What Noelle Teaches Millennials Of Color About Imposter Syndrome

From the moment Disney Plus released the trailer for their new Christmas Comedy Noelle, I was excited! Netflix has a few Christmas movies that I LOVE and I couldn’t WAIT to see how the Disney Plus movies would stand up against them.

Yet, despite me not LOVING Noelle, as much as I wanted too, I couldn’t ignore the messages that were practically screaming at me all throughout this movie.

One of which, hit home hard, because who the hell would have ever thought a Disney Plus movie would teach millennials so much about imposter syndrome?

As someone who constantly struggles with imposter syndrome, and as a Black millennial currently entering the entertainment writing world, it was comforting to see how Noelle teaches millennials about imposter syndrome.

Too many days have gone by where I’ve thought I wasn’t good enough, or that I didn’t belong! Like every time I go to check in for an event! (Ex: When I checked in for the Frozen 2 red carpet move premiere.) Every time I give my name, I immediately freak out inside! “What if they don’t have my name on the list? What if I have to PROVE to them that I belong here? Show receipts, and explain who I am, while others are recognized and immediately let in without any issues?

I’m afraid that I’ll be turned away. But why? Because my platform is smaller than others? Does that negate the fact that I’m an Entertainment Writer nonetheless?

IT DOESN’T!

Noelle finds herself down a similar path throughout the movie as her brother becomes the new Santa, despite her wanting the job way more than he does!

But what happens when we finally get the thing we wanted, after we’ve already convinced ourselves that we never would? Imposter syndrome is what happens! So after she FINALLY gets the job, Noelle struggles with “what ifs”.

What if no one believes she’s Santa? What if she doesn’t have the tingle? What if she finally gets the job and she’s no good at it? And despite already proving she’s the perfect fit for the job throughout the entire movie as she helps her hopeless brother attempt to fill their father’s shoes, she still has a hard time quieting the voice deep down inside her, the voice that keeps whispering “what if”.

But Noelle KNOWS her shit! She can speak all languages! (A clear sign that she’s supposed to be Santa.) She can basically read everyone’s mind to figure out what they want for Christmas, before they even say it. She’s kind, and also a great leader as well, but somehow still struggles with imposter syndrome.

I mean WE can see she’s right for the job, but she can’t! And closer to the end of the movie, she complains yet again, about how she doesn’t think she’s supposed to be Santa because the suit doesn’t fit! But as mentioned in the movie, the suit doesn’t fit until the person becomes Santa. We go through the entire movie thinking that it’s the title and the recognition she needs to become Santa, because she’s a woman and women shouldn’t be Santa, so we need to prove that she can be!

But as you continue to watch, and as she finally gets everyone to agree that she should be Santa, the clothes still don’t fit! And that’s when you begin to realize what’s really holding her back.

It’s her! She’s holding herself back! She’s the one that needs to believe.

The thing with imposter syndrome is, we’re the only ones that believe the lies it tells us! Everyone else can see that we’re great from the outside, but it’s us on the inside who need to believe. And Noelle (the movie) does a great job of taking us through Noelle’s journey within, so we can really see what imposter syndrome looks like from the outside. But until we learn to just take a chance on ourselves, we’ll never get over it. Imposter syndrome isn’t something you can run from. As shown throughout the movie, it’s something you have to tackle head on!

So if imposter syndrome is something you also struggle with, watch Noelle on Disney+ and let this movie remind you to believe in yourself! You have what it takes, you just have to believe in that. Believe in you!

If you haven’t downloaded Disney+ yet, click here to do so now! You’ll get 7 days free, so don’t worry about paying for it just yet.

About Noelle

In Disney+’s holiday comedy “Noelle,” Kris Kringle’s daughter is full of Christmas spirit and holiday fun, but wishes she could do something “important” like her beloved brother Nick, who will take over for their father this Christmas. When Nick is about to crumble like a gingerbread cookie from all the pressure, Noelle suggests he take a break and get away…but when he doesn’t return, Noelle must find her brother and bring him back in time to save Christmas.

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