9 Years Later I Finally Understand Inside Out 1 & 2

[@fitforfreelance]

There was a massive line in the second movie about self-improvement. It made me recognize that self-improvement solely exists through the belief that the person isn't good enough

[@SilentStormParadox]

The thing that stands out to me with all this is the idea that we are controlled by our emotions rather than they just being signals of underlying beliefs. And a good meditation practice helps a person feel and unfeel emotions at will rather than being at their mercy. Once a person understands the role of emotions in their life and the level of control they have over them life can be more of a logistics puzzle with emotions adding color to the grayscale. The other thing is how emotions, negative and positive, are like brake and gas pedals that get you energized to achieve your goals or stop you in your tracks. Sometimes they stop you to protect you, sometimes to reflect on the situation, or sometimes for no reason at all. Understanding what is happening and, again, your level of control can help you to shut down pointless negative emotions and cultivate positive energizing emotions and live a healthy life.

[@timhanson3678]

Jared’s videos are usually great but I think this one was exceptional even by the standards he set.

[@Evil_Spotify_Metal-and-Rock]

Did you just realize you're a narcissist as well? I used to point at others and label them as such. After watching this video on my $2500 smartphone, while sitting on my hand crafted baby soft recliner, I realized I also look inward. I was shocked! I should probably start looking outward at some form of better meaning in life

[@Batdude247]

The dunking baby clip when talking about authority was genius

[@metaouroboros6324]

Took me until getting to that point to understand this comment. Lol

[@nearly_epic]

Jared's and Žižek's critique of post-modernisms hidden authority behind a gentle exterior facade is spot on👌🏽

[@aolson1111]

I think it's kind of dumb. You're free to not give a shit. You're free to be content. I sure am. Hundreds of years ago, I would probably be a peasant farmer, slaving away for 14 hour days, too tired and broken to think about anything other than survival. No thanks.

[@isakhellgren510]

This excellent essay deserves much more than thousands of views. Thanks, and hope your channel grows!

[@seancornell2549]

Cool to see your Thug Notes book in the background; that was my introduction to you and your writing, and here we are, all these years later. Good stuff as always!

[@lintern77]

I'm not an anxious person and this movie is stressing me out

[@gregtaylor9806]

It’s so refreshing to hear the aging buzzword (narcissism) cast into an intelligent analysis of modern life. It gives me hope that life can become better. So few are talking about this cultural mistake. People just rant about how ‘capitalism’ is the problem or ‘wokeness’ is destroying us. It’s neither, or it’s both. It’s something more fundamental underlying both criticisms. Psychology, as always, has missed the bill by sending our awareness outwards to identify ‘narcissists’ all around us instead of recognizing the ‘narcissism’ within ourselves and in our cultural fabric. Great, great analysis Jared. Thanks for showing me new things and making me a little more optimistic.

[@cowboyhank456]

Instead of fixing problems, we analyze, place blame, and then feel bad again. A system cannot be changed, so the only way to be happy is to look inside. A culture that does not correct this mindset is a slave to anxiety. Yet a realization that all shall pass and that we have autonomy is indeed optimistic.

[@nicolassinclair9305]

Hey Jared, could you recommend 10 books that you think are absolutely worth reading.

[@diegovillacreses7071]

What a thoughtful, well-delivered, profound and useful essay. Thank you Jared!

[@Kcoldraz]

Is it weird that I understand the unsatisfactory life shown in the movie but at the same time I kinda like my life and playing videogames and consuming all these media every free time I have? I mean, i didn't really chose to get education in some discipline where I can make a difference like medicine or some scientific pursuit.

[@aryaman98]

Wonderful video essay!! I also really liked your Truman Show essay as well!

[@dr_volberg]

1. In the first movie all core memories are *only* one color. The growth comes from realizing that more than one emotion can be tied to a situation. 2. Joy's hair is the same blue as the whole of Sadness. What's up with that?

[@QuidamByMoonlight]

They made Joy’s hair blue because they didn’t want her to look like Tinkerbell if she was blonde!

