The Disney musical/movie Tangled is an excellent example of how trauma affects us. In the film, Mother Gothel steals Rapunzel from her parents, the King and Queen, when she was young and has been keeping her up in a town, hidden from the outside world, ever since using Rapunzel’s magical hair to keep her youthful. Today we are going to focus on two specific scenes: the “Mother Knows Best” song and when Rapunzel realizes she is a princess. In “Mother Knows Best” Rapunzel’s mother, Gothel, tells her how weak Rapunzel is and that she would not survive on her own out in the world. This musical number is gaslighting and guilt-tripping at its finest. Gothel is trying to scare Rapunzel into never leaving the tower. One line reads “Let me die alone here, be my guest” (Murphy 2020). Being gaslighted by her mother and stolen at birth are some of the traumas that Rapunzel faces in her life. Trauma can cause confusion from constantly being in a fight-or-flight state of mind. That is why Rapunzel is not able to put the pieces together of the lost princess during the movie. Thus, whenever she does have some calm time at the end of the movie to reflect, she finally realizes who she truly is. Identity is shaped by many experiences, and some are not always positive. While trauma may not be what we like to focus on, it is a part of us. Every decision we make is based on prior trauma or lack thereof. Because Rapunzel was stolen and trapped in a tower her whole life, she did not know much about the world or how it worked but decided to run away from Gothel to learn more. That is part of her identity.
Works Cited
Donna Murphy. 2015. “Mother Knows Best.” Burbank: DisneyMusicVevo. YouTube. Donna Murphy – Mother Knows Best (From “Tangled”/Sing-Along) – Bing video.
Disney. 2017. “Disney’s Tangled: Rapunzel Realizes She’s the Lost Princess.” Disney Movie Geek. YouTube. Disney’s Tangled: Rapunzel Realizes She’s the Lost Princess – Bing video.