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"We Don't Talk About Bruno" in the Movie Encanto
(Posted this on my Tumblr a few days ago. I've really, really gotten into the new Disney movie Encanto!)
As much as it’s an absolute bop, I think the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” in the movie Encanto carries a symbolic choice in its wording that goes beyond its catchiness.
Even before you learn the full situation of Bruno’s absence from the family, you get half the picture thru the song: Bruno’s power of clairvoyance was Inconvenient To The Family And Village, But Especially To Abuela Alma and so…he had to go.
It’s interesting that the song isn’t titled, say, “Where Is Bruno?” or “Don’t Come Back, Bruno” or even just “We Don’t Know Where Bruno Is”.
No, the song title is an assertion that the subject of Bruno is one we simply do not broach.
A huge, huge theme in Encanto is generational trauma. And one of the perpetual curses of generational trauma is We Don’t Talk About X. Sometimes X is something that hurts us (i.e, Bruno’s visions and other seemingly odd behaviors) and/or X is something that we did to hurt someone else (i.e, the family and village’s continual rejection and depreciation of Bruno to the point where he left and never came back).
Thus we get “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”.
The overall policy of not talking about…what needs to be talked about is often how generational trauma is not only created to begin with, but also how it is allowed to continue through new generation after generation with very little end in sight.
Not talking about things is often thought of as a way to not only avoid The Problem(s), but to deny there are The Problem(s). It’s almost a childish way of thinking that if we don’t acknowledge it then it doesn’t/can’t/won’t hurt and will somehow magically (haha) go away and stay away. And of course that never works; The Problem(s) must be dealt with or else The Problem(s) will deal with you.
And I’m not preaching from the pulpit about this-I’ve never even been to Colombia but like a lot of people I relate so much to Encanto because my family suffers from generational trauma too. Starting from my own mother (and her devil of a mother before her), there have been many things that are swept under the rug and quite a few have exploded until they needed to be dealt with…and sometimes it’s been too long that an apology/gradual change in behavior wasn’t fully enough to mend the “cracks” in our own casita, y’know?
The Problem doesn’t go away-it just festers and festers until it deals with you.
And The Problem not going away is amazingly symbolized in the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. We see that, actually…Bruno truly hasn’t gone away. During Dolores’ dope ass verse, you can see his greenish shadow in the background on the balcony, not unlike as though he were a specter; in Camilo’s equally dope ass verse, Camilo still remembers enough about what his uncle looks like to transform into him (minus the exaggerated “7 foot frame”-he seems hardly taller than Mirabel herself); both Isabela and Dolores still remember positive prophecies from him, one about growth in power and one about future true love; so many of the villagers still remember much less positive prophecies from him; and his room is still present in the house, never mind that it’s off limits.
Not Talking About Bruno does not at all mean Bruno has gone away.
Even greater than what Bruno’s continued presence means, there’s also what his continued implicit absence means. Alongside her siblings and cousins, Mirabel has been deprived of having such a selfless, loving uncle in her life who, in leaving, did what he thought best to put her before himself even while knowing she’d never be aware of his sacrifice; Julieta and Pepa have been deprived of their only brother; and Abuela Alma has been deprived of her only son. That continued absence is yet another Problem.
Also not talking about Bruno is really not unlike how the family deals with Mirabel, whose continued visible presence with her ordinary lack of magical powers they cannot escape/erase. That is, the songwriters could easily write a song titled, “We Don’t Talk To Mirabel”.
From what I see, Abuela Alma certainly goes out of her way to not talk to Mirabel unless it’s within 1 of 3 contexts:
I and a whole lot of audience of course see this as insidiously but extremely cruel from Abuela Alma to her own flesh-and-blood granddaughter. In its insidiousness, in the narrative we also Don’t Talk About The Effects This Has On Mirabel, i.e, her terribly low self-esteem and high frustration/resentment; her trauma at the constant exclusion and depreciation; and her powerful, pressurizing need to prove herself worthy. To prove herself even present.
Now I will say that…I don’t feel like a whole lot of the family follows Abuela’s example on how to treat Mirabel. Certainly her parents protect and nurture their daughter as much as they can against their matriarch’s mistreatment of her. Her 3 cousins are certainly loving enough to her in my opinion, particularly Antonio (and I want to write a whole post on his representation sometime, too!), and you get the sense that if Luisa had more time she’d dote on and nurture her baby sister much, much more.
Isabela is the only one who seems to be the worst offender.For example, after it’s announced in the song that Mariano, Isabela’s betrothed, and his mother are on his way, Isabela sings an interesting line to Mirabel:
…Which is pretty in line with Abuela Alma’s standard cruel treatment and policy with Mirabel: Be Seen, Not Heard And You Won’t Be The Problem.
(And on a side note, I’m 1000% of the mind that Mariano would be an excellent big brother-in-law and be so loving and nurturing to Mirabel. I don’t think he would’ve found her comparative ordinariness an issue at all.)