[@Double-R-Nothing]

I understood that as showing sadness to be a part of her just as much as her inherent happiness. Same applies for her eye color

[@jesustovar2549]

You nailed it, while I didn't necessarily cried the first three times I watched the second movie, I totally related in some aspects, the insatisfaction of not having a perfect life, that you haven't achieved the goals you proposed yourself, Joy even acknowledges: "I don't know how to stop Anxiety, maybe this is what happens when you grow up, you feel less joy", it's very true, I'm living it now, however after watching both films, I feel like my sense of self returns, I finally understand that my system of beliers determines the way we see ourselves and act, to quote Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars Ep. 1: The Phantom Menace: "your concentration determines your reality" or even at the beginning of that film when he says to Obi-Wan he shouldn't worry about the future (already stated by Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back), going back to Inside Out, I truly relate to Anxiety in some level, she always worries about the future and wants to prepare Riley for the next dangers, my Mother has called me anxious in the past, I used to deny it until I saw the film, I recognized that every human being goes through it, I even had a panic attacks weeks earlier and also felt embarrased, so that made the film very relatable to me, I loved it. Another note: you say Anxiety dosen't sound "anxious", however in the mexican/latin american spanish dub, the actress who voices Anxiety (María José Guerrero) has stated that she's been anxious since she was a kid, so she relates to the character.

[@guilhermetamaki700]

Thanks Jared for the great analysis as always!

[@kolonarulez5222]

Nine years? I thought the sequel just came out

[@Puerco-Potter]

Manipulation by guilt is the new "healthy" way to force others to do stuff.

[@addammadd]

It’s as new as it is healthy.

[@arono9304]

You'll enjoy Byung-Chul Han's _The Burnout Society_

[@alexandersolodovnikov4840]

I think he has already read it.

[@BotlheMolelekwa-ju2se]

In reality it's about what you can and can't do. The problem in this case is that people have different views of how to grow as individuals and as a society. If all countries decided to have one way of doing things then we will still end up here because people are stubborn, refuse to improve on their critical thinking skills, have biases and such that leaves people divided as they are now .And people end up doing the change to people they know they can change. Ourselves. We are reacting towards our perceived experiences of reality which makes our decisions not in our control. But our awareness of how our perceived experiences affect us and how our decisions affect our environment gives us a bit of control.

[@alexwixom4599]

definitely need more media that delves into emotions like this. Miraculous Ladybug is kind of one, not great but it's a start

[@metaouroboros6324]

This feels like MatPat Era film theory. When he was saying joy is the antagonist. Which I do think is true.

[@WhiskerDooz]

This one hurt

[@mickeyodunikan1712]

I love how you take your time to make these videos. Do you have a specific method?

[@assurali6822]

Everyone has one, but it is passion that put something like this

[@alexisgarcia1344]

This occurred to me while reading some of the comments. What if Riley has ADHD when she gets older? Women are being diagnosed in larger numbers in college or well into middle age. It would be interesting to see how that impacts these emotions as women with ADHD have depression and/or anxiety. If they don't have good coping structures, it can create burnout. Which creates a cycle of anxiety and depression.

[@gmx7424]

I'm 45. I've just come to recognize a few years ago, now a mother of three, two of them neurodivergent, that I myself tick a few AuDHD boxes. What's making me angry? The two afore mentioned children whose teachers urged me to get them counseling are male. My daughter, the youngest of my three, is now 12. Not once has any teacher of hers ever contacted me about anything. Very much so like myself in that age, I suspect my daughter "keeps it in" and somehow copes. Girls are still not seen.

[@havens1515]

I'm not sure how you missed the most obvious message from the movies: All of our emotions are important. Even "negative" emotions like sadness and anxiety. The first film tells you that it's OK to be sad, and feel these negative emotions. The second film tells you that while it's OK to experience these negative emotions, bad things happen if you let those emotions to take over completely. You need to keep them in check, while also allowing yourself to experience them when necessary. (Once it is under control, Anxiety mentions that there is a test coming up, and she needs to study. This is a positive outcome of feeling that emotion while not letting it get out of control.) Also, anxiety doesn't just "sound normal." Anxiety talks super quickly most of the time, and is always in a hurry to do everything as quickly as possible... because it's anxiety. Anxiety acts without thinking about the consequences. And that's the perfect personification of anxiety.

[@hyugakarn]

I love you man!

[@ChrisGuerra31]

Just finished the P Guide movies 👌

[@RaphaelAlejandro]

Robert Moore talks a lot about this, from the perspective of a neo-Jung. Great videos!

