The Larger Conversation

 A common mantra of mine is that men are trash. The men we see on movie screens typically embody toxic masculinity, embedding themselves into the narrative as aggressive and aggressively misogynistic whether it's through their comments about women or their massively inflated egos. Toxic masculinity upholds this unique cultural ideal of masculinity: that men shouldn't openly express their feelings, that men shouldn't be vulnerable, that men should use physical violence to confront their problems, that men should be the breadwinners. 

So watching "Frozen II" was a pleasant surprise: as Jessica Mason writes in her article "Kristoff in Frozen 2 is a Paragon of Non-Toxic Masculinity," his character development — constructed through the performance of his own song, "Lost in the Woods," as well as his heartfelt interactions with Anna — is a powerful, impactful representation of a new masculinity that is vulnerable, authentic and feminist.

In the article, Mason applauds the vulnerability portrayed in Kristoff. He has a ballad, he supports — not controls — Anna, he asks, "What do you need?". In the end, she connects these instances to his larger journey as an individual character, as each character in "Frozen" and "Frozen 2" learns more about them through the franchise.

For me, "Lost in the Woods" is an insightful look into the new masculinity that "Frozen 2" offers. It's not often that men are open and vulnerable about their feelings: a study from Priory found that 40% of men don't talk about their mental health because "I've learnt to deal with it." That's also why the annual suicide rate among men is 3.5 times higher than that of women— mental health is an extremely taboo topic among men, and it follows this idea that we should bottle up our emotions. 

Growing up, a common phrase ingrained in my head was that "boys don't cry"— I was supposed to be a warrior, because emotions were feminine. To be lost in the woods, then, and to openly admit that you are lost in the woods, is a rejection of that "bottling up" that masculinity often entails. To admit that there is a problem, and sing about it — another thing considered to be more "feminine" or "gay" — is a tacit rejection of gender expectations.

My one qualm is that he performs this only in front of Sven. How differently would the song fare if he performed in front of other people, if he was even willing to perform? In many cases, it's not that men aren't vulnerable; it's that, on public display, they fear public judgement. 

The music video for "Lost in the Woods" seems to be a parody of the early 2000's music videos we all grew up watching. The scenes with Anna are super cheesy and the tone of the music is eerily similar to Justin Timberlake music. In this way, "Lost in the Woods" pokes fun at the desperate forms of toxic masculinity we've seen in those music videos.

Kristoff is, in no way, an exemplary man. One of the reasons I love the "Frozen" franchise is that each character embarks on their own journey of personal uprooting. His transformation from his first few scenes in "Frozen"— being slightly condescending towards Anna — to being open about his feelings is a one-of-a-kind masculinity that Disney hasn't explored much of yet.