I watched Frozen recently. I know everyone else in the world saw it a while ago, well maybe not everyone. It isn't aimed at old guys like me, obviously. But Mrs had heard good things about it and why the young girls were so into it. Our culture has a bit of a habit of disparaging things women, especially young women, are interested in. It's a form of misogyny that we let ourselves get away with more than we should. I mean Romance novels are rubbished fairly often, except by the many, many readers who enjoy them. My own view is that creative works don't have to be aimed at me to be good in their own right. So, while I'd heard of Frozen, I was content not to go and watch it.

And then I did.

Wow!

I normally watch live action dramas or comedies, and it's about the acting, the plot and when it's something out of this world, the world building, special effects etc. Frozen is animated and it's a musical, so I'm a long way off my patch. There's world building to some extent but it is much more about the plot, and what a plot!

You'd think it was a romance because there are princesses and princesses always fall in love, right? And there is a bit of that, but it is much more about the relationship between two sisters (both princesses) and how they sacrifice everything for each other. It reminded me of Christina Rosetti's Goblin Market in that respect.

There is also lots of witty dialog "We finish each other's... sandwiches", a goofy snowman sidekick who seems blissfully oblivious to what might happen when the snow melts, and slapstick moments hurtling down snowy mountain sides. All well done.

At the core of it is a song by Elsa, one of the princesses. And this alone makes it worth watching. It is sung in real life by Idina Menzel and we watched a clip of her performing it at a Taylor Swift concert. It starts with Swift dressed as the goofy snowman just talking about the movie, which is good, and then things get a lot more exciting. Go watch it, I'll wait.

There's a huge crowd of girls and young women there and they are truly wild for this stuff. They know all the words, of course, because they're singing along. But did you notice those words?

Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know

Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
I don't care what they're going to say
Let the storm rage on
The cold never bothered me anyway

This is Elsa who has 'powers' related to ice and snow that she has suppressed for years. She has just decided she is going to use them and not worry about people judging her about it. It is a cry of defiance at being held down, at having to hide her real self away, at having to always be the 'good girl'. Elsa is letting go those restrictions and letting loose her real self.

Being held down happens a lot with young women especially, and not just fantasy princesses. We tell ourselves boys will be boys and let them get away with things we would never tolerate from girls. Both extremes are a problem. But to hear all those women in that audience singing along to this cry of defiance at repression really warmed my heart. I think about it when I need a little more hope, which turns out to be quite often in these troubled times. Maybe, just maybe, the kids singing along to that song are finding ways to be their real selves. Just maybe, when the little girls who play with their Elsa dolls today grow up and vote they will surprise us all. It's a comforting thought.

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