The movie Inside Out brings back real-life experiences as it tackles Riley’s experiences,
realizations, development, and transitioning. It mostly takes place in her mind, where her
emotions, memories, and personality reside in the form of characters, objects, and islands. The
movie did not only revolve on Riley’s life, but also accurate concepts and lessons on the well-
being and development of every person. I personally find the movie eye-opening because I was
given a visual and actual representation of my daily reflections as well as the topics discussed in
Personal Development.
In the first part of the movie, it showed Riley’s life in the stages of infancy up to
childhood. Some scenarios were playing around the house, playing with her best friend,
learning to play hockey, confessing about the vase she broke, and a whole lot more. It also
highlighted how she reacts to every situation with the help of her animated emotions. When
her father was serving her broccoli as an infant, her emotions were debating whether it was
safe to eat or poisonous. Disgust controlled the situation so Riley rejected it and slammed the
plate. The debate between her emotions also exhibits the psychosocial crisis in the stage of
infancy—trust vs. mistrust. The Islands of Personality were shown as well. These islands were
shaped by her experiences as a child. For example, when Goofball Island was mentioned, it
corresponds to the time she was running around naked, playing with her father. This
personality shows Riley’s funny and playful side. In relation to the lesson regarding personality,
social interactions, behavior, and external factors influence and mold our personality, whether
it is her relationship with her parents and peers or the type of environment she grew up in.
Additionally, every person has a distinct and unique personality. As Joy mentioned in the movie,
“These Islands of Personality are what make Riley…Riley!” Moving on to the part where Riley’s
family moved out, she was then devastated by the situation as seen in the way she reacted to
their new home. At the same time, Joy was trying to take charge of everything, scolding
Sadness because she was merely making things worse. As I was watching at this point, I was
initially agreeing with Joy because Sadness was “ruining” Riley’s supposedly good moments like
her self-introduction, where she cried in front of the class as she was sharing her sentiments.
When Disgust, Anger, and Fear were the only emotions left in the Headquarters, Riley
experienced distress or a type of stress that kept her unmotivated and down because of her
longing for “home.” It appeared in her behavior as the three were the only ones in control. This
manifests that emotions correspond to certain behaviors or observable actions and stress
affected how she acted. For example, when her mom was asking about school, Riley
disrespectfully answered back because of Anger. Riley also became socially withdrawn and
functioned way differently than she usually did, which eventually led to her running away from
home as an emotional coping mechanism. For me, escaping from home isn’t the best idea,
considering it’s solely avoiding the problem and not coming up with an ideal solution to it.
Thankfully, Joy and Sadness came back to the Headquarters. Similar to Joy, I then realized that
Sadness also plays a vital role in a person’s well-being, that mental health is not purely
positivity. Thanks to Sadness, Riley went back home to her parents. She broke down, opened up
about what she was truly feeling, and eventually arrived on her own self-concept. She became
aware that she’s trying to be happy for her parents when in fact, she really wasn’t. This is
personally my favorite scene because Riley was able to come up with a more direct solution to
the stress she’s experiencing, which is talking about it with her parents. In the beginning, I
thought Sadness was only a burden in the story, but it appeared that she was a lifesaver at the
end. Sadness brought a better mental health and psychological well-being to Riley, meaning
she’s now able to acknowledge even negative feelings, express them, and function better as a
daughter, friend, and student. Her crying didn’t signify weakness, but it was rather relief to her.
It’s also a sign of emotional development because she was now able to manage and recognize
stress.
“It’s okay not to be okay.” We always hear this yet we tend to forget that our feelings,
positive or negative, are valid. We pressure ourselves to think positive when we obviously can’t
act happy. Personally, I cry or sleep when I’m not fine. It doesn’t make you less of a person, but
rather a way of taking care of yourself. How about you? How can you exhibit self-care when
you’re not fine?
