By JADA LEMOS
Staff Writer
Disney’s newest animation film “Turning Red” is taking the world by storm with its representations of Asian cultures, and the deep-rooted meaning of living your own life. The protagonist, Meilin Lee, struggles to live her life the way she wants to, due to her somewhat oppressive mother. Throughout the movie, Meilin discovers her true self, with her best friends and family members supporting her the whole way.
Meilin Lee, a 13-year-old girl living in Canada, lives her life according to her mother’s rule. Together, their family works to attract tourists to a glorious temple that worships the cute and fluffy red panda. As the movie digresses, Meilin finds her mother’s ways overbearing and stressful. The overwhelming emotions get to her, and she turns herself into a giant red panda.
It is revealed that the Lee family has a history of worshiping red pandas that goes way deeper than the temple itself. Her mother tells her that this type of “problem” only happens to the women in their family and that this even happened to her. The family considered this a rite of passage, and that it goes away after a ritual is set.
In her school, Meilin accidentally sets off her red panda in class
and gains the attraction of everyone there. Her best friends, Miriam, Priya, and Abby, decide to exploit her in a way in order to acquire enough money for a concert. They sold pictures of the panda, stuffed red panda toys, and all sorts of goods, and eventually made enough money.
During the supposed ritual, Meilin truly finds herself and doesn’t want to banish the red panda in her, so she goes to the concert with her friends instead. Her mother, on the other hand, is furious with her daughter for not doing as she says, and turns herself into a panda out of anger. Their concert was almost completely ruined until Meilin’s grandmother and aunts performed the ritual to get rid of all the pandas.
In this ritual, Meilin and her mother finally open up to each other about why they did the things they did and come to an understanding. Meilin apologizes for not being her mother’s “desired” child but will continue to do her own thing. Her mother apologizes for being very oppressive towards her and tries to stop being harsh with her.
If this movie taught me anything, it taught me that sometimes it’s okay to do things your parents wouldn’t do. That’s a part of life. Finding and living your own life is more important than doing every little thing your parents want you to do. Honoring your parents is great, but if you take things too far, you just might lose yourself.
