OR love, you can probably find it somewhere in Frozen.

The truth is that we don't see things as they are. We see things as WE are. Everyone will have a different personal interpretation of art, and the majority of them are totally valid as personal interpretations. But there's a difference between sharing your personal interpretation and accusing someone of creating propaganda. Kathryn Skaggs' personal interpretation of "Frozen" is totally valid for her personally, even if it's different from your personal interpretation. And if what she sees in Frozen goes against the dictates of her conscience, she has every right to NOT WATCH THE MOVIE ANY MORE. But everyone else has a right to watch the movie and see in it whatever they would like to see in it. And most of all, don't let FEAR dictate your interpretations of art. (Especially when that art is all about overcoming fear with love.)

*What's that? You'd like to hear Jennifer Lee talk with other successful screenwriters about the process of creating the story for Frozen, and what the story is really about? Well, here.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this post with their satirical interpretations of Frozen! 

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Frozen Agendas: A Bit of Paranoia Satire