How <em>Encanto</em> Explains America

In Disney’s latest blockbuster, Encanto, a magical family called the Madrigals have escaped the violence and chaos of their homeland by crossing a river into an enchanted paradise that endows each with wondrous gifts that they use to protect and enhance their community. As the generations go by, however, the magic of the new world starts to fade and the family buckles under the pressure of their responsibilities while struggling to maintain the illusion that everything is fine. One grandchild, we learn, has no gift at all; another worries that she cannot keep up the appearance of perfection that is crushing her from the inside out; while another, still, panics that she is losing her superhuman strength. Luisa, the strong one, sings out her fears:

Under the surface;

I hide my nerves and it worsens;

I worry something is gonna hurt us;

Under the surface

The ship doesn’t swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is;

Under the surface I think about my purpose;

Can I somehow preserve this?

Now, two years of pandemic parenting might be playing with my mind, but I think the writers of are trying to tell us something here. Having watched