[@Segkee]

1. Buddhism 2. I'm not sure INSIDE OUT delineates as aggressively between biology and culture as your thesis suggests. It says that culture impacts biology and biology impacts culture. Nature AND nurture. Not "or". Which, I think, is novel given the polarity of most modern debate. Our "self" is not separate from our bodily systems. Our "self" is the composition of aggregates (our senses - the things that plug us into the Matrix) and the system that funnels the information (awareness, consciousness). What is ideological about that? I realize there are some who say biology is destiny, but I don't think that is inside out's argument. Biology doesn't make us automatons. It just is a system that can help or hurt us based on how we interact with outer systems - like culture, environment. And a functional "self" is one that can recognize (be aware of) the impact of the outer world (culture, environment) and how that might cause biological responses to deal with (and survive) these situations (even though some of our biological responses were adapted to engage with very different contexts, environments, and cultures and may "hijack" our ability to function). 3. Buddhism. A 2600 year old analysis of the world and human condition devoid of modern science that, appears to have "gotten it" before Sam Harris and neuroscience did.

[@Segkee]

P.S. good and thought provoking video. I en-JOY this series very much.

[@kf8113]

​@@Segkee You might consider Žižek's essay "Why Lacan is Not a Buddhist".

[@Segkee]

​@@kf8113 I've read it. From my memory he is engaging with another thinkers interpretation of Buddhism (specifically Western New Age Buddhism) not the simple Buddhist teachings in and of themselves (nor for that matter, my simple interpretation of Buddhism here). The man he cites, I believe, makes a huge leap that Zizek argues against - that the ego (or super ego?) came into existence or was manifested with the agrarian revolution. How does that counter my argument? Or are you saying that it counters it because Zizek/Lacan don't like Buddhism? I am talking about basic aggregates (our senses) and our awareness of them. I realize this is not your intent, but what you've done is cite a "Bible" passage without contextualizing it. Meaning, you give the impression that you're debating me without debating me. Ha! Ideology baby!

[@gg-th4jp]

​@@Segkee Western New Age Buddhism is a hybrid form of protestantism, taking the Buddhism tradition and warping and bastardizing it through a protestant frame.

[@kf8113]

@@Segkee That sounds like a projection, considering you just name dropped Buddhism as two of your main numbered points. Anyways, it seems like you could benefit from rereading it. Maybe the more salient point in it is Žižek's direct interrogation of the idea of the Boddhisattva, and also of the (false) neutrality of the 'emptiness' pivotal to Buddhist ontology and practice. That the renouncement of desire is itself a pleasure, the sacrifice by way of a Boddhisattva's rejection of entering Nirvana to elevate all sentient beings first is in fact the persistence of enjoyment in such sacrifice, particularly the term in his psychoanalytic work for this would be 'surplus enjoyment'. The catchier formula he quoted was, and I think it was Judith Butler who coined it first, that "the repression of desire becomes the desire for repression". I recommend it again. I am not interested in a debate.

[@AntoineClinet]

Hey Jared great analysis as always! Lasch's thoughts made me think of another book about the societal shift inward and how the modern sense of self is now almost entirely psychological : "The Rise of Triumph of the Modern Self" by Carl R. Trueman, I highly recommend it if you haven't read it already.

[@ozangulec4064]

Can you make a video about the Pixar movie "Soul" ? None of the friends that I've talked about understood it completely.. What do you think the real meaning of that film?

[@derheadbanger9039]

Inside Out 1 tears me up every time I just see a short clip - Inside Out 2 did nothing for me!

[@bamath87]

I wonder how Asian and African audiences - or anyone from a more community-oriented culture - reacted to the first Inside Out. Were they confused about the emphasis on Joy and Sadness? Why did Anxiety and Embarrassment not show up until puberty? Where is the little character for Duty? Why was Riley playing hockey instead of studying to be a doctor?!? Try as it might to universalize its message, Inside Out is still a product of the Western, individualist culture where it was written. It claims to preach emotional health through balance, but both films still realize their "happy ending" when Joy regains primary control of the emotion console. Western culture's modern message, as you point out, is that healthy people are guided by Joy; kids especially get bombarded with this message throughout childhood. If you're a primarily angry or sad or fearful kid, you are a problem to be corrected. I still love both films, and I especially appreciate the peeks inside the heads of the adult characters, where we see that Joy isn't always in the driver's seat. I guess what I really want is an Inside Out 3 that bridges that gap between childhood and adulthood: a post-college Riley has to find mental health and stability in a world that sees Joy as mere fuel for capitalism. Consume things to generate Joy > joyful people work harder > hard workers have more money to spend on consumption.

