The Enchanting Encanto: On Breaking Generational Traumas By: Mikaela Anne A. Laxa and Samantha Cheyenne Gail D. Pagunuran
Encanto, the newest Disney animated movie, gave more than just a last song syndrome and entertainment for kids and kids at heart. It somehow reminded us of all of our families' strengths and weaknesses and how they affect our happiness, growth, and relationships with other people.
Their family dynamic portrayed how trauma can be passed down from one generation to another in seemingly harmless ways, when the truth is the younger generation often takes the brunt of it. As a mother figure, Julieta showed that parents can unlearn what they have been familiar with for the sake of their children’s well-being, and that it is never too late to correct errors made.
that Camilo feels unnecessary pressure to make the townspeople happy. The trauma responses in the two generations can actually be traced back to Abuela. On the night they were given a miracle, her husband died, leaving her to take care of the newborn triplets alone, along with leading the town. She never had a proper time to grieve because of her crucial role within the Encanto, and of her crippling fear of losing their home again, anything remotely negative within the family gets ignored.
Uncovering realities we are all not ready to acknowledge and When she’s unhappy, well, the resolve, the movie highlighted temperature gets weird Madrigals’ extended family, slowly showing the conflicts within their Being able to affect the weather casita. and temperature around the Encanto, Pepa Madrigal’s life Truth is, she can heal you experiences provided a sure-fire way with a meal to develop emotional repression and the tendency to always please the Assuming the responsibilities of people around her–two of the most being a chef, healer, and mother, common trauma responses. Julieta Madrigal developed the tendency to be over-responsible. Her Never allowed to be upset causes two older daughters, Isabela and a hurricane, never allowed to worry Luisa, took after their mother in the causes a typhoon, Pepa eventually way daughters naturally do. passed her trauma response to her two children–Dolores and Camilo. As the eldest daughter, Isabela Dolores never spoke of what she felt disregarded her happiness for the for Mariano. She went along with the Madrigals’. Striving to be perfect and family’s plans, learning from her doing what is best for the family mother that they are not allowed to seem to be a trait of eldest be upset no matter the situation. daughters. Similarly, Luisa working without rest is evidently a trait she Similarly, Camilo is canonically a ripped straight from her mother’s people pleaser, who prides himself book. on making people laugh. As the line in the Family Madrigal song goes, Everything seemed to have “My primo Camilo won’t stop until he changed when Mirabel came into the makes you smile today,” evidence family and received no gifts. Julieta
This is an important factor in debunking generational trauma within the movie. It showed how the problem that children feel can probably be traced back to previous generations who may have consciously or unconsciously passed down their personal traumas to their children.
families– especially of the common Filipino households– when it is supposedly a beautiful value of reciprocity.
Additionally, Abanes believes that parents providing for the needs of their children is a basic common decency and a virtue of parenthood. “Our parents chose to have us in the first place, and that is what they signed up for once they decided to raise a child,” she furthered.
The Breadwinner Filling of the Sandwich Generation By Jemina Eunice G. De Leon & Angelic Mizpah Chaste C. Bulanhagui
Change has always been humankind’s steep hill on the path of progression. For Filipinos, it involves making choices with traditional, social, and moral ties of no small measure– keeping the culture of the sandwich generation well and alive today. Caught in between aging parents and growing children, middle-aged adults’ responsibility of providing physical and financial support continues to be a reality for the majority of Filipinos in the name of utang na loob— touching on a sense of kinsmanship and of gratefulness that does not diminish with returning the favor, effectively binding one to whom they owe this debt to.
An Unspoken Rule Utang na loob is not necessarily a bad thing. According to a study by Angelo Gundran, et. al. of Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Manila, it is a self-imposed obligation that seeks to sustain, strengthen, and honor relationships as a sign of respect. It does, however, feed the sandwich generation too big a bite to chew and leave them bending over backward to sustain their
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can be seen throughout the movie assuring Mirabel she didn’t need to prove anything to be considered a part of the family. She made sure to let her children feel as if they need to give their all into serving the town.
The problem lies in the negative emotions that may arise as the burden becomes too heavy to bear, as well as its socio-economic consequences due to wages that are inadequate to sustain more than just the nuclear family unit.
They say he saw the future, one day he disappeared Bruno, the only son of Abuela, has the gift of prophecy that frightens his family and community. He became the black sheep of the Madrigals that resulted in his disappearance.“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” reveals how families avoid confrontations and choose to distance themselves from relatives who are different–always leading to feeling not good enough. There will always be expectations from you that feel so unreachable while obligating you to hide your true self. Plus, few have also been in the shoes of Mirabel–having no gift, being compared with the rest of the family, and constantly
looking for ways to make them proud. Casa Madrigal breaking in Mirabel’s eyes represents the effects of not appreciating relatives for what they are. Abuela blamed Mirabel for everything–increasing cracks, Bruno leaving, Luisa losing power, and Isabel being out of control. Sometimes, the thoughts following these treatments bring out the best in us yet also increase emotional damage. To fix our home and ourselves, we must have the courage to seek help, just like when Mirabel went to Bruno. Despite our mistakes or shortcomings, truth, acceptance, and forgiveness are essential to a harmonious familial relationship. Just like Abuela said, “The miracle is you, not some gift, just you.”
Each family member of the Madrigals was a victim of circumstances as they did everything to protect their family’s welfare. May this movie remind you that it is never too late to break your family’s generational traumas. Even if family is vital in your lives, you are free to choose what is best and healthy for you and to fix what is broken. dynamic, Abanes was able to observe the good side of it all, saying “it avoids the occurrences of isolation, especially in this time wherein we are stuck in our home.” In her eyes, her parents made the choice to take care of two generations of their family because, ultimately, the Filipino familial ties make all members of the family stronger despite challenges. “As a first-time parent [with me], they needed the guidance of their parents,” she shared. It was simply the way of the Filipinos.
This raises concern towards parents, especially single mothers, who had not planned for bringing up children beforehand– as Excelsa Yet inasmuch as it is a burden, Tongson of the University of the most Filipinos think of it as nothing Philippines had found. more than a duty to family– the Over a period of 20 years, from carrying on of customary familial attitude as those before them have 1990 to 2010, the country has seen an Sandwich generation is a done. The burnout breadwinners may increase of females in the sandwich common dynamic, especially in feel has not stopped most from generation as household heads with the Philippines. It causes or without partners. Despite the giving their life and blood into work. differences in circumstance, there is a financial stress to the parent as need for both– and for all members they happen to serve two The Financial Impact of the sandwich generation– to be masters. This constitutes the fact Parents who chose to live with this recognized as persons in need of that while sandwich generation dynamic are in a financial crunch support. However, at this time, even promotes togetherness in a between caring for their children and rigorous discourse is welcome. family, it squeezes the parent their aging parents. But they are not with problems of finance and the only ones who can feel this Squeezed in the Middle emotions that can also affect impact; the children are experiencing both sides of the bread. In the Philippines, the situation is this as well. much more dire with the covering Dayne Abanes, a 4th-year Medical up of this issue under the pretext of Technology student, is a child of this cultural obligations, so much so that dynamic. According to her, the idea there is a non-availability of about this group– of repaying her parents’ sacrifices information would be rewarding but if she were to effectively allowing them to go bear children, she would make sure unnoticed and unsupported. that her kids do not feel like they owe Despite the negative repercussions her anything. wrought by the sandwich generation
