Inside Out Psychology

Inside Out (Docter, 2015) follows the journey of 12-year old Riley as she is forced to leave her lifelong home of Minnesota after her father receives a new job in San Francisco. Most of the film takes place inside of Riley’s brain, where the emotions of joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger are each personified by a character of the same name. These emotions unite to control how Riley reacts to the adjustment of her new life. By giving emotions a life of their own, Inside Out provides a refreshingly unique perspective on mental health concerns and teaches children that it is okay to not always be happy. From the start, Joy is depicted as the alpha of the emotions, and understandably so. The headquarters of Riley’s brain emphasizes the one-track mind nature that children often exhibit. There is only one button to express emotion, so each of the emotions take turns having an impact on Riley’s mood. Since Joy leads the way, her influence is present most of the time and Riley acts like most children her age; full of youthful innocence and overall positivity. Even while beginning the process of moving, she remains optimistic about the opportunities that will come in San Francisco. While Joy is the dominant

The film could have taken the easy way out and had Joy triumphantly save the day, but instead it chooses to take a more sensible approach with Sadness being the unlikely hero. By having the plot play out in the head of a young girl, the film gives children someone to relate to in their struggles. It is unrealistic to expect children to be continuously happy in their life. People are constantly being impacted by different emotions and Inside Out tells kids that it is okay as long as they are able to keep them balanced. Watching Riley deal with a realistically stressful event gives the younger audience someone to identify