Generational Trauma in Turning Red - Disney Pixar Analysis - The Fangirl
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- čas přidán 17. 03. 2022
- If you thought Encanto had some layers to generational trauma, then try on Disney Pixar's Turning Red. I'd actually say Turning Red handled it better!
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#turningred #disney #pixar #redpanda #TheFangirl - Krátké a kreslené filmy
tbh my favorite scene in turning red, was the scene where they see Tyler at the 4 town concert, and instead of picking on him for how he acted towards them, they immediately bonded over that small factor, and somewhat welcomed him into the friend group :]
Me too. It made the girls seem like really welcoming friends. That and I like that Tyler wasn’t really a bad kid, he was just a middle school kid just trying to fit in.
@@Nightman221k I liked how they subtly hinted that he was rich. That even then, he couldn't just buy friends. Between the "cool" clothes, the massive party in his literal mansion home, nobody was interested. His so called "friends" being quick to turn on him or egg him on. The subtle contrast between his "friends" and Mei's friends, who would defend her first, ask questions later. How his body language shows a more sensitive side and just wants to fit in everytime he is rejected throughout the movie. Tyler was a little shit but you realize that it's because he is acting out because he doesn't have real friends. I love how they gave him layers as a person.
He gets his own friendship braclet in the end, and finishes their rainbow friendship themed group ( Mei: Red/Oranges, Priya: Yellow and Ochres, Miriam: Several shades of Greens, Tyler: Deeper Violet Blues/Periwinkle, and Abbey: Purple/Pink. They complete eachothers rainbows.
In Japanese shi means four and death. I lived in an apartment and there wasn't a 4th floor. It went third floor then fifth floor. In a Chinese studies class I took in college, my professor said that Chinese people (she's Chinese) are very superstitious about numbers. 3, 5, & 8 are lucky so many Chinese-owned stores and restaurants will have those numbers in their phone number. I don't think it was a grandma-centered phobia of the number four.
Yeah, tetraphobia (fear of the number 4) is a common superstition observed in most of Eastern Asia
Yeah, it's a common theme that in a lot of Asian horror and/or supernatural media and stories, the number 4 pops up a lot. I've heard the superstition around it is somewhat comparable to how the number 13 is seen in most Western cultures (not in a one-to-one sense though).
I mean… we’re hardly one to talk when some US buildings skip floor/room 13… 🤣
Yeah many east Asian countries have a superstition about the number 4 as it is a homophone with the word for death.
For Abuela, she got that seemingly immediate change of character only because the ending feel rushed due to the resolution wrapping everything up in a musical number. That construction scene with the casita must have never happened in just a few days. I've been through construction sites with my family, and it's definitely a really long time of hard work over there. For certain, there must have been weeks and some few months of off-screen events that might have happened for Abuela to slowly change into a consistently better person in the end. At least, that's how I see why.
If Turning Red had a similar finale musical number that features a huge fast forward of time, Ming could have ended like Abuella. A time skip let's say towards Mei's graduation instead of just a few days after the fact. Imagine how differently Ming could have suddenly turned out if that's how the movie ended by comparison.
This. But also it’s not just like “under 2 minutes”, it literally took her to realize all of it when her granddaughter stood up on her, their home destroyed, and their miracle gone for all of it to happen. And Abuela is not dumb, she’s wise with her years, I’m sure she can admit her mistake cuz she’s a person with good intentions coming from a wrong place
Spoiler disclaimer....My favorite part was at the end when the whole family turned into red pandas to calm Ming's Pandazilla. I also liked when everyone, including the boyband started singing along to the family chant.
I love this movie but there's one thing that I don't understand. How is it the Mom's red panda form is so ginormous. Compared to May May and her other relatives
I guess it reflects something about each person 🤔
Well it’s my understanding at least 😅
She had a LOT of spirit! But that is an interesting thing to think about!
Maybe the panda size is a reflection of what she felt inside, I mean she is almost afraid of her mother in comparison to her others relative
Repressed feelings and perhaps more intense, volatile emotions from the beginning.
