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Emily Blunt, left, and Charlize Theron in The Huntsman: Winter's War Photo/Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

By  Julia Swist, Youth Speak News
  • May 6, 2016

Power. Betrayal. Love. All the words that come to mind after having watched The Huntsman: Winter’s War. As simple as these words may sound, they are anything but that. These words continue to creep into our lives, especially when we least expect it, and challenge our character.

One theme that seems to reoccur throughout the movie is power. The constant want to have more power. Both the Ice Queen and the Evil Queen in the movie are overwhelmed with their power, trying to take over kingdom after kingdom. It comes to the point where audiences start to ask themselves: when is enough ever going to be enough?

The Ice Queen and the Evil Queen are exaggerated examples of this thirst for power, but it clearly shows the consequences.

There is nothing wrong with being determined, nothing at all, but letting your vaulting ambition consume you to the point where you forget about the ones you love and lose yourself in the process, then it becomes a problem. After all, what is the point in wanting more if along the way you will have to lose more than you have gained? You might have conquered all the kingdoms in the world but if you do not have a single person in the world that you can love and trust, then you have nothing at all. 

We all know that the ultimate betrayal lies not in the act itself but by who committed the act. Meaning being betrayed by a stranger is nowhere near as painful as being betrayed by the person you trusted the most.

We have all felt betrayed. Maybe we haven’t experienced Judas’ kiss, but we have been hurt by people before.We all feel tempted to never speak to that person again and blame them for all that is wrong. 

Yes we are only human, but that gives us no excuse to forget everything we believe in because we don’t have the strength to forgive. Instead of losing ourselves to anger or hatred, we must follow Jesus’ example of turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39).

God doesn’t need us to go on some futile chase for power, all He wants us to do is find happiness in Him. We can’t find happiness in Him if we don’t know His mercy is meant for everyone, even our enemies.

Another recurring theme in the movie is love conquers all. We have all heard it before. I think we have heard it too often, to the point that we start taking this message too lightly.

God’s love for us is the perfect example. No matter what we do or how much we deny Him, God will always love us and is ready to forgive. Even when we wonder how we could ever be forgiven for what we have done, God continues to love us unconditionally. It is now our turn to do the same.

No matter the obstacles, no matter what we are against, God is with us and as long as we never give in to fear and keep fighting, we will live happily ever after.

(Swist, 16, is a Grade 11 student at Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School in Toronto, Ont.)

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