How would you explain each feeling that takes over you in each situation? If happiness, sadness, anger, disgust and fear were visible elements, what would they look like? The 2015 movie “Inside Out” transformed the feelings of a young girl, Riley, into hardworking, characterful creatures.
In order to show children how our emotions work, Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen, screenwriters of the feature film, invited children to observe what happens inside the head of an 11-year-old girl. There are five characters there: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. Each of them has a different role in the film, taking care of Riley in specific situations.
“Funny Mind” is an animation that focuses on children, but is also very instructive for adults. In the movie, Riley's family has just moved into a new house. With that, the girl needs to fit in at a new school and adapt to an unfamiliar environment. Challenges like these are stressful enough for adults, but they can be even worse for little ones.
That's why we gradually follow Joy having difficulties to manifest, while Anger, Sadness and Fear gain more space in Riley's mind, as well as Disgust. The young woman's personality undergoes changes that seem incomprehensible to parents, trying to make their daughter feel better, but unable to understand how to do so.
Before you think you'll find any spoilers from the movie, below you'll understand better about how Riley's feelings work in "Inside Out" and what are the main lessons that the movie conveys to families and children.
The Feelings of “Fun Mind”
Riley's mind composition represents the mind of every person around the world. We are all formed by a series of feelings, but there are five that manifest themselves in a more intense way in possible everyday situations. Meet each of them!
1) Joy
Represented with a vibrant yellow color, Alegria is a character that literally emanates light. It manifests when Riley feels good and welcomed, as well as commanding the girl's fondest memories. This emotion is the one that is present when we are with those we love, when we perform an activity that gives us pleasure or when we know that everything will work out.
2) Sadness
Unlike Alegria, Sadness is represented with various shades of blue and a wool coat, reinforcing the idea that this feeling is not pleasant and that it makes people feel like retreating. Sadness manifests itself when we feel alone, when we lose hope that something will get better with time, or when we lose the motivation to perform any kind of activity.
3) Anger
Anger, represented with the color red and as a surly character, is the feeling that manifests itself in stressful situations, which take us out of our comfort zone and that occur differently than we had planned. It can be difficult to deal with, but it needs to be controlled so that we are not people who treat those who try to help us badly.
4) fear
Fear, a character who lives bent over and who is almost always trembling, represents the way we feel when we need to face the unknown and we feel like we won't be able to do that. Shyness and insecurity are feelings that range from Fear, so it's important to understand what's evoking that emotion inside your mind.
5) disgusting
Disgust is an emotion represented by the color green and that looks like one of those girls who bullies at school. She wants to prove that she is better than other people and she also doesn't like certain types of food. It's an emotion that we've all felt, but that we should avoid as much as possible, as it usually doesn't have positive consequences.
Lessons from “Fun Mind”
The movie “Inside Out”, as explained earlier, is a way of teaching the public how emotions are manifested and what are the situations that we can face throughout life. But the film still has lessons that go far beyond that. Check out!
1) All emotions matter
Over the course of the film, we notice that Riley is feeling increasingly sad, isolated, and angry because of all the changes that are happening in her life.
However, during the solution to these bad feelings, we realized the importance of all feelings to recover Riley's well-being.
It is important to understand that a person cannot feel one way all the time, because it is a set of emotions that make up who they are. This becomes explicit when it is the Sadness character who becomes responsible for bringing Riley's Joy back.
2) Expressing feelings is essential
Have you ever demanded that another person know how you are feeling without telling them what your feelings were?
Expressing our emotions is essential so that other people can help us and understand the situations we are going through.
If you don't understand what you are going through or feeling, the best thing to do is seek psychological help so that you are able to control your feelings rather than letting them control you.
3) Changes are inevitable
As comfortable as it is to keep things as they are, at any moment they can change dramatically. Dealing with it can be a challenge, but it will be even more difficult if we don't accept this process.
Be aware that things change, whether friendships, where we live, where we study or where we work. Even our feelings can change over time!
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- Reflect on where are the feelings we seek
- Learn to deal with unwanted emotions and feel better
- Understand what emotional intelligence is and learn how to develop it
Be with the people you love and show how you feel so that the news is always more positive than negative.
To know all the mysteries that the movie “Inside Out” holds, watch it! Venture with Riley on this journey through the human mind and take the time to take a closer look inside!