Also remember that she didn't get to be free with the panda like Mei did. She did say that she always put family first. You can even tell by the scene where she walks through the woods that in every single age she's always dressed the most formal way possible. She never got the taste the freedom
One of my favorite funny scenes was when Ming is outside of the bathroom door guessing what Mei is going through and then she suddenly gasps and as she does you see the Dad in the background stop dead in his tracks.
Then Ming asks,
"Did the red peony bloom?"
Mei hesitates yet answers,
"Maybe."
In the background the Dad is just walking away backwards and leaves very frightened. Obviously doesn't want to deal with the female problems that's for sure. XD
I also loved when Mei was the red panda and she sees Devon through the window of the convenience store and she pounds her paw on the ground and says out loud,
"Awooga!"
Cracks me up every time.
Also how they all freak out over 4Town at the concert makes me miss going to concerts and seeing my favorite stars before me but just seeing fans geek out and go crazy in general just makes me crack up. XD
As a family with "the aunties" I really appreciated seeing it
It's like Encanto but Chinese
It's where the mother acts like her mother which causes her to traumatized her kid next generation to do the same.
Like Encanto because of trauma it causes a grandmother to put toxic perfection on her family having them be what she wants them to
Like Coco they ignored a family member and banned music saying he left his family because of something he loves but his friend killed him and stole his songs
Toxic perfection in family causes problems
I like how Disney has explored parent-child relationships with so much humanity and nuance. Parents are allowed to be flawed, but they should listen to their children and apply feedback.
I loved the movie for Mei and her girl squad and the early 2000s nostalgia but Mei’s mother irked me. She didn’t really seem to have any true regrets over how she mistreated Mei and even the emotional crux of her breakthrough, the giant monster battle, was comprised of Ming shouting stereotypical “Karen” statements at random concert-goers and calling Mei’s behavior disgraceful.
I felt like at least Alma apologizes to her family and truly didn’t cast blame on anyone but herself and it seemed more like a moment of clarity and honesty changing her world view. What struck me was that Ming didn’t apologize to Mei for any of the things she did throughout the movie. Particularly telling her friends they were terrible people and accusing them of exploiting Mei. It was genuinely raw to see Mei looking distressed that she couldn’t do anything but betray her friends because she had no other choice but to go home with her mom.
It seemed like Ming was only upset for letting her own mom down in the mindspace part. Her mom shouldn’t have been the focus of her distress. I think Ming should have felt sad that she destroyed her daughter’s respect for her but that’s just not how it was framed cause nothing about her behavior was something Ming thought of as out of line.
It was also really upsetting when she humiliated Mei in public in front of people who went to Mei’s school for drawing lustful drawings of a total stranger without even talking about it with Mei. We don’t even know if any of these things Ming did resonated with Ming as hurtful, humiliating, or psychologically damaging. And she is really kind of a psycho for sneaking outside the school to give Mei the pads rather than anything rational instead. It’s a middle school. They have front desks where you can discretely drop things off. How would Mei get the pads from her anyway jump out the window?
I agree. It was too much
I was actually frustrated with the ending of Encanto, because Alma has a 360 change very suddenly and tries to apologize. I felt like that was such an untrue depiction of what actually happens in these kinds of relationships, being a product of one myself. All the discomfort you expressed that Turning Red made you feel, is exactly true to the dyanmics I lived through, (almost scarily to a T) as if it was normal. Seeing it depicted in a movie, having it actually be heard and seen, isn't "too much" for me. It's real, and finally feels like a place to relate. The fact that Ming doesn't apologize to her daughter is the sad reality of these relationships. Also, she can't see beyond her own hurt right now, hence why she can't see how she's hurting the people around her yet. Healing is a journey, not a sudden "realization" that Alma seemed to have in Encanto. Turning Red did for me, what Encanto couldn't. It felt like a true depiction of my childhood, at least.
I thought it was more realistic tbh. She still had somewhat of a redemption but it's clear there's an impasse between them. Alma on the other hand kinda threw me off - she made a sudden 180 and the others seemed to think it was okay all of a sudden. She was awful towards her own children and looked down heavily upon the others because she couldn't let go of the life she wanted to create. This is an understandable motivation, but what's less understandable is how easily everyone accepts her again like she didn't just force Bruno out for speaking the truth or acted awful towards Mirabel.
