Yesterday I ran against time to watch Inside Out – the latest Disney Pixar movie about getting to know our emotions. It was a really cool movie and the fought we did against time to be able to watch it was worth it. Even the hefty cinema ticket price (I rarely watch movies in movie houses) was worth it.
It was not a movie for kids though. Kids may love the animation, etc. but the whole impact of the story will be felt by adults. It was a movie for adults – about reflecting on how we handle our emotions.
Psychologists would love the movie. I believe it creates for them the same effect that Osmosis Jones has created for me and for any biologist / medical practitioner familiar with the characters and scenes.
Rational vs Emotions
I have always prided myself at being objective and analytical. Since I was young, I grew up learning never to let my emotions overcome my rational thinking and make decisions for myself. In Inside Out, the movie shows 5 basic emotions that influence our decisions for how to go about the day.
The Emotions in Inside Out
There’s Joy, the happy and positive emotion that influences us to always look at life in a positive way and to react with a smile even when faced with challenges. Joy pushes us to look for solutions and opportunities amidst challenges and trials.
Then there’s Anger, a default reaction when things do not seem to go our way. Anger influences us to pursue certain courses of action just because we are not satisfied with the current situation. There is actually righteous anger which causes us to seek justice when we see injustice and then there’s unrighteous anger which is the one that’s out of control and causes us to break laws just to achieve things. The former is positive and creates positive results while the latter is negative resulting in hurtful situations and thus is best avoided.
There’s Fear who, as the movie says, keeps us safe. Because of Fear, we learn to avoid things that could otherwise be harmful for us. While it’s wrong to live life in fear of everything, the right amount of fear is actually necessary for us in life. I recall an episode in Gotham where the antagonist sought to eliminate fear in his life. Because he did so, he was unable to perceive danger and end up dying. Unhealthy levels of fear meanwhile prevents us from accomplishing anything in life because we end up too afraid to take any form of risk. A healthy balance is always encouraged.
Continue reading “Thoughts on Emotions: An Inside Out Reflection”
