"If we numb sadness, we also numb joy"

image

While some argue that the Disney Pixar's film Inside Out is to lighthearted for the subject matter it deals with, I have to respectfully disagree. While yes the film does deal with very heavy subject matter, the lighthearted nature of the characters and plot makes it easily accessible for the audience they are trying to reach: children.

I remember sitting in the theater with my mom watching this movie and talking with her about it afterwards. I brought up all of the incredible ideas and lessons that the film talks about and she asked me "do you really think a kid is gong to pick up on all of that?" Kids are a lot more perceptive than people realize. This movie is so fantastic that psychologists and therapists are using it to help with their patients. If that doesnt tell you how wonderful it is then Im not sure what will.

The story starts with an 11 year old girl named Riley who moves with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco. Her parents, particularly her mom, inadvertently tell her that it's not okay to be sad about the move and she needs to keep being happy to make things easier on her dad who is struggling with a new business. Her parents don't mean to harm their daughter and push her away, but that's exactly what they do. By telling her she has to be happy they force her to hide her real emotions and withdraw from her friends and family because she believes it's not okay to feel the way that she does.

Though Riley is the source of the plot line, she is not the main character. The main characters are her emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger. Fear, and Disgust. Joy is the undisputed leader of the group and is always doing what she can to keep Riley happy, even going to extreme lengths like trying to keep sadness away from the control board and staying in the "circle of sadness." Joy sees Sadness almost as an enemy at the beginning of the film, but throughout the movie she discovers how closely intertwined the two emotions really are. The film deals with the idea that joy can be bought on by sadness and letting oneself feel sad. If you allow yourself to feel that emotion and tell your close family or friends or someone else in your support system, then they will most likely come to help you and comfort, bringing a sense of belonging and love to the person feeling that emotion. Joy realizes this when she is looking at a memory of Riley's. Riley was upset about missing the winning goal in a hockey game, but the only part of the day Joy remembered was that the team and her parents came to cheer her up and made her happy. "They came to help, because of Sadness."

 Dr. Jania Scarlet, a licensed clinical psychologist, illustrated the idea above when she said "if we numb sadness, we also numb joy."   Emotions are very closely intertwined with each other and often coexist in specific events. For example at the end of the movie Riley finally comes clean to her parents about how she feels. She's sad of course, but once her parents begin to comfort her she also feels happy. The memory for her is two emotions at once. This shows kids that emotions are a one or done deal. You can feel multiple things at different times and that's okay. It's okay to feel sad or disgusted or confused or happy or all of those at once. Emotions are important and they are there for a reason and you should never have to hide them, especially from the people you love. You also cant force yourself to be happy if you arent. Sadness will keep creeping until eventually you've worn yourself out and dont feel anything. The movie addresses this with kids by Joy and Sadness physically not being at Headquarters and saying the its impossible for Riley to be happy without them there. People make the argument that this takes away a persons freewill in how they act and feel, but they have to remember it's a kids movie. This is the best way to address the problem they are trying to address. That if a person tries to force themselves to be happy then happy disappears.

The main takeaway from the movie is that emotions are okay and its okay to feel them. There is no villian in this film. Sadness is not evil and it's okay to give in to that emotion. It's okay to feel things and express those feelings to people. It's possible to be happy, sad, and scared at the same time. It's possible to have everything be going great in your life but still be sad. This movie shows kids these things and tries to enforce the idea of expressing yourself. It also warns parents about accidentally forcing emotions onto your children and instead accepting how they feel and not invalidating their emotions because of age or gender. Every person in the film has the exact same emotions. Their brains might be run by different characters, like sadness for the mom and anger for the dad, but they all have the same characters inside their heads. Everyone feels emotions and Disney Pixar wants everyone to know that it's okay to express them!