- As a Disney fanatic, I absolutely love the Pixar movie Inside Out (2015) directed by Pete Docter. Though this is quite literally the opposite in genre compared to my research context, I feel like it explores the aspects of memories and emotions especially well.
image from Google Images
In the film, each “memory” is in the form of a glowing orb, matching the colours of the five emotions (yellow for Joy, blue for Sadness, red for Anger, purple for Fear and green for Disgust), residing in Riley’s (the protagonist) mind. This is because “attaching emotions to an event gives that explicit memory some context, and also makes it stronger” (Chamary, 2015). I remember this specific scene where Joy and Sadness are walking by the “library shelves of long term memories” (see image below).
image from Google Images
At one point, a yellow memory orb (symbolizing joy) changes colour to blue (symbolizing sadness) after being touched by Sadness (see image below).
image from Google Images
Similarly, in the movie, Bing Bong (Riley’s imaginary friend) says, “When Riley doesn’t care about memories, they fade.” There are these jelly bean-like characters called the ‘Mind Workers’ who pick “memories”/orbs off the shelf and throw them into the ‘Memory Dump’, a deep chasm where the unwanted orbs/“memories” go dull and are soon forgotten (see image below).
image from Google Images
By the end of the movie, we are able to learn that memories are not tied to a single emotion; most of Riley’s memory orbs are no longer a uniform, solid colour. Instead, they look more like marbles filled with multicoloured swirls representing a mix of emotions (see image below).
There’s one scene where Joy realizes that one of Riley’s happy moments came about because of Sadness (see video below from 2:38 ‘til the end).
Here, we can learn that even negative emotions like sadness are necessary to deal with life and the real world.
Screen Project 2 Tie-In
So for my project, I also plan on exploring the topic of emotions. There will be a shot where the subject of the film is seen drawing; doing something enjoyable in the hopes of it bringing joy in that moment. It is revealed that the drawing is of an eye (see image below).
Then, there will be a drop of water dripping on the “eye”, symbolizing shedding a tear and finally giving in to the sadness that still continues to overpower the joy. I also plan on portraying how a single memory could be tied to two contradicting emotions; sadness and joy. This could either be in terms of the visuals or through the poems/quotes.
Reference List:
Chamary, J. V. 2015, ‘How ‘Inside Out’ Explains The Science Of Memory’, Forbes, viewed 16 September 2021, <https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2015/08/30/inside-out-science/?sh=a5eb4d451848>
Musical Essence, 2016, ‘Inside Out – Joy is Sad Scene’, YouTube, viewed 16 September 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVPTbSkHa9s>
