A standout movie that strikes a chord
Print Edition
This summer, Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” has undoubtedly been the season’s standout movie. This film, which avoids pluralism and social issues in favor of a simple story about a teenage girl’s growth, has struck a chord.
The plot of the “Inside Out” series is simple, even sparse. The first film dealt with the psychological upheaval caused by a family move. The second revolves around competition in an ice hockey team. Riley, the child, serves as the stage for the story, but the real protagonist is Joy, an emotion. She represents the archetypal “parental” love embodied in Pixar films.
In the first film, Bing Bong, Riley’s imaginary friend, sacrifices himself for her well-being. This echoes the ultimate selfless love, a projection of our ideal parents and partners. The scientific advisor for the first film, Professor Paul Ekman from University of California, provided a guide for parents on his blog afterwards, emphasizing that Pixar’s true audience is not children but emotionally troubled adults and parents striving to understand their children.
Thus, Joy and Sadness are not just “emotions,” but embodiments of “perfect parents and lovers”, representing unconditional love.
A scientifically grounded scene in the first film shows Joy and Bing Bong accidentally mixing fact and fiction cards, symbolizing how we naturally blend reality and fiction. Movies, though fictional, yet evoke real emotional responses, planting seeds of positive belief in love. Pixar uses cinema to provide large-scale public psychological integration, not just illusory happiness but a service like cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Moreover, beneath the surface, the story hints at harsh realities. If we view the mind as a mirror of the external world, its media environment is cinematic, its social structure hierarchical, and its cultural setting is Kafkaesque.
In the mind’s world, emotions receive and respond to external stimuli via a large screen very similar to a cinematic projection. The mind is also depicted using familiar cinematic and office settings.
The “workers” in the mind are akin to those in “Cells at Work,” forming a hierarchical society. Emotions like Joy and Sadness perform “high-level” tasks, while others, like cleaners and builders, are mere geometric shapes. These high-level workers are in a Kafkaesque world, they are born into a 24/7 work environment, their lives entirely defined by work, unable to quit, constantly working without understanding their work’s true nature, echoing Chaplin’s “Modern Times.”
When Joy is thrown out of the office, her immediate reaction is to return to work. This relentless drive, despite the lack of tangible rewards, reflects the ultimate dedication to duty. This resonates with modern audiences, who, despite being work-weary, find a sense of mission and purpose via the emotions’ selfless dedication.
“Inside Out 2” addresses Riley’s adolescence but avoids the true complexities of puberty, focusing instead on anxiety, a universal theme in a competitive society.
The film offers nostalgia as a counterbalance to anxiety. Nostalgia, like anxiety, is a powerful psychological motivator. The audience’s nostalgic bond with the first film, after a 9-year wait, is a key factor in the sequel’s success.
(Li Jingfei is a video artist and senior lecturer at the Shanghai Vancouver Film School.)
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