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It has been 8 years since I have posted on this blog. I always loved movies. I still do. I love going to the movie theatre, eating popcorn, watching the trailers of upcoming films, etc. I don't have much time to do that now that I am a mother of two small girls. I am tired, I have a lot to do, I don't have a nanny on rotation, and my friends have complicated schedules. Thanks to all these streaming services, I watch more movies and shows than ever; thank God for that! Most of the movies I watch at the theatres are the family kind since that is the only time I get to go whenever my girls want to watch one.
So, here we go again. I watched "Inside Out"(2015) from a new mother's perspective. Obviously, I sobbed like crazy, being a hormonal mess faced with the inevitability of change. I have been a mom for nine years now, and if there is something I learned to be a constant in this parenthood deal, it is change. Just when you are about to figure it out, here comes another stage you are totally unprepared for, which will rock your world. I remember watching this movie and thinking about how little and fragile one was at that age, how ill-equipped you were to handle life's curved balls, and how hard it was to express your feelings and claim your independence from your parents. As a mother of a nine-year-old, I see it now from the other perspective, how hard it is to understand your kids are their own person, they don't belong to you, they won't always do what you want them to do, they won't always need you the way you want to be needed.
"Inside Out 2" (2024) starts with our girl Riley as a 13-year-old about to start high school with the realization her best friends won't be around, a terrifying thought. She has lots to figure out. If there is something that teenagers crave, it is acceptance and belonging; most of them don't like to stand out; they want to be part of a group, in this case, a hockey team. Besides the external conflict, there is a war inside Riley as new emotions come into play. Pixar has a beautiful way of explaining how we come about our own concept of identity, the core beliefs that make us who we are and believe to be. So far, Joy (Amy Poehler) has been able to expel all negative thoughts and experiences away so they don't become part of Riley's identity, but when Anxiety (Maya Hawke) comes into the picture, things change. I guess that makes sense; once you reach adolescence, you start questioning everything you are and everything around you; nothing seems that certain anymore.
Riley has to face a big internal conflict on how to face her previous self, make room for all these new emotions, and still find ways to feel like her and enjoy her life. Besides the core emotions introduced in the first movie: Joy, Disgust, Fear, Sadness and Anger, we are now introduced to Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Boredom (Ennui). During the movie, I kept thinking about which emotion was grabbing my emotional keyboard as I felt identified by a combination of them at different stages of my life. I felt a personal connection to this conflict Riley is dealing with because of the reining new emotion that grabs hold of her: Anxiety. I think Pixar/Disney perfectly represents the frustration, the overthinking, the damage and the good intentions that come from anxiety, such a common problem in the minds of many people nowadays. To give you an idea, more than 40 million people in the US have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder, that is almost 20% of the population; here in Canada 1 of 4 Canadians will receive an anxiety disorder diagnosis in their lifetime, Mexican stats on this particular disorder are more challenging to track because of the stigma associated with mental health issues, but according to recent surveys, 1 and 8 Mexicans have suffered from a depressive disorder, and depression is often caused by anxiety.
As much as Joy tries to control the situation, she eventually comes to the realization that she can't; she needs to let go and that some negative thoughts will be part of Riley's identity and that one is made not only of the good experiences but the bad ones too, as those are the ones that help us grow and become more resilient. I analyze my own, the good and the bad, the ones that have made me the person I am, or a combination of small gestures that eventually became this mountain that makes the base of all my beliefs.
Now, some people have been criticizing the fact that Riley's mind made no mention of any sexual thoughts, and I get it, and then I don't. I understand these years are about to get filled with raging hormones, but if I think of myself at 13, I have no room in my mind for boys; I cared about my friends, and I might have had a crush or two, but that didn't make a big part of my life. Maybe they just wanted to leave that aside to appeal to a younger audience, or perhaps they didn't think that part of Riley needed to be the focus of attention right now because, for a 13-year-old girl, their world is made of her friends, not a boy, not a sexual awakening of any kind, it is the people she bonds with, the people she finds common ground with, who are experiencing the same challenges that she is, that is her center. I watched with sadness, taking the wheel in my head as I headed in that direction with my oldest girl. Soon, she will think of me as "cringe," obsolete, ridiculous, lame and boring; soon, she will have nothing to do with me, and I will take a backseat in her life, and I am not ready for it.
This movie made me think a lot. I thought about my 13-year-old self, the challenges, my mind back then, the heartaches, and my friends. I thought about my kids, about how they are forming core memories (every time I yell or punish them, I think oh God, here goes a bad core memory, thanks a lot, Pixar!), how they are creating their identity, how I hope is full of positive things, how I wish they see themselves, their unique, kind, intelligent little selves. It was funny, profound and suitable for the entire family, as we all got something different. I give it a "will be part of my collection!" because I feel it will be on repeat at my home once it hits Disney+.
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