Release It!

Ever since I was little, I've been able to listen to people talk and know whether or not they were telling the truth. It's not magic; there are two components. First, I read their body language to see if they are sincere. The second component is simple comparison--take what I know to be true and compare it to what I'm hearing. Since I don't know everything, and people can be honestly mistaken, this isn't a perfect system, but it's a good start.

These two components happen without my even trying. I can't shut them off. When I watch movies, listen to sermons, and have conversations with friends, I'm always analyzing. I'm the person who watches commercials and asks, "Do people really fall for this?" because I can somehow separate myself from my emotions and just see the sales pitch for what it is.

I love movies, and I love music, so naturally, I've seen my share of Disney movies. There's something I've noticed in the response most people have to Disney movies. They either love them or hate them. There's good reason for both. They all have elements that reflect a secular worldview. On the other hand, many of them also hit on key emotional issues of humanity, which connects to viewers and inspires the love that keeps Disneyland in business.

As is true of many things, the best response is in the middle ground. Reject the falsehoods and appreciate the good. I've thought about starting a blog on worldview issues like this for awhile, because I know not everyone has the same ability to pick apart the good from the bad. I want to start by looking at a song from a movie that came out five years ago. Here's a link to the lyrics.

Pros:

At this point in the movie, Elsa has lost control of her powers, frozen her realm (though she doesn't realize this), and run away so she won't hurt anyone else. This is the first time she'd used her powers since injuring her sister as a child.

When I first watched this movie, I connected with this song in a big way. I had been living a perfectionistic lifestyle, trying to please everyone, and had recently realized that the only person I should be concerned with pleasing is God. I'd spent my whole life hiding my emotions and problems, trying to project only what I thought other people wanted to see.

Elsa was experiencing the same things. "Conceal, don't feel" felt like a motto for both our lives. When she realizes that this is no way to live your life, everything turns into a hot mess (or a cold one, actually). I could relate. In learning how to not hide everything I was feeling, things got messy.

Elsa realized that fear should not control her. I was just starting a book on how to conquer the grip of fear in your life. She decided to test out the powers and abilities she had to see what she was really capable of. I had started pursuing what God had made me to do and not allowing the fear of failure to hold me back.

In summary, Elsa was realizing a lot of things that the culture of young Christians was also beginning to realize. We don't have to please our parents above everything. We don't have to go to college, get a high-paying degree, and have a stable job and income for the rest of our lives. We don't have to live in fear of what may happen in the future. We can go after our dreams and do things we're passionate about.

Critiques:

The biggest issue with this song is pictured in the line "no right, no wrong, no rules for me." In a post-modern society like ours, the individual sets their own morality. Once Elsa realizes that she doesn't have to be perfect and live according to the rules set by her deceased parents, her conclusion is that there are no rules. Of course, as believers, we know that this isn't true. Our code of conduct comes straight from God. We don't want to add to that (especially not when it comes to telling others what they can and can't do), because that can quickly become legalism. That doesn't mean we don't have rules, though. We are not sovereign over our own morality.

The second critique here is the way Elsa secludes herself. It makes sense in the story. She's trying to protect her sister and her people from herself. However, in her quest to find herself, she assumes she can succeed without other people. This is a common temptation. In a society that says autonomy is the highest measurement for success, it is easy to think that we have to go it alone. In reality, we need other people who will walk down the easy roads and the crazy hard ones beside us. What's more, we have to be willing to let them. Like Elsa later on, we can't shut out those who are trying to help us because we're afraid someone's going to get hurt. We can't defeat the grip of fear without replacing it with trust.