Pixar’s “Elemental” – An Optimistic Immigrant Tale

I went to the movies today.

After watching “Elemental”, I had an undeniable urge to write about it. The movie is rife with parallels to the experience of immigrants in America, especially that of Asians. In today’s article, I plan to analyze these parallels and break down what this movie is saying.

Firstly, it is clear that Ember and her family are, by definition, immigrants. Due to unforeseen circumstances, they must leave their home and travel to less familiar land where nobody seems to look like them. The connections do not end there, however. Just like real immigrants, the fire people eventually created an ethnic enclave within the city as their population grew. They virtually never leave this area, nor do many people enter.

Furthermore, when Ember’s parents first arrive in the city, they are not accepted anywhere. They are given names, as their actual names are too hard for the city goers to understand. These people, coming from a different land, are foreign to the inhabitants of their destination, so they live a life of relative isolation from greater society.

The last parallel is by far the most important to the story. Ember’s parents built what they had. Every bit of it. When they first arrived, they had nothing but a bag, blue flame, and hope. Even amid their eventual success, the knowledge that Ember’s parents had to go through this permeates her life as far as we see it.

My interpretation of this is that Ember is a victim of generational trauma¹. Her parents experienced immense distress when their original shop was destroyed. They took this distress to the city and soon passed it onto their child. She and her parents experienced discrimination, one of the events that can lead to such trauma². In the latter half of the film, we discover that Ember has not once considered her own desires, as she was planning to take over the shop once her father retired. It is only after meeting Wade that she considers this.

Ember’s home is nearly destroyed when her dam made of tempered glass fails. In what seems like his last moments, Wade is with Ember.

With Wade, we move on the optimistic ending of this story.

Ember is not merely a victim. She has a loving family. Along with her parents, she has built something incredible— a community. This story says that even with struggles, anybody can make it. Her parents make it. Her community makes it. Her love for Wade—a match previously thought to be completely infeasible— made it. Even through all her struggles in a new city and the near-total destruction of their new home, the fire people make it.

Elemental tells us just that. Despite whatever hardship we might face, we can make it.

1. Gillespie, Claire. “What Is Generational Trauma?” Health, June 1, 2023. https://www.health.com/condition/ptsd/generational-trauma.
2. Ibid.

Thank you so much for reading! This is my first post, and I hope to continue posting once I more fully work out the logistics of how I will run this blog. If you have any feedback, or any thoughts about the movie, or any disagreements, please leave a comment! Thanks again!

-This has been Thoughts by Mekhi