At least in Turning Red, there were repercussions other than a broken house - they still have to pay for the Dome and there's more of a barrier between Mei and her mom. And in Asian cultures, this is incredibly relatable as actions have more impact than words when it comes down to it.
Mmm actually her mother being the cause of her distress is why she unintentionally kept Mei from growing as a individual…like she didn’t seem to realise she was even 13 😶
@@zakenmaru8612 you um worded it right the way I can’t, thanks for that 😅
The fact that I watched it today makes the timing perfect
I was hoping a week would be enough time for spoilers! lol
@@TheFangirlWatches yep😎✌️
I related so hard to both Encanto and Turning Red as a Filipino with immigrant parents, and I saw Abuela and Ming in my mom. Abuela because my mom endured so much struggle and heartbreak in her life in getting to Canada and how she always tries to be the strong matriarch because that's how we got out of poverty, and Ming for everything else. My mom works all the time and my dad was always at home, but she was my favourite parent growing up and like Mei I thought of her as my best friend until around 10 years old. 12 years later, after gaining some financial independence and experiencing the hardest period of my life, she's back to being one of my closest people. But for those 12 years I felt about her like Mei did her mom, that I had to be perfect and keep to her beliefs that I was smart and capable. It was only after something really traumatic happened to me recently and she saw me at a very low point and talked to my therapist that we began to patch things up and see things more the other's way. This past year I've seen her cry a number of times like Ming in the bamboo forest, and as an adult that just hits differently you know, reminds you that your parents are human too. I started to understand the filial piety part, not because my parents were "supreme beings," but because I realized they do care. They did and still do show me that they care, just that those ways aren't always in the obvious, Western ways. My mom shows she loves me by bringing home a bunch of packets of my favourite cookies or chips that she remembered, even if they're sometimes not on sale, and even though she had to buy 5 pounds of groceries and she was exhausted from 5 days straight of 8-hour nursing work, or making snacks for me to eat while I was neck-deep in studies because she worried that I'd forget to eat. My dad showed his love in driving me 20 minutes to restaurants to get takeout back when food delivery wasn't a thing, even though he was exhausted from his construction job. I show my love for them by taking care of the chores now that I'm off uni on academic leave. Now, we always say "I love you," but what rings more true is those little things that we do for each other. Turning Red reminded me of all of that.
What's interesting to me is how intergenerational trauma can be not only tied to material history but also cultures or ideologies. The very first line in Turning Red is Mei saying, "The number one rule in my family: Honor. Your. Parents" This is not just the number one Lee family rule, it's one of the most fundamental beliefs in many Eastern Asian belief systems, especially Confucianism. You MUST honor and care for your ancestors. So the women of the Lee family aren't just carrying a particular intergenerational trauma...part of the reason is that their behaviors and reasoning are governed by their adherence to a long-standing ethical system in an ever-changing world with different knowledge and values. Makes you wonder how much of our toxic behaviors are natural by-products of systems or ideologies bigger than any one family or person.
I was aware of the concept of generational trauma from a very young age. Since I was born without two grandparents already and both of my parents ended up having to parent the people that were supposed to take care of them. So they had very little idea of how to be older children, teens and young adults, let alone raise them.
Their lack of guidance in parenting since neither of them had fathers and both of their mothers died in the first half of the 90s when I was still a preschooler meant they had no boundaries set for what would be inappropriate to do to get your kids to behave at any age.
Such as dragging your 27 year old into a wall because he DARED to talk to his friend for a little bit longer when she was in the hospital sick instead of coming straight down and straight home with you. Threatening to confiscate his TV and attempting to sell his pets online. Making him buy a second hand single child's bed for his own house when he was saving for a double and because he didn't do it immediately and how you wanted it even though he eventually gave in, you take his money and buy an oven he's never seen for the same house without even telling or consulting him.
And then, when he inevitably flees three years later after all other attempts to make you see reason but only to be retaliated with worse threats and more physical and emotional abuse and with the intent of coming back to collect his pets, you kill his dog. Because killing a dog with a treatable and manageable medical condition is better than "rewarding" him for leaving and making his sister homeless even though he didn't want that setup in the first place.
