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noperopesaredope · 1 year

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The Encanto Neurodivergent Discourse: A Retrospective (Kinda)

So I was thinking back on the Encanto neurodivergent discourse that occurred after the movie came out, and I realized that there was a huge misunderstanding between the two sides that caused the main part of the discourse. So I decided to do a small retrospective type thing on this discourse, my opinions, and where each side went wrong/misunderstood the other’s argument.

So, first let’s start with the elephant in the room: Bruno. If you’ve seen some of my posts on this topic, you know where I stood/stand. Of course, my opinions have slightly altered to become more neutral (or at least softer) on this particular point, but I would still like to explain and unpack where each side went wrong here.

In my personal experience, the reason that multiple neurodivergent people believe/believed that Bruno is neurodivergent isn’t because of his superstitions, but because of multiple of his other mannerisms, as well as how it ties to one of the themes of the movie, or at least what he represents in terms of the main theme. I originally thought to myself, “oh my god, this bitch be autistic,” not when he started doing the rituals, but actually when he was first introduced and how he spoke to Mirabel. He stared at her for a few seconds before abruptly saying “bye,” and brushing past her. I (and others) have actually done this in real life, sometimes mid conversation.

His speaking mannerisms are also very familiar, with the way he rambles and how his phrases things, as well as how his sentence structures flow. And when he was explaining stuff about his visions, we realize that many of the visions mentioned in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” were likely just regular predictions, showing that he is likely very blunt. The wedding incident, as he explained, was mainly just him not at all reading the room or knowing how to properly comfort his sister. This is common for people with things like autism, and likely other neurodivergent things that affect socializing. It’s less about the rituals, and more about the socialization style.

Now onto to talking about how OCD works and why Bruno’s rituals are seen as parts of OCD. I myself have OCD (very mild in terms of most rituals, but very intense in terms of intrusive thoughts, so highly stressful) and a good understanding of the disorder, so I believe I can add my two cents in a credible manner.

OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is a neurological condition in which an individual will experience unwanted, excessing, persistent, recurring thoughts that will cause the person to engage in repetitive behaviors in order to diminish the amount/intensity of the thoughts.

The reason people felt that Bruno likely had OCD was not really because of the rituals themselves, but how often Bruno did them and when.

Most people would perform good luck rituals if they saw a sign that something bad was going to happen. For example, breaking a mirror is bad luck, so it would be reasonable to do something that would ward off that bad luck. You could also do such rituals if you needed extra good luck for something, like an important test. I myself do this sometimes (I’m not superstitious, but I’m also kinda superstitious), and it has nothing to do with my OCD.

But Bruno doesn’t seem to just do it when bad luck comes around, or when he needs good luck. He seems to do it a lot more excessively than most people, and it seems that he believes that there is always bad luck in the air. He seems to be doing these rituals repetitively.

And I honestly think that, because his rituals originate from his culture, it makes for better representation. You see, OCD rituals typically aren’t completely random. While things like counting tiles can be “random” rituals, the most likely way OCD will manifest is tied to the nature of some of the intrusive thoughts, as well as some of the individual’s other fears. Their rituals will then often be tied to something familiar or even something comforting. While this is not always the case, it can be. For example, say someone has OCD, and a majority of their intrusive thoughts revolve around germs. This may cause them to persistently clean their hands, and they will do this repetitively, even when they have no reasonable reason to believe that they are “contaminated.”

In Bruno’s case, his thoughts most likely seem to be that he is bad luck, causes bad luck, or bad luck is at every turn. These thoughts are likely constant and persistent, so he feels a consistent need to ward off bad luck. This is why he will perform rituals known to cause good luck and ward off bad luck, just like washing your hands will make germs go away. That’s why I think he has OCD.

It also adds to his theme in the movie, which a lot of neurodivergent people can relate to: being an outcast in the family, the one who acts strangely, the one who seems to be “embarrassing” to the family, the one that no one talks about (or they talk too much about). I have family members who can relate to this, because though we have multiple autistic folks in the extended family tree, not many in said tree seem to fully understand what it is like to be on the spectrum or generally neurodivergent. I see multiple of my family members who are like Bruno in that specific way, and it kinda made me cry.

