I’m writing this post with a bandaged finger and a bandaged thumb, the unfortunate result of a lightsaber battle during which a padawan dumped a pile of clean laundry on the floor in order to get away from an attacking Sith lord. The Sith tried to save the laundry and wound up catching the hilt of the padawan’s lightsaber on the edges of his hands. The Sith’s nails, uncut and ragged, shattered at the base. Blood followed.
Then bandages.
This lightsaber battle was a physical manifestation of my id, lusting after the boyhood joys of clashing lightsabers. I’ve long manifested such ideas in my head as a giggling stick figure. Apparently I’m not alone. I took the boys to watch Inside Out, not expecting much more than a few glimpses of a cartoonized Lewis Black. It took me utterly by surprise with a fresh and, occasionally Buddhist, representation of how human emotions and memories utterly control human behavior. I think this is going to require two posts to really dig in there and uncover the reason why I loved it so much. I suppose it was partially time and place and the kids being with me, but this was also a fresh and original film that did a great job with the sub-characterizations of a young girl’s mind and tying a plot tightly around it.
Here’s the premise: We have a team of emotions living inside our head and managing our personalities. The emotions are Joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger–all based on basic psychology (that has be revisited and narrowed by some to include only four). In each person there is a ‘prime’ emotion that rules the rest. This story is about the relationship between the prime Joy and her counterpart sadness. The film is also about the idea of prime memories and how these key moments define our personalities. I agree with this for reasons to be discussed in a separate 10 minute experience.
Here is the summary: Go see it. Let go of expectation and enjoy the ride.
Some Thoughts:
- I cannot imagine working in a store where the primary product sold was underwear. What do you say to customers? How about an extra helping of drawers?