Emotions In The Movie 'Inside Out' By Riley Anderson

In Inside Out, Peter Docter gives Riley Anderson (the main character) several emotions. The emotions/characters that Riley deals with throughout the movie are Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. Joy played a major role in Riley’s life while she was growing up. In the beginning of the movie, Joy was in most of her core memories. According to Pixar, “the core memories are objects of major importance in Inside Out. Like all memory orbs, core memories represent past events of Riley's life. However, they have a much greater importance than usual memories. They represent key moments that have defined Riley's current personality.” Professor Dacher Keltner from the University of California was the key researcher advising the Pixar team on which
emotions should be included in the film. According to Keltner, “Pete Docter of Pixar reached out to us to talk over an idea for a film, one that would portray how emotions work inside a person’s head and at the same time shape a person’s outer life with other people. He wanted to do this all in the mind of an 11-year-old girl as she navigated a few difficult days in her life.” The creators of Inside out sought out to show the audience how everyday emotions are depicted through characterizations of certain emotions, how emotions correlate to everyday life, and the importance of each emotion.
According to Lee, “ when memories are retrieved and remembered, the emotions associated with them can change, as when Sadness turns a gold-colored, joyful memory into a blue-hued one.
Though memories may feel completely true and accurate, "on the question of whether we can ever trust our memories: we can — just not 100 percent, because memory is in fact malleable," says John Wixted, psychology professor at the University of California, San Diego.” In the end of the movie, Riley realized that her sadness brought her happiness because when she didn’t win her game, her family came together to make her happy. Our memories are always changing because of the way we feel at that moment. For example, the victim in an abusive relationship, may feel sad when the relationship ends because of their dependency on the other partner. After they realize that their life will no longer be in danger, they might find peace in the situation. All emotions can be catalysts towards growth. When we meet a goal or experience success, the energy propels us to keep striving. When we make a mistake, or have setbacks, even though it can be a tough pill to swallow, the emotions generated can prompt us to take action towards improvement. This can be compared to how Riley’s skill at hockey evolved over the years of playing. At first she did not win many games and did not play every game but, as she realized that her family was there to support her, she found happiness through
playing.
Even though we might think we're forever stuck -- feeling states, like weather patterns, are temporary.
Especially within teens, teens never really stick with one emotion, it is a new thing every day. According to Lee, “while Joy and Sadness are lost in other parts of the mind, Fear, Anger and Disgust are in a state of panic — an appropriate depiction of what can happen during a traumatic experience or a major life event, to children and adults alike.” Teens are really emotional because they undergo a lot of changes, whether it be going to a new school or meeting new people. This is also a stage where most people start dating, which also may include a ton of heart breaks. "Adolescents' brains have increased activity in the amygdala that makes teens more prone to risk-taking and seeking pleasurable experiences, and at the same time, their frontal lobe, which houses judgment and the concept of consequences is not fully developed," notes Saltz. This also explains why Riley decided to take a trip back to Minnesota after she couldn’t take the frustration of moving to a new city. She did not really consider the consequences of leaving or how she would hurt her mom or dad. According to Costa, “In the film, Riley, the main character, grappled with difficult emotions associated with her family moving across the country. Her happy memories of childhood were hard to let go of, bringing about great sorrow and frustration. When we're immersed in sadness or anger during life's changes, it
reflects our desire for closeness, connection, and contentment.” Riley desired to find close friend in the new city she moved to but, on the first day of school “the popular girl” laughed at her. The only other person she could confide in was her father, other than her best friend, but he was never home, he was always working.
Our emotions are all important, every single one of them. They all serve an important function and we cannot selectively feel some but not others. Langley states, Joy seems to be the leader, she keeps the others in check but reminds the viewers that all of them have an important function. Joy states that Disgust keeps Riley safe from being poisoned, Fear keeps her safe from a catastrophe by imagining worst case scenarios, Anger protects her from others and also allows her to be a better hockey player, while Joy ensures that Riley is happy. It’s an “all-or-none” deal. If we numb sadness, we also numb joy. We need to openly experience all our emotions, and that includes sadness, as painful as it may be sometimes. Sadness allows for connection, when we see someone else feeling sad, we might feel sad too (this emotion is called empathy) and might want to alleviate their sadness (this is compassion). This is also why Joy could not relate to Bing Bong, she could not really understand his perception of reality. Bing Bong was sad because he would soon be removed from Riley’s memories almost like when kids forget that they had an imaginary friend when they were younger. According to Brown, “A 2004 study by psychologists at the University of Washington and the University of Oregon found that 65 per cent of children had had such a pal by age seven. Eldest and only children were more likely to have invisible friends, most of whom disappeared by the time children started school.” When we stay with this individual and share our emotions together, the resonating effect can produce a healing experience. That is exactly what we see when Sadness comforts Riley’s imaginary friend, Bing Bong, and also when Riley is able to share her sadness with her parents. According to Mottram , “The psychologist whose work underpins Pixar's new movie Inside Out says scientific evidence shows we should not be fixated on one emotion over another in pursuit of fulfilment. And although a certain emotion may be dominant in childhood, Professor Keltner's research shows all emotions become equally important as a person matures.” Professor Keltner has found that emotional variety has a positive affect on daily life. Throughout the movie we saw Joy always aiming to make sure that Riley was happy. She did not want any other emotion controlling Riley, especially sadness. Joy fails to see the importance of Sadness and tries to shoo Sadness away from anything Riley-related, forbidding this emotion in every way possible. She even draws a circle on the floor and makes Sadness stay inside it, forbidding her to leave or to touch any of Riley’s memories, so as not to taint them with sad memories.
When we've experienced difficult emotions, it can help us appreciate the good moments all the more. If we never had to endure rainy days and seasons, we'd have less appreciation for sunny ones once they arrive. These five emotions are intricately connected, and you can't have one without the other.