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Mental Illness in TV and Film - Frozen


I did say last week that I was taken time off to grieve but after watching Frozen at the weekend I couldn't help but look at it from a Mental Illness perspective. I took this as a sign that I was ready to continue writing this series.

Is Elsa a metaphor for Anxiety?

The disorder that keeps me up at night seems to be prevalent in this film, even Grand Pabbie says it to a young Elsa at the start of the film, "Fear will be your enemy," and we see Elsa lash out at her coronation celebration.

The fear she has inside her makes Elsa's powers go haywire, she fears her secret will be revealed to others around her, just as I feel people will find out I have anxiety just by being around me.

But fear is not the solution, it ends up hurting the people Elsa loves the most, as she lashes out and pushes them away. She becomes so scared of hurting others that she ends up hurting them.

Then when her powers get out of control she runs away and hides inside her own Ice Palace cocoon. When I get angry I also tend to lash out before running away to safety, it happens when I push my feeling down.

These powers have isolated Elsa since she was a very young child, she was taught (like many others with a mental health disorder) to conceal her true feelings, this made her powers even harder to control.

Her parents didn't handle this very well, as they interpreted Grand Pabbie wrong, they thought other people finding out would kill their daughter, not understanding that love would save her.

I understand this is pretty cheesy, love can't really help mental illness, it can help to be loved despite this, but my mental illness is still here and I have love in my life. It can help me face the day, but its not some miracle cure.

What helps more is the understanding that comes from people who love you, be that friends, family, and partners. The understanding that comes from the community at large, knowing that I'm understood.

Elsa does receive this from her Kingdom by the end, when she saves Anna from the ice in her heart, and when Anna trades her own life to save Elsa. Then she can fully control her own power, with acceptance and love.

But what do you think? Am I just self-identifying with an incredibly complex character? Comment below.

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