Okay..... this is going to be really difficult. I want to write a little 'review' (more of a rant than a review to be fair) but I don't want to swear throughout because this is actually regarding a topic that is important to me and I don't want to come across bitter and negative (even thou I am). I'm not eloquent enough to explain my feelings without losing my temper.
It's also hard because I adore literally all Disney movies, especially Pixar. My security blanket movie is Finding Nemo.
For those of you who have yet to see it, the story revolves around Riley, an 11 year old girl from Minnesota whole life gets turned upside down when her parents uproot her and move to San Francisco. We basically watch everything happen through the reactions of her five core emotions (joy, anger, fear, disgust and sadness) and we watch how they help guide her through the difficult life-changing event. Sounds like a brilliant idea for a movie and a clever way to introduce children to emotions and help them understand how and why some people struggle more.
I personally just think it failed with its execution. Had it been written and produced correctly I think it would have been the perfect platform to discuss how depression can effect people.
Years ago, depression and mental problems were nothing but whispers and nobody listened. But over the past few years people have been speaking up and sharing their struggles, and it has helped others realise the seriousness of the situation. And this film as I said, would be a good way to even help children get a basic understanding. Riley's behaviour considering the circumstances is textbook signs of depression. If you have seen the film you will know what I'm talking about.
The problem I had with it was it was clearly written by someone who has never experienced depression for themselves. And as I have, I felt rather let down by its dreadful stereotyping.
Not all depressed people are sad. We don't all cry every day. Crying does not help us feel better. Personally, when I'm feeling depressed I can't describe how I'm feeling, but I know it isn't sadness. It is a multitude of emotions, all clambering to the forefront of the brain. Someone on Tumblr covered it perfectly with this doodle...
I know I'm probably over-analysing and dissecting the movie too much, but personally I feel that the writers have portrayed emotional 'sad' people as nothing more than a bunch of irritating cry babies. Which is completely inaccurate.
I don't have an issue with the Riley character, or even four of the emotions.... It's Sadness that really wound me up. When I'm 'sad' I go for a walk to clear my head, I speak to my family and they help me discuss my feelings. I sure as hell don't flop to the floor and cry like a bitch. There was one quote that really bugged me, when Sadness said "crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of life's problems"
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??!!
All the progress that has been made on the subject of emotional disorders and THIS is what Disney felt is appropriate to say. What a crock of sh--- poop! This is clearly going to damage the progression of depression awareness especially for children as they are just going to see sad people as criers who lay on the floor and sulk all the time. Which is not true. Personally, I cry when I'm angry, hungry, tired and happy. But rarely when I'm sad.
A friend said to me that maybe Disney probably just went basic to avoid any confusion for children, as the complexity of emotions is somewhat difficult to grasp at such a young age. But in dumbing down the content, it essentially branded sadness as negative and irritating. This is not the message we should be delivering to little kids.
So, I've ranted. And.......... breathe.
Thanks for listening.
Hello, I'm sorry. Came across your article while searching keywords Inside Out on Twitter. I thought I'd add my 2 cents but feel free to take no notice. I think you may be missing the point of the emotion characters. They are exaggerations of each relevant emotion. Example being "Disgust" is disgusted by everything. "Anger" is angry at everything. Whereas a human has a range of emotions that work in tandem. So you or I may be angry at something but we also posses the emotion of empathy, understanding etc that counteracts the emotion. The character of "Sadness" will always focus on being sad. Whereas when you are sad you go out for a walk and/or talk so other emotions are working in tandem with your sadness to produce a solution. The character of "Sadness" has no other emotion to counterbalance the outcome and therefore her sadness will always be accentuated.
ReplyDeleteAlso I don't agree with Riley's character showing textbook signs of depression. She is young and homesick. I don't think the writers were saying she is depressed but rather were saying this is how a homesick person losing her friends would react. Before the move Riley didn't showcase any signs of developing depression. She was happy, sporty and emotionally coherent.
If the film has a flaw it is the fact that it shows only a limited amount of emotions. Humans are much more complicated than Joyful, Disgusted, Angry, Afraid, or Sad. This is where the film fails. It's by not including all possible emotions in Riley's head that miscommunication and a lack of teaching to younger audiences ultimately destroys the good it was trying to do. Riley is missing a whole range of emotions. "Logic", "Empathy", "Compassion", Acceptance", "Envy", "Pity", "Indignation" and the list goes on. My humble opinion (I know you didn't ask for it) is that the problem with the film isn't the character of Sadness (she will always be sad, and some people cry when they are sad) but rather how underdeveloped the character of Riley is.
Mark Monahan
I did completely miss the point of the movie. I'm just pissing and moaning, like I always do. I didn't really think anyone was reading. I just come on here to ramble. Also, I get touchy because a lot of people do believe that depression sufferers act just like Sadness. (A friend of mine who had just seen it said Sadness reminds them of me, which annoyed me. That's probably why I'm so against the film.)
ReplyDeleteGranted, I only watched the movie once (and a half) so to be fair I didn't really give it much of a chance. You have explained it rather well actually, to the point where I *may* consider watching it again to give it another chance.
With the 'textbook depression' comment I meant that with the move and all it seemed like Riley was suffering from PTS, which triggered sudden depression. I probably should have gone into more detail then rather than making such a sweeping statement.
You're right thou, Inside Out did fail because of the limited emotions. Especially considering how many we are actually capable of feeling. Had they included more (especially Logic, Empathy and Acceptance) maybe it would have more relatable seeing them all interact together. But it sucked because even the parents had the five emotions. However the young boys emotions running around in a panic made me chuckle a little.
Don't be sorry for commenting, I like interaction. My rant was my grumpy opinion, hearing others opinions is good because it gives me a chance to consider things from a different perspective. :)