So it makes a lot of sense why people would view him that way.

But here’s where things went wrong. First, many neurodivergent people got so excited about the prospect of having good representation, they got a bit carried away, and, from what I’ve heard, started saying that the movie was about neurodivergent representation, or they completely ignored the Colombian representation. This was obviously very irritating to many Colombians, as this movie was very significant in terms of Colombian representation, and to ignore that was insulting.

When some Colombians started telling people that these rituals were actually a part of Colombian culture, a small, yet significant miscommunication/error occurred. Some of the more (I’m assuming) neurotypical Colombians seemed to assume that those headcanoning Bruno as neurodivergent were basing it solely on his rituals. From that assumption rose a (pretty reasonable) assumption that others saw Colombian superstitions as a whole as solely an OCD ritual rather than a cultural one.

However, though these superstitions originated from Colombia (and I’m assuming other Latin American countries?), they are not unfamiliar to other countries and cultures. Even the least-Latino people I know were familiar with knocking on wood, crossing your fingers, or throwing salt over your shoulder for good luck. Many of them did it themselves. So I’m pretty sure that most people making the headcanons didn’t see the rituals as “exotic” or “strange”, but it is perfectly reasonable to assume that they did.

A lot of non-Latino and non-Colombian folks were not completely familiar with Colombian culture or some little details they added to the film, and people who aren’t familiar with certain cultures tend to do that, which is frustrating. And there were definitely quite a lot of people in the fanbase who were constantly ignoring and brushing aside the Colombian aspects of the film.

But instead of trying to clear this matter up and explain why many neurodivergent people saw Bruno’s rituals as OCD rituals, most people immediately jumped to a defensive position, and became dismissive of their concerns over how people were portraying Colombian culture and even ignoring very valid points on how people were brushing over the importance of cultural representation in the film, because whether you like it or not, I will say that the primary representation in the film was cultural.

So many Colombians ended up feeling frustrated, because instead of having a proper conversation about how to interpret this part of Bruno’s character and see why people are perceiving him that way, many Colombian voices and concerns were drowned out, ignored, or even dismissed. Some people even dismissed Colombian culture entirely, and I remember seeing a few people basically say that those rituals weren’t actually a part of Colombian culture, which is a horrible thing to do/say.

The aggressive backlash to the points on cultural representation caused a responsive backlash from particularly frustrated Colombian voices. Though the loudest voices were likely the minority, they still had a strong negative impact. The loudest and most extreme voices essentially began dismissing neurodivergent voices, and even made some very ableist comments. This particular backlash (at least in many of the circles I was in) eventually began drowning out neurodivergent voices who were more willing to explain their stance, which caused its own wave of frustration, etc.

That was the main issue with that particular discourse.

Now for Dolores, that is a whole other story. From what I could find, the main (and lowkey only?) reason that people believed Dolores is neurodivergent is because of her “hm!” that she makes throughout the movie. Some say that this is a tic, others that this is a stim. I think some of us jumped to that conclusion way too quickly. Multiple Colombians explained that that is actually a cultural thing, something that many people do quite often. And they are likely right that this is not a sign of Dolores being neurodivergent. First off, she only makes this noise during very specific moments. If you replaced the sound with “huh!” or even “oh well!��, it wouldn’t feel that out of place.

It is a response to situations, and specifically when she ends certain statements. So it is less random than a tic. She also never really uses it as a self soothing mechanism or a way to express certain emotions, which is what stims are mainly for. So we can likely rule out stimming. So it is perfectly reasonable for many Colombian folks to be frustrated about this, because it takes one trait and turns it into something else rather than a cultural element.

I think the reason some people may have jumped to the conclusion that it was a stim is because it is actually a very soothing sound that actually became a minor stim for me after I heard it. I don’t quite “copy” some people’s stims, but I may see/hear one, think it looks calming, do the thing, and then it becomes something that evolves into a stim. This is likely the reason that people thought that Dolores is neurodivergent: because they have/like that particular potential stim (or tic).

