From the iconic view of Burnham’s Rose Garden, between the indigo markets and the colorful Christmas lights, I sat with a college friend in a perfect spot witnessing the brightest planets approaching closer together.
The planets Venus and Jupiter align with the Earth’s crescent moon in a slow dusk last week. I felt a celestial magic as if somewhere up in the galaxy, things are aligning perfectly.
This phenomenon is called “conjunction” where cosmic bodies move closer as if in agreement. The calming effect of seeing massive things set into order reminds me of Disney queen Elsa in the movie “Frozen 2.” But the story is more than a fairytale. It echoes truth both present in mythic destiny and adult reality.
Parents could have more reasons to let their children watch Frozen 2 for it teaches lessons on sisterhood, love and even an important aspect of history.
In the fictional story, the former rulers of the Kingdom of Arendelle have betrayed the indigenous peoples of Northuldra. The Arendellians created a dam as a symbol of friendship that would bridge the two communities. But the story teaches us that a bridge has two sides. The Arendellians feared they will be overpowered by indigenous peoples Northuldrans. The dam became a trap for the people of Northuldra and their near annihilation when the Arendellians exercised their colonial power. Few years later, the elemental spirits who got angry of human greed has sent drought in the middle of autumn, a stormy wind, fire that consumes, and earthquakes that shook the Arendellians to their senses. They were about to pay the consequences of their historical sins if not for Elsa and Ana who sacrificed voyaging to the dangerous path of reconciliation and brought harmony to the world.
Elsa, Ana, and all the main characters in the movie are taking the path towards maturity that makes the movie not just for kids but for adults too.
Elsa searches for her mythic destiny and took the most difficult path when she swims deep into the river of memories and tries to uncover the forbidden knowledge. She found that she’s not invincible after all. She went beyond her powers and like someone who went deeper and deeper in the past memories, she felt colder and colder and she literally freezes and becomes.
Ana, on the other hand, was left with a dying friend and needed to deal with loss, sadness, pain, and grief. Her certainties in life suddenly changed, she matures to take a step to overcome the pitch-black void she’s in.
Elsa and Ana portray grown heroines who deal with real problems and dilemma in life.
Adults who are searching, unsettled, and reactive in life could learn values of sacrifice and empowerment in the movie.
The search for truth both in the present and in the past, whether it’s about inner truth, about a lost voice, about a nation’s secret, or even a hurtful past, like bright planets aligning in the sky, it paves a path for us to follow. It takes courage to show ourselves, find a lost voice and correct an erroneous past – the provocative themes of the movie Frozen 2 left us in the closing of this year.
As Venus slowly drifted in the South and Jupiter in the North, I and my friend departed from each other. We entered the childhood story knowing that we would emerge into different paths destined for us in life, hoping to cross paths in the next conjunction of the brightest planets.
May 14, 2024
