Turning Red
This animation movie was released from Disney Pixar in 2022 and it narrates the story of a thirteen-year-old girl named Mei Lee, who is constantly trying to fit her mum's expectations. She tries to balance school and family time while dealing with the changes of adolescence. One day when she wakes up, she finds out that whenever she gets overly excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.
Set in Toronto, the coming-of-age story explores themes commonly associated with adolescence, such as identity formation and family pressure.
Mei Lee is a dorky and confident girl who lives with her family, she has a secret passion for K-pop music, which she listens to in secret, as she is afraid of embarrassing her traditional family.
The transformation of Mei into a red panda is a metaphor for puberty, during which young girls begin to express their sexual and emotional identities. In this sense, the film explores themes related to the discovery of one's identity, such as anxiety and confusion that can accompany the process. Being a girl, going from childhood to becoming a teenager can be scary, especially when society has very high standards. This transition is very complicated and the movie highlights the internal insecurities and confusion that children experience when facing this huge change in their lives.
The film also addresses family pressure, a common theme in Chinese culture. Mei Lee's mother, Ming, is an important character in the film, who expresses traditional expectations for her daughter. When Mei transforms into a red panda, Ming tries to help her daughter to conceal her transformations, but in the end, she accepts and helps Mei understand the process of growth.
In fact this journey of entering teenagehood can be such a difficult moment for youths, where they require a lot of compassion and patience as they are dealing with their emotions being so dramatic and so overwhelming.
The film also addresses getting our periods, which society still makes us believe it’s a shame or that we shouldn't talk about it. Actually we should accept it instead, considering that it's a sign that our bodies are developing and changing, just like our brain during teenagehhod.
In conclusion, Turning Red is a moving animation that explores important themes related to adolescence and Chinese culture. The use of a red panda to represent Mei's transformation is a brilliant choice for its metaphorical power.
I wholeheartedly recommend this film for its celebration of cultural diversity and its exploration of identity during the challenging phase of puberty.
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III B LING
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