(Another, another side note: I’m also of the mind that Isabela’s initial copying of Abuela Alma’s treatment of Mirabel is a kind of rebound envy and resentment because while Mirabel can’t grab just some spotlight no matter how hard she tries, Isabela can’t ever get out of all the spotlight no matter how hard she tries. I think it’s inverse brands of spotlight pressures going in different directions with the resentments…well, going in the wrong directions.)
Going back to Bruno and the song title “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, that curse of generational trauma doesn’t start to break itself until, well…we talk about Bruno. And there’s a short, but explicit line Camilo and Antonio in the song “All of You” that states as much:
“Okay, so we’re gonna talk about Bruno? (That’s Bruno)
Yeah, there’s a lot to say about Bruno
For sure there’s a lot of things to say about Bruno-and I love, love, love that Bruno is able to (re)claim in his agency in the narrative by being able to explain himself in his own verse right after the above one.
Not only are we going to talk about Bruno, but Bruno gets to be the one to talk.
And Mirabel gets talked to by Abuela Alma-she is finally afforded positive attention from and nurtured by her grandmother.
Now, I absolutely don’t think everything becomes and stays magically (haha) fine by the end of the movie. There’s a lot of work to do. Abuela Alma definitely has a long way to go in showing her apology to her family; she has a lot of nurturing and uplifting of Mirabel to make up for (the heavy lifting that Julieta does in lavishing her daughter in that kind of love…yeah-that); the rest of the magical family will still have their work cut out for them in un-internalizing that the extent of their worth stretches as far as their powers and their usefulness does; the rest of the family has a lot of catching up to do with Bruno; and the new, healthier home environment must be reinforced with little Antonio, the baby of the Madrigals.
But it’s that Talking About Things that were previously Not Talked About that starts the much healthier phenomenon of breaking the curse of generational trauma.
It’s so simple yet so profound. I just love it.
As much as it’s an absolute bop, I think the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” in the movie Encanto carries a symbolic choice in its wording that goes beyond its catchiness.
Even before you learn the full situation of Bruno’s absence from the family, you get half the picture thru the song: Bruno’s power of clairvoyance was Inconvenient To The Family And Village, But Especially To Abuela Alma and so…he had to go.
It’s interesting that the song isn’t titled, say, “Where Is Bruno?” or “Don’t Come Back, Bruno” or even just “We Don’t Know Where Bruno Is”.
No, the song title is an assertion that the subject of Bruno is one we simply do not broach.
A huge, huge theme in Encanto is generational trauma. And one of the perpetual curses of generational trauma is We Don’t Talk About X. Sometimes X is something that hurts us (i.e, Bruno’s visions and other seemingly odd behaviors) and/or X is something that we did to hurt someone else (i.e, the family and village’s continual rejection and depreciation of Bruno to the point where he left and never came back).
Thus we get “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”.
The overall policy of not talking about…what needs to be talked about is often how generational trauma is not only created to begin with, but also how it is allowed to continue through new generation after generation with very little end in sight.
Not talking about things is often thought of as a way to not only avoid The Problem(s), but to deny there are The Problem(s). It’s almost a childish way of thinking that if we don’t acknowledge it then it doesn’t/can’t/won’t hurt and will somehow magically (haha) go away and stay away. And of course that never works; The Problem(s) must be dealt with or else The Problem(s) will deal with you.
And I’m not preaching from the pulpit about this-I’ve never even been to Colombia but like a lot of people I relate so much to Encanto because my family suffers from generational trauma too. Starting from my own mother (and her devil of a mother before her), there have been many things that are swept under the rug and quite a few have exploded until they needed to be dealt with…and sometimes it’s been too long that an apology/gradual change in behavior wasn’t fully enough to mend the “cracks” in our own casita, y’know?
The Problem doesn’t go away-it just festers and festers until it deals with you.
And The Problem not going away is amazingly symbolized in the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. We see that, actually…Bruno truly hasn’t gone away. During Dolores’ dope ass verse, you can see his greenish shadow in the background on the balcony, not unlike as though he were a specter; in Camilo’s equally dope ass verse, Camilo still remembers enough about what his uncle looks like to transform into him (minus the exaggerated “7 foot frame”-he seems hardly taller than Mirabel herself); both Isabela and Dolores still remember positive prophecies from him, one about growth in power and one about future true love; so many of the villagers still remember much less positive prophecies from him; and his room is still present in the house, never mind that it’s off limits.
Not Talking About Bruno does not at all mean Bruno has gone away.
Even greater than what Bruno’s continued presence means, there’s also what his continued implicit absence means. Alongside her siblings and cousins, Mirabel has been deprived of having such a selfless, loving uncle in her life who, in leaving, did what he thought best to put her before himself even while knowing she’d never be aware of his sacrifice; Julieta and Pepa have been deprived of their only brother; and Abuela Alma has been deprived of her only son. That continued absence is yet another Problem.
Also not talking about Bruno is really not unlike how the family deals with Mirabel, whose continued visible presence with her ordinary lack of magical powers they cannot escape/erase. That is, the songwriters could easily write a song titled, “We Don’t Talk To Mirabel”.