I'm working through what happened to me so that the cycle of no guidance, violence and bitterness ends with me. Even if it means I have to break the promises I made to my future kids when I was a kid that I would do my best to make sure they have grandparents in their lives. I have other, better people to fill in those spaces. It's not even a loss.
It's a gain for them, for sure. Because they won't have the people in my life that stole so many years of it away and instilled in me a hard to break mindset of self-sabotage due to not being able to handle praise and success do the same to them.
I didn't know this before the movie, but Apparently the number four is seen as unlucky or bad because it sounds like "Death" in Chinese. Which, suddenly makes sense why the grandma and aunties reacted that way to what most americans would just think of as a regular number.
Well most Christians aka many Americans also react strongly to 13 as being cursed because the traitor Judas, was the 13th person to sit at the last supper and ended up betraying Jesus. Superstitions happen for all sorts of reasons and most times it isn't well understood by the generations that form after the superstition was made.
Love the scene where Mei/Red Panda jumps over buildings in TO (Toronto appreciation) and over the moon - reminds me of My Neighbor Totoro. Also the scene where she accidently attacks Tyler, reminded me of Wolf Children. A lot of great references to those films as well as Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon. Love this new tendency of portraying generational trauma, which makes you look at your own family dynamic.
Tamagotchi!!!🤩 gosh I hope people do more movies set in the noughties, that was tons of fun 😜
That was the best part for me 😂
well just a fact.... 4 in Chinese is pronounced 四 (Sì) and death in Chinese is pronounced 死 (Sǐ) that's why the grandmother said it was an unlucky number because they sound practically the same, and all the aunties were also like that around the number , it's a very common superstition in East Asia and if I'm not mistaken even hotels and some places avoid writing the number 4 in the rooms.
This movie was a lot like Lilo and Stitch for me (in which when I stop and think about it I go ‘oh heck that’s deeep’) and I absolutely love it. Ntm this means a lot because I live very close to Toronto and the city is huge part of my life 🥺I’m not Chinese but I just adore the movie and it’s messages.
When I watched Encanto I was confused about the generational trauma going on until this movie clicked to me and applied to me since I am asian american and having a interesting family history.
I like when Mei is running over the roof tops as a red panda and then she untransforms under the red moon in slow motion. I did not like this film that much personally but I still feel like this film needed to be made.
Turning red was one awesome movie and you did one awesome theory
My favorite scene is the final battle at the dome. And Priya & the goth girl.
I thought the aunties were Mei's moms sisters, but I call my grandparents siblings "auntie and uncle" so I should have known haha
The Auntie squad are the Grandmother’s daughters and nieces which is why they all listen to her
The Auntie squad is actually half and half. Half of them are Grandma's nieces and the other half are Grandma's younger sisters. Ming has no siblings. Still they all listen to Grandma because it is their aunt for the half of the group and their older sister for the other half.
@@KL-ki8dbI thought that one auntie was Ming's sister and the other one was Ming's cousin😅
Honestly one of the best movie that I've seen in a long time, it made me feel something I've never felt before, and looking back on my upbringing, I never had something like Mei did, I didn't necessarily have overbearing parents, but perhaps in someway experienced some kind of generational trauma, but also not having the kind of true caring friends that Mei has, it's always been difficult for me to have such close friend relationships with anyone that I could depend on for help and support being so introverted, it felt like I didn't have that kind of support and friendship that I've always wanted.
My favorite part was when
She was in the bathroom trying to figure out why is she a giant red panda and she was screaming
wow disney is talking about generational trauma now
Tis the topic of the year, it seems!
Thanks for analyzing this. I think we need subjects like this to be talked about.
that's three films in a row about Generational Trauma
Oh turning red what a cute film with so much child hood trauma
And what if may is actually half yokai
Hmm… neither Ming nor Alma struck me as a narcissist, but Alma even less so. She was carrying the weight of protecting the entire town and had the very real and close fear of violence and death she thought she was protecting her family from by demanding perfection. Ming was just… trying to maintain a family image and not let her daughter grow up? Which yes, stemmed from generational trauma as the pressure had been passed down from her own mother, and probably well before that. But there wasn’t such an immediate feeling of “if my family doesn’t live up to this responsibility we may all die and the entire town with us” that Alma had, even if she was misinterpreting what the responsibility was.
