Let The Storm Rage On

For some reason, I've been thinking about Elsa a lot today -- I can't quite seem to...let it go.

Okay. That was a bad pun. But, regardless, I've been thinking a lot about the conversation surrounding Elsa.

Continuing yesterday's post/thoughts, this afternoon I came across "How Disney Got 'Sexy' Right" -- which was written in response to the Slate article I linked to in yesterday's post. She and I make similar cases for Elsa but she pointed out some things that I didn't consider -- namely that while Elsa does undergo a physical transformation, this isn't your typical movie makeover a la Sandy in Grease:

"Further, during the makeover scene, Elsa is not being watched or “ogled” by anyone.  There is no external judge determining whether she is attractive/sexy based on her appearance. (Despite the audience being privy to this otherwise private moment for the character.) She is alone and celebrating her own liberation.  I think it is critical to remember what we, the audience, do not see.  We do not see others watching her in this moment.  We do not see a group of onlookers whistling with their over-exaggerated character eyes bugging at her appearance.  (Think, Jessica Rabbit.)  And we do not see her seeking the approval of others."

Preach, Holli Long. And she raises some important questions too:

Though Grease was released nearly 40 years ago, how often do we still see this opposite “Sandy” message?  How often do we see the portrayal of a character, “real” or animated, who is “sexy” when they are putting on an appearance for others?  When they choose their attire based on what others will think of them?  When they are not expressing their true selves, but the self they want others to see and accept based on some unrealistic image of beauty? Sadly, too often.

 It's an important distinction to make, I think -- whether or not someone else sees the transformation, whether or not the character makes the change for herself (or for himself!).

Interestingly, I've always found the viral video of the Marines watching "Let It Go" a little...well, let's just say I didn't find it as sweet as many did:

As Aaron O'Connell points out over at The Daily Beast, "Marines in their moment of “true emotional liberation.” But they had missed the point entirely. Emotional liberation is not what’s going on in the video. It’s the sexy cartoon princess that has the Marines so worked up." The rest of the article focuses on the military, a subject I don't profess to know anything about.

But I do know that, in grad school, we discussed Laura Mulvey's concept of "the Male Gaze"  a lot. The theory basically says that texts presuppose a heterosexual male audience, and that women are consequently portrayed as sexual objects. And this video works to bring that heterosexual male audience back into play -- as a Disney movie, specifically a Disney princess movie, the target audience for Frozen should be kids, and more specifically, female kids. So a scene that's meant to be empower is hyper-sexualized when you've got a hyper-masculine audience (they're Marines!) emphatically cheering for "sexy Elsa."

And, I mean, we should cheer for sexy Elsa. But not because her "magical makeover," as Nathaniel R. points out "seems to involve not just dress-making but elaborate undergarment construction. Push up bra and a girdle, emirate? Note how she's just a slip of a thing in her queenly garb. But as soon as she lets her snowy powers out she's suddenly sexualized with larger breast and teensy waist." 

(Okay. Yes. The sparkly ice dress does seem to accentuate her upper half, but the coronation dress is supposed to be modest and...restricting. Her waist doesn't seem that much smaller, IMHO. At least it's larger than her neck. But it's also worth noting that the dress does not have a thigh-high slit. It's definitely just above her knee here.)

Instead, we should cheer "Sexy Elsa" for doing what few people have the courage to do -- for, in the words of Holli Long, "Not hiding or changing who you are or what you look like for the sake of others or society."