Film Theory: Which Emotion Shouldn't Be in Inside Out?

Introduction

• Inside Out not entirely scientifically accurate.
• Discussion around Pixar's emotional representation in the film.
• Upcoming Inside Out 2 introduces new emotions: anxiety, envy, embarrassment, ennui.

Original Inside Out Model

• Riley's core emotions: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger.
• Memories color-coded based on emotional association.

New Emotions in Inside Out 2

• Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui added as Riley hits puberty.
• Introduction of nostalgia as a joking character in the film.

Real-World Psychology vs. Film

• Academic disagreement on the number of human emotions.
• Models by different scholars:
  • Charles Darwin: 34 emotions.
  • Rene Descartes: Wonder, love, hate, desire, joy, sadness.
  • Aristotle: Pleasure, pain, combinations thereof.
  • Robert Plutchik: Core emotions (ex: ecstasy, grief, rage).
  • Paul Ekman: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger, Surprise.
• Plutchik and Ekman models influenced the development of Inside Out characters.

Plutchik Wheel and Dyads

• Emotions can combine to form new sub-emotions:
  • Joy + Anger = Pride
  • Fear + Disgust = Shame
  • Joy + Sadness = Bittersweetness (represented in the film).

Critiques of Ekman and Plutchik Models

• Simplistic for mature emotional understanding.
• Dacher Keltner's criticism: Love, Amusement, Sympathy missing in Inside Out.
• 2023 Scientific Reports: Ekman and Plutchik models too limiting.

The Junto Institute Emotion Wheel

• More complex and refined emotional model:
  • Core emotions: Joy, Love, Fear, Anger, Sadness, Surprise.
  • Sub-emotions for more specific emotional states (total 108 emotions).
• Advantages: balanced number of positive/negative emotions, love as a central emotion.
• Disgust demotion: Subset of Anger in the Junto Wheel.

Hypothetical Inside Out Future

• Inside Out 3 prediction: Complex emotional management, hierarchical structure.
• Idea for office building structure with head emotions and sub-emotions reporting.
• Potential themes: going to college, death of a parent.
• Complex bureaucracy of emotions to manage and deal with intense situations.

Conclusion

• Pixar's capacity to make emotionally rich stories will shine through, even with complex setups.
• Anticipation for emotional depth in future sequels and spinoffs.