Pete Docter is the writer and director of Inside Out. Inside Out is a movie with 9 characters: Riley, Diane Lane’s Mother, Kyle MacLachlan’s Father, Richard Kind’s Bing Bong – Riley’s imaginary friend. Riley’s five emotions are also personified as Amy Poehler’s Joy and Lewis Black’s Anger and Mindy Kalia’s Disgust.
The movie explores complex ideas through a multiform format. It shows how emotions play a role in the life of a girl aged 11 who is entering the preteen years. In the story, Riley is struggling with her new life and the difficult transition from Minnesota to San Francisco. Riley’s happy memories and psychological pillars start to crumble, leading her to make the dishonorable decision to leave Minnesota. Riley’s primary emotion, “joy”, is always optimistic, energetic and driven to improve things. Riley’s emotional arousal is triggered by “Sadness”, the dominant emotion (finding all the negatives in any situation, negative affect).
Emotions are described as complex subsystems of psychology – cognitive, motivational, experiential, and physiological. Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability for a person or group to manage and identify emotions. This movie illustrates how important it is to teach children early on to develop emotional intelligence so they are equipped to deal with the ups and the downs in life.
Riley’s beautiful and complex mind has a ‘Control Center’, which is depicted in the movie as a console that contains buttons, levers, and lights. It is here where Riley fights his internal battles with emotions. It is also the place where emotional control processes are carried out. Riley is shown to become depressed when the Control Center is unmanned (emotional labour), and eventually loses control over his environment. Riley is unable, for example, to express “joy” or “sadness” in some parts of his mind. However, at the “Control Center”, “Fear”,”Anger” and”Disgust” are in an extreme state of anxiety.
In the film, consolidation of memories is shown as a sleep-related process that transforms short-term collections into longterm ones. (Memories are represented by colored luminescent ball) These long-term memories then get stored on a labyrinth of colorful wheels, tubes, and tracks. Riley’s experiences, preferences, beliefs, and feelings (often intense) are influenced by her memories. They also influence her development. A memory can be retrieved with different emotions. For example, “Sadness”, which is triggered by touching a blue sphere, will turn a joyous memory (touching the gold sphere), into a sad one (touching the gold sphere). This means that a crucial memory might not be properly processed at a future stage. They are called “Forgetters” and they have the task of removing from Riley’s brain (gray color spheres), a lot of useless memories, such as trivial information or outdated knowledge. Riley’s mind has an area for old memories which aren’t necessarily linked to emotions. Riley has a section of repressed emotions (a cave where Riley is afraid). It’s a place that stores fearful thoughts, but they are not available to the conscious mind – and their origin is forgotten. The film shows how certain memories can be triggered and brought back to consciousness (i.e. Riley wakes up from his sleep.
As “Personality islands”, Riley’s core memory is her personality experimentation (hockey and friendship) as well as a time that was extremely important in her life. This illustration represents her ‘core self,’ or core beliefs that shape her personality. The “Islands” are shaped by an emotional journey that is constantly evolving. They tend to develop, break apart or redevelop over time.
Riley and all people need some time to adjust. Positive attenuation is a way to increase resilience in Riley during such processes. Positive attenuation has been noted to be essential for protecting against depression symptoms. As a child, we strive to have our feelings accepted by parents, other relatives, and friends. Riley would feel alone, and unappreciated, if an adult was not there to help him process painful and difficult emotions. Riley’s identity is also shown in the movie as a collection of experiences, places, and relationships, all colored (differently by) emotions. Riley is comforted by her teammates and parents when she loses a hockey match. She associates loss with joy, not sadness. This shows that negative emotions can bring people together. Riley’s parents accept and welcome her sadness, which allows her to feel her emotions. She is able to reconnect with family – one of Riley’s core traits (Personality Island), and her joy returns – another core emotion. Riley’s parents are shown to be supportive and encouraging of her, which results in positive reactions.
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