I’ve seen a lot of criticism of the song “Let it Go” from the movie Frozen because it encourages rebellion and “anti-obedience.” The woman in the movie who sings it, Elsa, has the power to make it snow and turn things to ice. Instead of teaching her to control this, her parents lock her in a room and allow her no contact with her beloved sister. They tell her to conceal her feelings and to not feel them at all. The song is about her breaking free of that. I feel that some things are supposed to be rebelled against, unless locking children in rooms forever and not allowing them contact with the outside world is now considered a normal parenting decision. Not all rules are good just because they are rules and some rules need to be broken. Elsa learned to control her powers through love instead of suppressing her emotions. Concealing and not feeling your feelings only lends to emotional stuntedness. Obedience for obedience sake is not a virtue.
I think that one of the reasons why this song is so popular and so many covers of this song have been done (This, this, and this being my favorites) is because the theme resonates with so many people. Whether it’s letting go of the past, insecurities, abuse, or the expectations our culture places on all of us, there is something in this song that speaks to all of us who have had to let something go. I think all of us have things that hold us back that can make us less than who we could be. Sometimes the best thing to do with that baggage is to let it go and not let it control us anymore. This is what the song means. Sometimes rebellion and not being obedient are crucial to our emotional well-being and growing into the person we were meant to be.
I leave you with this because I’m a huge Idina Menzel fan. She is the one true Elphaba and the voice of Elsa in Frozen.
IRON DAISY 
She is my fav, too. I hadn’t heard any criticism of it, yikes! Lots of people have identified with this song, and it’s easy to see why. I love it and am proud my 3 year old sings it. 🙂
Is there nothing cuter than a 3 year old belting their heart out to a beautiful song?
Nothing that comes to mind.
Amen and amen! I can’t believe all the kerfuffle around the supposed “agendas” promoted by this song.
I’ve heard a lot of people claiming that “Let it Go” is a metaphor for coming out. If it is, that’s great, except for the fact that Disney probably wouldn’t confirm it.
All art is subjective and people bring to it their own experiences and views. I don’t think it was ever a coming out song as much as trying to further the plot of a movie.
I just read the whole thing about the hidden agendas in the movie Frozen. My take on it is, if you look for evil, you will find it. I believe this movie was a lovely and powerful story pushing the power of familial love over romantic love, something that is sadly missing in our world today where girls are pushed on the fairy tale romance from the age of 0. I didn’t quite see the parents as the bad guys the way you did. I saw Elsa shutting herself up in her room as her choice and her parents agreeing because they didn’t have any better ideas. Let’s point out here that Elsa had TWO parents, this is also unusual in most stories these days. Loving parents, loving sisters, and finding that the quick romance isn’t what she really needed or wanted; this movie was a win all the way around. As for the “Let It Go” song, Elsa is in the middle of a huge life change, who hasn’t thrown everything out the window with a huge life change? We have to let it go to be able to move forward in our lives. Much of what Elsa is pushing ends up becoming irrelevant as she remembers her duties to society and her sister later, this song isn’t about rebellion unless the woman’s suffrage movement was rebellion, unless the anti-segregation movement was rebellion. No one has ever brought about great change by fitting in and not making waves. I hope my daughter picks up on what is going on in this movie because I want her to be powerful like Elsa, all by herself, without needing a man to save her and without needing society’s permission and blessing. I want her to be and let it go, I want her to make new rules and show society that she can be everything she wants without fitting their mould. And I want her to find her “power” and use it well, with love. The beauty of art is that we all see something different, let’s don’t let one woman’s opinion ruin a beautiful and powerful story by dragging it through the mud.
Thanks for your comment, Echo. This isn’t a response to Kathryn Skaggs or her imagined Frozen Gay agenda. I really could care less about her opinions or what she thinks about anything. I’ve seen a lot of people criticize the Let it Go song for the reasons I stated above.