From what I see, Abuela Alma certainly goes out of her way to not talk to Mirabel unless it’s within 1 of 3 contexts:
1. Why are you in my direct line of sight and, whatever reason you (quickly) give, wrap it up so that you’re properly out of my sight.
2. What are you doing and, whatever you (quickly) tell me you are doing, wrap it up so you’re not reminding me that you’re The Problem.
3.Please remember the best thing you can do for the family and specifically me is to Be Seen, Not Heard.
I and a whole lot of audience of course see this as insidiously but extremely cruel from Abuela Alma to her own flesh-and-blood granddaughter. In its insidiousness, in the narrative we also Don’t Talk About The Effects This Has On Mirabel, i.e, her terribly low self-esteem and high frustration/resentment; her trauma at the constant exclusion and depreciation; and her powerful, pressurizing need to prove herself worthy. To prove herself even present.
Now I will say that…I don’t feel like a whole lot of the family follows Abuela’s example on how to treat Mirabel. Certainly her parents protect and nurture their daughter as much as they can against their matriarch’s mistreatment of her. Her 3 cousins are certainly loving enough to her in my opinion, particularly Antonio (and I want to write a whole post on his representation sometime, too!), and you get the sense that if Luisa had more time she’d dote on and nurture her baby sister much, much more.
Isabela is the only one who seems to be the worst offender.For example, after it’s announced in the song that Mariano, Isabela’s betrothed, and his mother are on his way, Isabela sings an interesting line to Mirabel:
“Hey, sis, I want not a sound out of you”
…Which is pretty in line with Abuela Alma’s standard cruel treatment and policy with Mirabel: Be Seen, Not Heard And You Won’t Be The Problem.
(And on a side note, I’m 1000% of the mind that Mariano would be an excellent big brother-in-law and be so loving and nurturing to Mirabel. I don’t think he would’ve found her comparative ordinariness an issue at all.)
(Another, another side note: I’m also of the mind that Isabela’s initial copying of Abuela Alma’s treatment of Mirabel is a kind of rebound envy and resentment because while Mirabel can’t grab just some spotlight no matter how hard she tries, Isabela can’t ever get out of all the spotlight no matter how hard she tries. I think it’s inverse brands of spotlight pressures going in different directions with the resentments…well, going in the wrong directions.)
Going back to Bruno and the song title “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, that curse of generational trauma doesn’t start to break itself until, well…we talk about Bruno. And there’s a short, but explicit line Camilo and Antonio in the song “All of You” that states as much:
“Okay, so we’re gonna talk about Bruno? (That’s Bruno)
Yeah, there’s a lot to say about Bruno
For sure there’s a lot of things to say about Bruno-and I love, love, love that Bruno is able to (re)claim in his agency in the narrative by being able to explain himself in his own verse right after the above one.
Not only are we going to talk about Bruno, but Bruno gets to be the one to talk.
And Mirabel gets talked to by Abuela Alma-she is finally afforded positive attention from and nurtured by her grandmother.
Now, I absolutely don’t think everything becomes and stays magically (haha) fine by the end of the movie. There’s a lot of work to do. Abuela Alma definitely has a long way to go in showing her apology to her family; she has a lot of nurturing and uplifting of Mirabel to make up for (the heavy lifting that Julieta does in lavishing her daughter in that kind of love…yeah-that); the rest of the magical family will still have their work cut out for them in un-internalizing that the extent of their worth stretches as far as their powers and their usefulness does; the rest of the family has a lot of catching up to do with Bruno; and the new, healthier home environment must be reinforced with little Antonio, the baby of the Madrigals.
But it’s that Talking About Things that were previously Not Talked About that starts the much healthier phenomenon of breaking the curse of generational trauma.
It’s so simple yet so profound. I just love it.
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And ohhh, I didn't realize that parallel of Mirabel about to be so totally erased, not unlike Bruno...amazing catch, friend! :O
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And even more, it's amazing how that dysfunction is resolved but...you can still see there's a long way to go and the family Madrigal will go that way! ^ ^
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...granted, also I was seriously sleep-deprived for cat-related Reasons, so I was super raw emotionally just in general? But yeah, lots of crying. I simultaneously want to buy the soundtrack and am a little worried about the people re-watching it endlessly.
(Also, as y'all noted above: the resolution is not going to be that simple. Internal change is not completed on a dime, and I don't just mean the family's change: the whole village needs to get out of the habit of relying on the Madrigals to take care of everything. Which they've made a good start! Now they gotta keep it up, and that's not easy. Which applies to both family and village, really.)
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And I absolutely bawled during 'Dos Oruguitas'...hell, I still bawl every single time I get the courage to watch the music video. I mean, that silent scream from young!Abuela Alma...my god, my heart just plops out my chest and lands on the damn floor.
Yes, yes, yes, change needs to continue to happen in that family and that whole village!! Long, long way to go!!