Doesn’t really make it any better though, and it is probably pretty annoying to those who know that it’s most likely not a stim or tic in Dolores’ case. Especially since some neurodivergent folks were dismissing Colombian culture in the Bruno discourse, and it gets really frustrating and annoying after a while (or even the second it happens). Having every aspect of one’s culture be labelled as something else is uncomfortable, especially when (I assume) many of the people making these headcanons were White Americans who know nothing about Colombia or even Latin America.

So that is where the neurodivergent side of the discourse were the most in the wrong.

For little things like Neurodivergent Mirabel headcanons? Eh, they seem to be more obscure and are truly just headcanons. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone try to actively prove that she or any other characters are neurodivergent, it’s more just a basic neurodivergent headcanon like any other.

I won’t even get into what went wrong with the “Lesbian Isabella” discourse (especially since I didn’t really pay attention to that one, and this post is about the neurodivergent discourse), but all I’ll say on that is that Colombian lesbians should probably be the ones to decide whether or not we should write Lesbian Isabella stuff. I personally think it can be harmless to portray a character as queer whether they are actually queer or not in canon, but for cases like Encanto, which takes place in a specific country with a specific culture, I think we should always consider what it is like to be queer in that specific country and culture. Not every queer community across the world is going to be the same, and we need to respect that. A queer Colombian will have a very different experience from a, for example, queer American.

This can honestly apply to all the discourse. The main reason I like the idea of Bruno being neurodivergent is because, as I said in a poem I wrote here on Tumblr, I have an autistic Colombian American older cousin, and her heritage affects her experience with that part of her identity. Most autistic portrayals we see in the media are from a White (and non-Hispanic) lens, and most of the time, they’re not even that good! So for a Colombian person to be seen in that way is amazing. But that type of representation is mainly for those whose intersectionality is never represented. We need to show and respect that intersectionality as much as possible, and should be careful with how we portray someone with that type of intersectional experience.

But enough on that. If you’re reading this part, thank you for reading this giant post analyzing and explaining this specific subject. I hope you enjoyed, and please add your thoughts in the replies and reblogs!

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shrewstew · 1 year

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MORE Encanto Headcannons because they’re fun

- Bruno is super quiet when walking around, he’s the kinda guy to walk on his toes, he often jumpscares his sisters by accidentally sneaking up on them

- Casita has an umbrella in every room for whenever Pepa is unhappy, and emergency food kits for Julieta

- While he usually avoids touch, Bruno occasionally needs a tight hug from Luisa or Felix… and then Julieta’s food to heal his broken ribs❤️

- The rebuilt Casita kept the walls, but they are more of a quiet hangout spot rather than a dungeon of self-isolation

- Isabella decided to grow a corpse plant in her room, so now her room smells like shit, also there’s so much cacti, it would be impossible to go through her room without getting pricked.

- FINE 🙄 Dolores gets a sound-proof room, BUT ONLY AFTER the events of the movie, since Abuela is being more considerate of the others’ gifts

- Before she did tho, she would hang out in her parents’ room if things got too loud for her

- Isabella has a really ugly laugh, she snorts, and keels over, and it’s awfully contagious

- Dolores and Mirabel used to give makeovers to Camilo, they stopped when they got older, and Cami misses them 😔

- The rats taught Antonio swear words, and the entire family went into a frenzy when he dropped his first f-bomb

- Since Bruno sleeps in a hammock, it’s not too uncommon for him to have a vision while he sleeps, only to be abruptly woken up to a vision tablet shattering on the floor

- Luisa is not allowed to have stress balls anymore. No explanation needed.

- Mirabel does sewing commissions for the town, and Isa makes bouquet arrangements

- Bruno doesn’t dislike Mariano by any means, but he thinks he’s corny asf and his poetry is boring

- Aro/ace Bruno because I said so sorry!! :/ (fun fact, the flags in my pfp are made from his color palette)

(Part 1)

#dolores madrigal #mirabel madrigal #isabella madrigal #bruno madrigal #agustin madrigal #camilo madrigal #pepa madrigal #abuela madrigal #alma madrigal #encanto #encanto headcannon #antonio madrigal #luisa madrigal #felix madrigal #neurodivergent bruno #mariano guzman

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thisstableground · 1 year

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Hi, I'm curious about something and you're like the one person I know who knows both characters so what would a meeting between Usnavi and Bruno be like? Just wondering

(this is broadway usnavi btw, i haven’t seen the movie)

okay! so, i actually think that bruno and usnavi have way more in common than you’d think just from a quck glance.

usnavi is clearly deeply loved by his community, whereas bruno is shunned by his, but (at least before usnavi’s character arc in the show) both of them feel on the outside of things. it’s probably not a coincidence that usnavi’s the only one breaking the fourth wall in ITH. he’s really no more the main character than, say, nina, but he is the one who chats with the audience directly, and i think that reflects the fact that he feels, like the audience, that he’s watching everyone else’s lives rather than participating himself. the world spins around while i'm frozen to my seat. and isn’t that so similar to bruno, sitting isolated in his room, watching visions of everyone else’s lives but never getting out himself, or putting on his rat plays in his space behind the wall? they both view themselves more in the role of narrator or observer, not a character with their own arc.

it’s obviously got a different vibe. i don’t think usnavi realises quite to what extent he’s loved by the people around him (he seems absolutely baffled by sonny and vanessa being upset about him leaving) but he definitely does not feel unloved. i think bruno also doesn’t realise how loved he is, but in his case he also has very good reasons to feel unloved, and is much less welcomed by the wider community (though perhaps when he was younger, this was different). and i definitely get the impression that usnavi’s relationship with his parents was an affectionate one, not a fraught one like bruno’s.

but there is that sense, for both of them, of having lost the thread of their individual identity under all the pressure of legacy and lost parents and their role and duty to their community. and both of them are stuck. they're living a life that isn't where they want it to be, there are things they want and relationships they crave but they can't move out of the place they're trapped in. there is also the sense that some part of is their own subconscious doing.

i always interpret usnavi’s as a result of anxiety that largely comes from losing his parents, a past that he can't change but wishes he could: what if he makes a wrong choice and something else bad happens, what if he loses someone else or loses his memory of his parents? better keep things exactly the same, to be safe. and bruno's as a result of seeing futures that he can't change but wishes he could, and what if he is cursed? what if he is the reason things go wrong? better knock on wood, hold your breath, spin in a circle, to be safe. when your life throws you a pain that you can't control, you create a routine that you can control, even if it eventually takes over and controls you.

usnavi's goal for a long time is to go back to the dominican republic, apparently, but until abuela claudia wins the lotto it really doesn’t look like he’s got any intention of taking steps towards that. and bruno is very similar - doesn’t actually manage to run away, because he’s too connected to his home and his family, but he doesn’t know how to change things so he just hides, stays the same, watches everything else grow and change without him. i’d bet that usnavi and bruno have had similar thoughts so many times of like “oh i’ll ask vanessa out, i'll sell the store, i'll move to DR. one day. probably. not yet.” and “i’ll talk to my sisters, i'll leave the encanto properly, i'll go outside. at some point. probably. not yet.”

and part of that pressure is external circumstances, but part of it is self-imposed, as a defense mechanism. if you lose yourself in your work or your duty to that extent, if you hide behind the things that are honest about it, then you always have an excuse to tell yourself for the rest. someone does always need coffee or a vision or a stable job or to be protected, that's true, so you can pretend that you're putting that big plan off because you're just too busy with all that other stuff, not because you're scared to do it. stay in the store. stay behind the walls. part of it is kindness, or duty, or practicality, yes. part of it is fear.

oh and speaking of abuelas! (though, again with a very different vibe depending who we're talking abut) i think both of them are very led by their love and respect for the respective maternal figures in their lives, but that this clouds their own desires/goals. claudia says to her own mama, "i spent my life inheriting dreams from you", and i think that without meaning to, the same happens with her and usnavi about moving to the dominican republic. as soon as it was him making the choice alone, he realised that it wasn’t what he wanted. i think there’s always some part of him that does want that a little, i doubt claudia picked that up from nothing, but it’s possible that she read usnavi's vague ideas of going to DR more strongly through her own experience of missing where her family came from, the part of her that regrets not going back to cuba, and didn’t recognise that the indecision probably meant part of usnavi felt it wasn't right for him.

and that’s so similar for alma, though it's much more harsh and hurtful in this instance: she parents her children and grandchildren based on her own history and regret and fear and wishes. she wants a safe place to hide, she wants outsiders not to find them or cause them harm: bruno lives up to that and then some when he goes into the walls. and he convinces himself it's the best choice for himself and for the family, but it isn’t. they probably don’t even realise that it’s something he learned from her example.

neither claudia nor alma mean any harm by this, they try their best, and they sacrifice for it: alma locks away her own grief and her trauma to build a whole community from the ground. claudia could use her lotto money to go back to la vibora after days into weeks into years away from home, but it’s puerto plata that they’re getting a plane ticket for, usnavi's island, not hers. they’re both misguided, their own pasts biasing their perception, but they do love their kids.

anyway!! you asked what it'd be like if they met, not for a list of things they have in common or for an extensive meta about abuelas. tough shit i guess you got that too.

so. i think that usnavi may see the similarities between himself and bruno, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who dislikes people who he can see his own flaws/insecurities in. if anything it just makes him reach out to them more. i think he would want to help. he’s been scared and lonely and saddled with too much responsibility from too young an age and felt like he lost everything before, too, but he’s doing so much better now, and he'd want to extend that hope to anyone else who is struggling similarly. and what bruno needs more than anything is to be shown kindness and acceptance, both things that usnavi can very easily give. i also think usnavi has absolutely no concept of people being weird, he’s extroverted and makes friends easily but he’s not exactly Mr Social Cues himself. bruno could say the most absolute batshit thing you’ve ever heard and usnavi would just be like “lmao yeah i get u :)))"

bruno, on the other hand, probably would struggle to like someone who he felt was too much like himself, but i don’t think he’d see usnavi that way. someone who has struggles, fears, insecurities that bruno does relate to, but who unlike bruno is also bubbly and bouncy and chatty, and who is trying so, so hard all the time to be positive (even when it would be healthier to let themselves feel angry, or sad, or hurt, even when it's blatantly obvious that they are feeling those things), someone who helps other people when they're in the middle of their own crisis and who thinks of themselves as just a totally unremarkable, ordinary, nothing-special person because they don’t see the way that everyone gravitates towards their warmth and kindness. he’s not going to see himself in usnavi. he’s going to see mirabel.

they’d get along great.

#character: usnavi #character: bruno #fandom: in the heights #fandom: encanto #ended up just character analysis instead of what a meeting would be like sorry #the meeting would be a lot of coffee and conversations with 20 different tangents that neither of them are quite following #but theyre having a nice time. neurodivergent solidarity #usnavi would love the rat telenovelas #mirabel and usnavi would also get on so well #this does however increase the risk of sonny and camilo meeting and i think that would be hell for everyone else #edit: i just realised too that i think the way i characterise my versions of usnavi's parents #have kind of a julieta and agustín vibe #usnavi should hang out with the madrigals i think he'd have a lovely time

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kai-kat · 2 years

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big ass reminder i have an encanto discord so if you're scared that the fandom is dying we are here :)

- this is a safe space for queer and neurodivergent people, plenty of us here

- all ages welcome just don't be weird

- if you're looking for a little comfortable server with nice supportive people and friendship this is your place!

- lots of oc and self insert action

#discord #encanto #mirabel madrigal #isabela madrigal #luisa madrigal #agustín madrigal #julieta madrigal #camilo madrigal #dolores madrigal #antonio madrigal #félix madrigal #pepa madrigal #alma madrigal #bruno madrigal #lgbtq+#neurodivergent #oc #self insert

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threeawfulfruits · 2 years

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I’m VERY predictable when it comes to favorite characters, I know this

But just now I made a realization: on top of everything else he had going for him as a Fated Blorbo, Bruno also very much has a “Boo Radley” vibe

And I’m nothing if not a SUCKER for the Boo Radley character type 😂😂😂

#‘hey boo’#harmless sweethearts who have developed a Bad or Scary reputation due to the malice of rumor and/or benign neurodivergency??? SIGN ME TF UP #encanto #bruno madrigal #to kill a mockingbird #great book for its time #too bad Lee Harper outed herself with the sequel #🙄🙄🙄#crossover with camilo and mirabel as Jem and Scout when???#or alternatively the town kids #that scene where they discover the boogeyman isn’t anything like the stories is one of my favorite scenes in any book ever tbh

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foggyfanfic · 11 months

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Neurodivergent Madrigals

So in the tags of my first headcanon list @omgcheez mentioned neurodivergent headcanons for the canon characters, and it got me thinking. I don't know if I would call all of these headcanons, most of them are my interpretations of canon, or theories I have, but that's close enough.

Bruno- Dude has OCD, they put it in the script, the creators said he’s based off of ND family members, it’s canon. Dude may have autism too, I am largely apathetic to that reading of his character. I neither like nor dislike it. I think it works for him but his character also works without autism. I do headcanon that he comes out of the walls with back problems that not even Julieta can fix, that will make him bed ridden in the last year of his life.

Alma- The whole movie is kind of contingent on her PTSD. Like, she watched her husband get murdered right in front of her and it changed her. It would be really weird to be like “Yeah, sure, her trauma changed her forever, but it didn’t alter her brain chemistry or anything!” So yeah, Alma has PTSD.

Pepa- I don’t know a lot about anxiety disorders, so this theory is one grain of salt away from being canon to me. Is it still an anxiety disorder if the thing making you anxious is the ever looming threat you might summon a hurricane? Or is that just perfectly normal, non-disordered anxiety? Either way, the woman is constantly anxious, so depending on the definition of Anxiety Disorder, she probably has one.

Antonio- This is in that nebulous space between “an idea the writers had” and “something that wasn’t in the movie”. It’s not technically canon, but it’s a little more than a fan theory. He was originally supposed to be non-verbal, so unless the plan was for him to be straight up mute, I think it’s pretty safe to read him as autistic. Although mute Antonio would have been interesting too.

Luisa- This is on the line between fan theory and headcanon. Her people pleasing tendencies scream anxiety disorder to me, especially considering the way she melts down when she feels like she’s disappointing everyone.

Dolores- I don’t think the writers intended for her to be autistic, but a lot of people in that community vibe with her, so that’s a headcanon I will go to bat for. I think that even if she isn’t literally autistic, her gift effects her in ways that she kind of might as well be. Y'know? It's like with Alma, it's sort of weird to be like "Yeah, ok, so because of her super hearing she experiences a lot of the same issues as an autistic person who struggles with sensory sensitivity, but she doesn't have an autistic brain! Just an extremely similar life experience!".

Mirabel- She’s probably got some unaddressed depression, I feel like that’s kind of a given. Although, the movie sets her up more as a metaphor for being physically disabled.

Isabela- I think you could very easily read Isabela as being some variation of ND that hyper fixates (on plants), and she just has masking skills off the charts. So either autism or ADHD, or both.

Julieta- IDK what problems Juli has, but realistically she’s been dealing with gruesome injuries from a young age. So she’s probably got some sort of trauma response. We don't see enough of her character outside the role of Caring Mother for me to make a call on this.

Camilo- He’s a theatre kid.

#encanto #alma madrigal #bruno madrigal #antonio madrigal #pepa madrigal #ND Madrigals #foggy headcanons #headcanon

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spinafex-matagouri · 2 years

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Some Ace Pride! Here are characters I view as ace!

Aziraphale and Crowley (Good Omens) book and tv miniseries - Asexual Nonbinary - Technically the book (1990) states that they are “sexless” and “men-shaped creatures”. The show did an amazing job at portraying a queerplatonic relationship that has been embraced by the Ace community.

Bruno Madrigal (Encanto) - AroAce - A human AroAce character capable of love? *gasp* The moment Mirabel defends her uncle, “He loves this family!” Was a great statement defending the AroAce and Neurodivergent communities who are often portrayed in media as incapable of any type of love. I enjoyed how Disney uses all the stereotypes we are familiar with in the beginning of the movie, and then we meet Bruno. Plus the focus on family is very enjoyable storyline.

Castiel (Supernatural) - Asexual Demiromantic - Cas is definitely an ace demiromantic character. Evidence abounds throughout the series. But I see his last speech as the first television love confession by an asexual character. Because that entire speech was exactly how an asexual would view their romantic love. Not a single word on appearance, and an absolutely emotionally moving scene.

The Doctor (Doctor Who) - Asexual - Friendship and adventure. What an amazing way to explore the universe.

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aidenwatchesmovie · 3 months

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Encanto - Healing Generational Trauma

Encanto is a disney animated film directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush. Starring a cast of colorful characters, we follow Mirabel Madrigal's struggles as she tries to fit into her "magical" family.

The movie hits very deep from the start. Mirabel is the only one without a "gift", all her family seems to be "perfect", working seamlessly for their community. All, except her... She feels inadequate and even though she tries, her lack of "gift" is seen as a failure in her family.

Coping with generational trauma...

The musical number starting the movie explains a lot about the family and their dynamic. About how each of the members of the family have "gifts" that just translate to real life coping mechanism.

Julieta: The healer of the family

Peppa: Controlling the weather

Bruno: Seeing the future

The first generation have a different set of difficulties, mostly being forced to parent (Julietta), handle everyone's emotions and their own at the same time (Peppa) and being neurodivergent (Bruno)

Isabella: Perfection

Luisa: Strength

Mirabel: None

Julietta's three children are there, again, shown as trying to "fix" themselves for the family. Isabella has to be perfect, and Luisa has to be strong. Their gift complements their role of shouldering the needs of the entire family on their back. Mirabel is like Bruno, different, she doesn't have a gift but she's trying. Trying really hard to fix and please even though she can't.

Dolores: Super Hearing

Camilo: Shape-Shifting

Antonio: ??? (Spoilers)

The children of the second born, Peppa, represent the present. Their mother can't control her emotions so their gift adapted to that. Dolores can "hear everything" including the storm of her mother's emotion. Camilo can shape-shift, mirroring people. He shows people someone different to please.

The symbolics of a family breaking apart

The main plot point of the movie is the magic being in danger. The house, the gifts, everything is breaking apart and Mirabel is trying to fix it. She sees all the problems and the hidden issues in the family but no one listens. She's forgotten and left to figure it out as her world is clashing with itself.

Healing...

The movie gives us a few clues on how to heal from generational trauma in it's last scenes. I won't spoil them because I feel like the messages needs to be told by people we can relate to.

TL;DR: Sometimes, we have to learn to let go...

#movie review #encanto #disney #trauma healing

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naoko-world · 6 months

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The Marvelous Mayhem of the Madrigals Minds chapter 5 out!

I finished chapter 5! Nice! Now I'll start chapter 6 and I also have some short fics I'm working on. (Like a crossover with Kaeloo.)

Infos on the story:

Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Additional Tags: Therapy, Attempt at Humor, Fluff and Angst, No Smut, No Incest, why do I feel I have to write that?, Proofread, slow at updating, Slow Writer, Angst, probably, because I'm making them talk about their struggles, Madrigal Family Needs Therapy (Disney), Bruno Madrigal Has OCD, Anxiety, Madrigal Family Has Issues (Disney), No Romance, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Neurodivergent Bruno Madrigal, Aromantic Asexual Bruno Madrigal, They all need therapy, family madrigal needs therapy, Bruno Madrigal Needs Therapy, Mirabel Madrigal Needs Therapy, Camilo Madrigal Needs Therapy, Félix Madrigal needs therapy, Pepa Madrigal Needs Therapy, Dolores Madrigal Needs Therapy, Isabela Madrigal Needs Therapy, Antonio Madrigal Needs Therapy, Abuela Alma Madrigal needs therapy, Mariano Guzman needs therapy, Julieta Madrigal Needs Therapy, Agustin Madrigal needs therapy, Luisa Madrigal Needs Therapy, Bisexual Mirabel Madrigal, implied at least - Freeform, Bisexual Female Character of Color, a bit of arophobia

Summary:

The Encanto had experienced one of their biggest crises when the Madrigal family saw their Casita fall. Fortunately, they had been able to rebuild it with the help of the townspeople. Following that incident, the mountains were now split up, allowing anyone to get into the Encanto. Funny it took so long for someone new to actually enter the town!

And that first person was the doctor Alborotadora Remedios, therapist. While she had been hiking for days, a bag with all of her things on her back and the sun hot on her dark brown skin, she discovered an opening in the mountains. Her map wasn’t indicating any path or any way through, contradicting what she had in front of her. Wondering if it was related to the recent earthquake she had heard about, she decided to give it a go, reminding herself of all the times she enticed her patients into not being afraid to try new things. What kind of therapist would she be if she wasn’t applying her own advice? She told herself she’d back up if there was any danger.

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Or when a therapist meets the Madrigal family and gives up her vacation to help them feel better.

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trauma-culture-is · 2 years

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Trauma culture is searching on the tags your mental illness, trauma, neurodivergencies just find a angsty fanfic centered on your kinnies

bc projection goes brr 🙃

I'm sorry Miu iruma,Yamaguchi tadashi,mirabel madrigal,Stan marsh,Kyoko kirigiri, and the +others kins I had but I forgot them.

❤ㅤ

#actually traumatized #trauma culture #trauma #kin #mod puns

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yellobb · 2 years

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Eldest AFAB sibling, queer, neurodivergent, former gifted kid, perfectionist culture is curling up in a ball and sobbing at all three of the Madrigal siblings’ solos

#what else can I do #surface pressure #waiting on a miracle #they all hit so hard bro #in different ways but S T I L L #isabella madrigal #louisa madrigal #mirabel madrigal #the family madrigal #encanto #former gifted kid #gifted kid burnout #neurodivergent #eldest sister #perfectionsist #m rambles

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the-brave-and-the-dumb · 2 years

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Y'all know it had to come to this

#hyperfixation #encanto #isabela madrigal #mirabel madrigal #bruno madrigal #tio bruno #neurodivergent #headcanon #aromantic #asexual #lgbtq+#lgbtqiaap #meme #lgbtq memes #neurodivergent memes

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jokingmaiden · 2 years

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encanto theories (spoilers)

okay i have two (2) theories, one which i thought of on my own and one which i saw someone briefly comment and i filled out in my head

theory one: mirabelle’s gift is a connection with the house/magic

-when she goes to open her door, the gold dissipates into the walls of the house

-from what we see, she’s the only one who holds full conversations with the house

-her emotional state actively affects the state of the house

-it reaches out to her, and her alone, for help

-her presence and advice actively affects the way isabella and louisa’s magic work (louisa is told to take a break and her magic weakens, isabella finally lets herself make new flora after mirabelle confronts her abt her “perfect” life)

-magic clearly connects to each character’s personality, and her wanting to “make her family proud” might have resulted in her gift being family-centric instead of personality based (or, since she wouldn’t focus on herself, she didn’t get one, but the first idea is significantly less depressing)

-abuela, during the scene where she’s talking to the candle, basically admits she knows mirabelle wasn’t lying and knows something. this indicates some hidden information about mirabelle’s relationship with the magic

-when she opens the door in the end, she brings the house back to life, reiterating the idea of the house being her “room”

theory two: the family’s relationship is what keeps the magic alive

-when the family ostracized bruno, it led to mirabelle not having a gift bc of the estrangement of the family bond

-the only reason antonio got a gift is because mirabelle showed him her love when it was his turn. when he said “i need you,” he wasn’t kidding

-isabella and mirabelle directly displaying their affection in front of the candle strengthened it

-the house first starts cracking when mirabelle feels a disconnect from her family

-louisa only becomes weaker when she realizes she’s neglecting herself for her family, and keeps doing it out of obligation

-when mirabelle discusses how abuela is ruining the family, the house finally falls apart

-only when they build the house again as a family and a community (everyone included this time, bruno back in the mix) with their own hands does the magic come back full force

#or maybe i’m just overanalyzing #also people have the caucacity to give abuela shit and nobody else?#and as a hardcore bruno kinnie #please stop infantalizing him for his neurodivergent traits #and as a mirabelle kinnie #i love her. so much #also please stop shipping them they’re family members???? hello???????? yuck #i mean i can’t stop you but eugh #oh also if you’re an adult? camillo is too young for you #try again #encanto #encanto theory #bruno madrigal #mirabelle madrigal #casita madrigal

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