Encanto Series Part One: "Surface Pressure"

First thing first: I am obsessed with Encanto. I feel like it really resonates with individuals who are so used to hiding everything under the surface, explores generational trauma, and how that impacts each individual family members. Love it, love it, love it.

I want to kick this series off, as I dive in on some of the things that I have noticed in the movie. For those who have not seen it, this is your spoiler warning regarding the wonderful contents of this beautiful movie.

What People See

Luisa Madrigal, the middle daughter of Juileta and Augustin, is gifted with strength; she utilizes her gift to help her family carry/move the heavy objects, buildings, animals, and the concerns of the family and the community. This is her role; she does it without complaints, concerns, or any physical/emotional signs of distress. You give her a hard and heavy job (figuratively and literally) and she will handle this without concern.

“I’m the strong one, I’m not nervous
I’m as tough as the crust of the earth is.”

Perhaps you can relate to being Luisa. Perhaps you were the “strong” one in the family that had to carry the weight of the family’s problems, in addition to your own problems, to yourself without showing any signs of vulnerability. This role in the family and in relationships does not allow for true intimacy because what is valued is that stoic strength to hand all problems thrown.

This might also look like the person in the work or educational setting who is having to take care or do damage control on projects and assignments. It is not enough to just do the job, but it is their responsibility to make sure that everything is going smoothly, regardless of if that’s their official role.

”I take what I’m handed, I break what’s demanding”

But What’s Really Happening?

“Under the the surface
I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service.”

”Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that’ll never stop, whoa”

It’s unrealistic and unfair to have to hold such high expectations of no vulnerability all the time. It is a lonely experience to be valued for strength alone; no one is strong all the time. One of the things I mention in therapy a lot is that even the strongest person (think weightlifters) cannot carry something heavy for a long time. The accomplishment is to lift the weight, not carry it infinitely. However, this may be something that you expect yourself to do.

You may have the expectations that you can “handle it all” regardless of the amount of pressure to make sure that you do not allow any “cracks” to be seen. This type of belief and behavior contributes to only valuing yourself conditionally: “I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service.”

How many times have you determined your value based on how you can help your friends, families, or colleagues? And what happens when you falter? When you make a mistake or let someone down?

I imagine that it must be pretty painful and can lead you to a loud and negative spiral of thoughts and intense emotions that’s difficult to cope with. I also imagine that these are experiences that you try to shove away while you focus on the next thing you can take care of. It is exhausting having to maintain this appearance of being strong.

Maintaining an appearance of strength all the time isn’t even sustainable. For instance, think of Luisa after she discloses the pressure she feels to Mirabel; she cries frequently throughout the rest of the movie. This is similar to a pressure cooker: the container will continue to hold in pressure, but if a valve is not turned to release some of it, it will explode. Luisa wasn’t able to cope with her feelings of weakness and she had waves of intense and uncomfortable emotions. Almost outside of her control.

Have you ever had a moment where it felt too much and you had a hard time coping?

“But wait, If I could shake this crushing weight of expectations”

The awesome thing is it is possible to be able to get the relief to letting go of high expectations. For many, it feels impossible to experience this because there is a fear that everything will fall apart if you let yourself take care of yourself for a whole second. It feels as if only you can keep things running.

But the fact is, for many situations, you can take a break and the whole world will not crumble around you. The world will continue to orbit the sun even if you let yourself be vulnerable with yourself or your trusted others. It can be scary and intense, especially if you do not have practice being open, transparent, and authentic, AND it can also bring your sustainable relief.

Once Luisa was able to let down her guard, she was able to feel more grounded in her feelings. It’s okay of her to cry and it doesn’t take away from her strength.

Were you someone who resonated with this character and it what ways?