10:20
Personally I think Turning Red handle Family Trauma subject a lot better than Encanto.
and I like that movie but it just last minute thing just ain’t gonna convince me that Abuela has redeemed herself
Mei’s family had enough time to show and imply the family trauma from Grandma telling how Ming hurt her which explains her scar
While Ming in her mind she regrets that so much
Bottom line I think Pixar Handles these Stuff more maturely than Disney ever can but that just me
After watching the movie I think the reason the panda shows up is because of repressed anger. As a form of natural defense when the body and mind becomes overwhelmed. I.e. Being emotionally constricted and obedient when she wants to be free and expressive. I think that Panda represents raw emotion that can get out of control if you give into too much but can also be a benefit when you can't control those emotions to an extent.
Family's honor... Where have I heard that before? Also I love red pandas, they're my favorite animal and I made a red panda character name Kunoichi *(Female ninja in Japanese)* , she's dressed like Toph, but she's blind in one eye.
P.S. Mei's grandmother is acting like a tiger parent.
Great explanation!
I'm pretty sure 4 is an unlucky number in many Eastern Asian cultures, to the point of not having the number 4 in elevators. It was the grandma being controlling, it was a cultural thing.
Bruh moment. Sounds pretty painful ngl.
I'm sure it didn't feel good!
@@TheFangirlWatches yep lmao.
Start of my life i did good i got affection but as i got older it didn't matter. My therapist said i was mentally abused and borderline physical.
Off topic, but I'm glad you agree that periods are a normal natural thing.
Because they are. And I totally agree.
0:23, congratulations Whitney Cummings.
I thought the aunties where the mom sisters not the grandmas sisters?
They are yea. Little mistake
@@rach3092 The group is actually weird in the mix. One half of them are the sisters of grandma, the older looking ones with Chinese names. The other half which look more younger and having western names are the respective daughters of each one. Ming has no siblings. The group was Ming's aunts and cousins.
This kinda reminds me of me and my mom's relationship
Could you do who is Tyler’s and Guillermo’s monsters please?
Wow I haven't seen this but I want to ‼️😅😂🤣
*Hey do you think mei can be soul 22 reincarnated?*
Lily is grandma wu granddaughter only chen and ping are her sisters
"The reason why Sun Yee turns into a Red Panda was unexplained."
It actually was explained!
"The reason why she passed it down to her daughters is also unexplained."
See above.
"She agrees with the Grandma about the number four because of the Grandma's disapproval".
No....it's because the number four is considered unlucky in Chinese culture."
She looks like a big mascot and is cute
The part with the pads thing is still not great for little kids to be exposed to that until they’re older. Like close to their teens. Anywhere younger than that is too young
Why is it not great? I got my period when I was 10, and it was such a secretive topic that I literally thought I was dying. How the body functions isn't a dirty secret to hide away, and it's only weird or awkward if we choose to make it that way.
As a man, I don't see anything wrong with discussing a natural occurrence that happens to about half the population. If anything, at least you'd be preparing them for when it happens so they don't panic when it does.
Its kinda funny tho, to me, this grandma did NOT seem like a threat as much as encanto's grandma.
Really loved this movie. Wasn't as good as Encanto, but I think this movie is important for young woman to watch!
You the boss
I made it to the end!
4 is a unlucky number in China
Mild comment about 3:26 - thats not a Granny thing, that's an East Asian culture thing. In a lot of EA languages, the number '4' sounds like words for 'death', so the number is associated with bad omens much like the number 13 in the west.
The auntie not wanting to give birth on the fourth most likely has nothing to do with the grandma's controlling behavior and had more to do with the *culture's* controlling behavior (and also most likely a genuine desire to not have their child be born under a bad omen which is like... a thing in the east.) See the related phenomenon of people *going at it like rabbits* during fire element years of the chicken or during years of the dragon in order to "bless" their kids with a better potential future.
I am honerd to be the first viewer
I appreciate you Jean! 💕
I made it to the end 😡😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬🤬