Why as a therapist I love the movie Encanto
Pixar and Disney films have a way of pulling on your heart strings. I know they do for me. One of the latest films, Encanto , was no exception. This movie was about a Latinx family struggling with family dysfunction, disguised as doing what is right for the family…they just had to know thousands of people would relate. This Latina therapist included! Encanto shows Familism, intergenerational trauma, and that families can heal. Keep on reading to see how I, a first gen family therapist just loved this movie and use it all the time in my therapy sessions.
Pixar and Disney films have a way of pulling on your heart strings. I know they do for me. One of the latest films, Encanto , was no exception. This movie was about a Latinx family struggling with family dysfunction, disguised as doing what is right for the family…they just had to know thousands of people would relate. This Latina therapist included! Encanto shows Familism, intergenerational trauma, and that families can heal. Keep on reading to see how I, a first gen family therapist just loved this movie and use it all the time in my therapy sessions.
Encanto Shows Familism, something foreign to western culture
Familism is so crucial in Latinx culture and for many others as well. It is family before the self. But sometimes I do feel like this thinking can be ridge and can allow for so much hurt. There are definitely ways that I have found to both honor my culture and beliefs while still being able to find a space for me to come first. It is a balance, that truth be told, I am still working on. And if you're reading this, I am going to assume you can relate.
In therapy I often explore with my client’s the difficulties of placing boundaries with family members, and stepping out of the prescribed role. It is so hard when in the Latix culture, you are taught to put the family first. Setting boundaries with family can really feel like a betrayal. Exploring family dynamics and culture is something that I find to be one of the most healing things that we do in therapy. We are our past and we are our family, therefore we owe it to ourselves to really get to know who we are, by exploring where we have been and where we come from.
Encanto Shows Intergenerational Trauma
I love seeing how each character adapts to accommodate the trauma that the abuelita and family have endured. Of course in Disney fashion, this is done in a cute way. Luisa has to be strong for the family, shown being physically strong, so that she can protect the family from harm. My heart felt for her when she got that eye twitch. Raise your hands if your eye has every twitch because of stress. Or her cousin Dolores, hears everything with her crazy good hearing. Because as we know family secrets can absolutely cause anxiety and tensions within families. Intergenerational trauma was shown in such an easy to understand way and I am here for it.
Intergenerational trauma or generational trauma is trauma and stressors that are past down in the family often through behaviors. For example in the movie the abuelita had her husband murdered as he tried to stand up for the family and village to help them buy more time as they escaped. This was a terrible tragedy for the grandmother who was now left with 3 kids and a village to help look after. Talk about stress.
Disney magic steps in and gives her children and their children powers. But the interesting thing is you can see how there is tension in the air. The family had all the unprocessed hurt from losing the abuelito. Their grandfather’s sacrifice saved them however the grandmother was not able to process the fear and hurt from the incident and it translated into being overbearing and wanting the best for her family and the village. That is the key that I took away from here, the abuelita had good intentions, as is often in intergenerational trauma.
My favorite song in the movie is Luisa’s “Surface Pressure”, man did I have this song on repeat for weeks. It just resonated with me as an older sister from a Latinx family, where parentification and feeling the need to be strong for others was also a part of my own story.
All the characters developed these powers and behaviors if you will, to help cope with the trauma that their family has been through. Families with trauma will be affected in all sorts of ways. Some family members become sick with depression or anxiety, some develop risky behaviors like drinking excessively or chasing dangerous thrills. The family in Encanto shows intergenerational trauma in a way that helps it make sense.
Encanto Shows Families Can Heal Together
Marieble, as the protagonist of the film, is taxed with helping the family heal and move past the hurt. That scene at the very end of the film where she is with her abuelita and we see how the abuelita is sorry for the pressure she has been putting on the family and shares the hurt she feels, had the therapist part in me jumping up for joy. That right there is how families heal. They sit down and have hard conversations, they love without judgment and work towards creating a better family.
As a family therapist at heart, I am all for seeing couples, siblings pairs, and adult children with their parents, because the healing that takes place in a relationship is so deep that it can literally help people overcome depression, anxiety, and substance use issues. Even when I see individuals, I use my knowledge of family systems to help people have deeper healing conversations to help them again the life they truly deserve. Just like when I watch Encanto, I am moved when I see people having those moments.
If you haven’t seen the film yet, please do yourself a favor and go watch the film. I promise you will enjoy the thoughtfulness that went into building such a relatable story.