Rhetoric of Space

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Frozen Blog #5

Blog #5
FROZEN
           

            Frozen is a wonderfully crafted children’s fairytale that contains elements very unique compared to previous films. Although the film may at first seem to be primarily targeted for young children, after watching the creative plot it appears to contain messages that can be relevant and enjoyed by a variety of ages. Frozen emphasizes some messages that typically aren’t conveyed in children’s movies, making it very exceptional and one of a kind.
            In almost every child’s fairytale it seems that the girl always chooses her “soul mate” over everyone else. However, Frozen overcomes this common stereotype by going against the norm. It serves as pathos appeal when the audience finally gets to see a girl choose her family over her “true love.” This is powerful as “emotional appeal makes logical claims more memorable”(Lunsford 46). Anna is willing to give up her life for her sister Elsa. When Anna was about to die and was so close to getting her true love kiss that could stop her from dying, she jumps in front of Elsa to save her which ends up being the biggest act of sacrifice of all. This message of the power of sacrifice plays heavy at emotions, as characters in the movie are constantly willing to give up things to help others. This message is brought forth throughout the movie in several other occasions such as Elsa hiding away and giving up her own happiness to protect Anna and Olaf helping to end the everlasting winter despite knowing that he can’t survive in warm weather. Sacrifice is an act of selflessness that can have a very powerful effect and allows the “audiences to sympathize with ideas that they connect”(Lunsford 41). Although sacrifice has been a theme in children’s movies before, Frozen is one of the first movies where we see a princess sacrifice her love with her “soul mate” to protect a family member.

            However, Frozen does contain messages within the movie that can be deemed as problematic. Little girls especially seem to look up to princess characters in movies as role models. They want to be just like them! At the beginning of Frozen, Anna, a young princess, meets an attractive prince who she immediately “falls in love with.” They barely even know each other and despite that they get engaged the very night they meet. Anna describes how it was just “love at first sight.” This message can be conveyed negatively a pathos appeal, because young girls, and boys too, may have false hope in finding their “soul mate” easily and right away. It also may suggest that finding your love should be based off of attraction rather than truly getting to know the person.  

            Even though Frozen contains both positive and negative messages, I believe that the positive implied messages far outweigh the negative themes. The negative message that first appears within the movie dealing with true love at first sight is rebuked when that love shows to be false and misjudged. Later in the movie, Anna finds out her “soul mate” isn’t at all who she thought he was and that they aren’t really in love at all. By taking a false message and turning it into a positive one, Frozen puts a twist on the usual plot line of fairy tales. Due to these powerful messages presented that are not ordinarily seen in children’s movies, I believe the movie deserves 4 slurpees. The positive messages taken from the movie are very convincing and leave a lasting impression.


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