On a Latinx Therapist’s Real-Time Reactions to Disney’s Encanto
If you haven’t already seen Disney’s new movie, Encanto, you’re going to want to do that before reading this blog. I sat down with my laptop and watched the movie (for the third time) and typed out my reactions in real time. Here’s what came up:
1. Why doesn’t my door wave to me? It’s just brown and sad.
2. Let’s start off by Abuela saying to baby Mirabel that her gift will strengthen the community and “make the family proud.” Even in the moments where stress isn’t meant to be created, I’m feeling it for Mirabel. This resonates a lot for immigrant families. Many of us are raised with the knowledge and constant reminder that we are here to make our families proud, as a way to prove that all of our family’s hard work was “worth it.”
3. Mirabel’s first words as an adult in the movie start with “make your family proud” and a deep breath. Need I say more? Yikes.
4. Abuela sings these words in the opening song: “Help those around us… to earn the miracle that somehow found us.” There are some real elements of gratitude and self-worth here. You must work to show your appreciation for the gifts you are given.
5. In the beginning song, I love that when the children ask Mirabel what her gift is, Mirabel begins to sing faster and faster without taking a breath, which perfectly symbolized her life of finding ways to avoid and keep up with what she perceives her family as.
6. I find myself feeling so deeply for Mirabel when she tries so hard to be helpful and “play her part” in the family yet continuously is pushed aside by others. The more I look into Mirabel, she feels like the therapist of the family. It’s even more apparent when Antonio shares that he needs her to walk up to his door.
7. Finally! We get Mirabel to admit that she is not fine. Her silent pain and struggle is perfectly shown when she sings with the rest of the party frozen in time. This is such a common metaphor when we talk about depression. When we look at it from a cultural perspective, immigrant families are often in a mindset that we are not allowed to be upset or have negative feelings when we are blessed with other things in life. It makes feeling anything other than grateful very shameful.
8. Abuela is also very good at masking her own anxieties regarding the future of the casita and the Familia Madrigal. She manages to appear joyful and carefree at the party until she is able to retreat and be vulnerable with herself as she talks to her deceased husband. Talk about pressures of being the matriarch of the family.
9. Luisa: “I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service.” “Who am I if I can’t carry it all?”
This is incredibly accurate for the first born child to feel in a Latinx family. Often, especially when the first born is a child of immigrants, they feel the direct pressure to make their parents’ struggles of coming to the US “worth it.” Luisa’s gift of super strength is a direct symbol of the weight that the first born often carries.
10. Ok, you know we have to talk about Bruno (oh-oh). We alllll have some Bruno in us. Bruno is a walking blob of shame that we all feel and cannot talk about. And also, he is the best character. I also love that they made the “family weirdo” a tío because we’ve all got one.
11. The therapist in me gets so excited when everything goes to shit at Isabela’s proposal. There isn't any pretending anymore, people are crying, it’s raining, and people are freaked. It’s about time everyone sees what Mirabel does.
12. “We will never be good enough for you no matter how hard we try.” These are Mirabel’s words to Abuela as the casita begins to fall apart. I view it as a hard reality that many Latinx and BIPOC folx are faced within white society.
13. Abuela’s retelling of her immigration story to the Encanto is what everyone needed to hear to remember that all of these expectations and anxiety is rooted in trauma. It is such a good example of intergenerational trauma that so many Latinx (and BIPOC folx) experience. We often don’t always have the name for it or awareness that this is what it is, but it runs deep. Abuela and Mirabel’s vulnerability together is what breaks this cycle.
This therapist gives Encanto a 10/10. As a proud Mexicana, Coco will always have my heart, but it feels so good to see my other Latinx brothers and sisters be represented with undertones of the pressures of immigration and the reminder of Latinx magic.
Gaby Teresa is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, Latina/mixed raced, social justice-oriented, and exceptionally curious. She works with individuals, intimate relationships, and families. She is passionate about supporting undocumented immigrants, Latinx, & BIPOC folks to explore and unpack the harms of systemic oppression & white supremacy and move towards individual and collective healing from racial trauma.
From a Health at Every Size perspective, Gaby challenges fat phobic narratives and helps people adopt amore loving relationships with their bodies by promoting body diversity and dismantling the “thin ideal.”Overall, Gaby is proud to be another messy human walking alongside you, helping you to build tools and relationships that better support you and ensure that you get your relational needs met.
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