[@kf8113]

@@bamath87 That, or maybe a story where Riley becomes a worse person by being driven by Joy constantly, and the emotions never see what the issue is as Riley becomes increasingly insufferable.

[@FiercelyGold]

​@@kf8113I feel like we already saw Riley become a worse person by being driven by the want to have joy, which is what Anxiety is doing. And we already saw Joy's struggle herself with not having enough control and accepting twice that other emotions are important to Riley's overall mental health. But ultimately you're right, this is a story about Riley tripping all over herself to be the best version of herself, and a third film would have to explore our culture's toxic messaging which revolves around consumption to achieve happiness, which is success. Our early adult years are all about trying to figure out how to be successful and sometimes ignoring our happiness thinking it's getting in the way of our goals. Which is touched on in the second movie, as that's represented by Anxiety locking Joy away until the happiness is earned

[@Petch85]

👏

[@sebastianhernandomunozrubi7131]

Dude, will you review the last "Rick and Morty" season?

[@ÖzgeBauer]

Nice

[@christopherchilton-smith6482]

13:13 It’s interesting that free will never seems to play a role throughout. Instead her new sense of self is determined by integrating as much of her past experiences as possible.

[@aolson1111]

Depends on what you consider "free will." Those emotions are her, so she's ultimately the one discarding her old sense of self.

[@nothanks_Imjustlookin]

It seemed more deterministic to me. Turning inward to Riley’s emotions attempting to control outcomes of biological or external events only to discover they have no control seems to be a big part of both movies. The movie acknowledging sadness or anxiety as important doesn’t seem to be a choice for Riley or the viewer, rather just a fact of life. And the illusion of control between anxiety and joy becomes that, an illusion. They are just responding. It’s also interesting that each person seems to have a different emotion centered. Either way, does becoming more self aware of how we respond emotionally to circumstances a bad thing? The grandma in the nursing home example implies guilt, but giving a child the awareness and ability to make the choice may make them feel bad, but being told to do something without the rational of why doesn’t seem like the exactly right thing to do either.

[@mikhailg4667]

Its hard not to chase status and recognition since those are irrevocably linked to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and the first layer, material conditions, are always advancing. Running water and electricity alone mightve been luxuries 100 years ago, but now having access to and affording wifi, several streaming services, health supplements, ect have risen that bar. To afford the former let alone latter require an ample income, not even including potential extra costs of family or kids if thats desired, in which case one person alone will need to make at least 100k/year. So while one doesnt want to get caught up in the rat-race, it seems hard to avoid when our society deems it so necessary.

[@comradethatmetalguy]

Although I am not a fan of psychoanalysis, I do agree with what Freud said, that individual psychology also has to be social psychology. There have been many advances in cognitive behavioral therapy and other areas of psychology, but in my opinion, the causes and solutions to mental health problems have become too individualized. One problem I have with these movies (which I love anyway) is that there is too much emphasis on the individual aspect instead of arriving at a social solution. By the way, I didn't know Inside Out 2 was nine years old already, haha, I think I fell asleep for a while.

[@gonthyalavishalchandan1193]

I think you need to check into advait philosophy which is 100% about self and self alone which exactly guides you towards who you really are

[@chrisrussellca]

10,000 views? That’s it?

[@gg-th4jp]

I love this take, therapy culture makes people selfish and neurotic.

[@HenryCasillas]

❄️

[@DasGreenCow]

Inside Out: It's ok to not force yourself to be happy all the time. Sadness is important. Your memories can be colored by multiple emotions. Inside Out 2: Anxiety Bad, except when it isn't.

[@FiercelyGold]

Nah, both of them are about not letting one single emotion control who you are. In the first one, Joy is fighting for control and in the second one Anxiety is fighting for control and ultimately Joy helps Anxiety realize that neither of them are the one and only solution to Riley's challenges. We all know anxiety can remind us of our priorities, but living in an anxious state is going to destroy us. It only takes one anxiety attack to understand anxiety cannot be in control. And we see that clearly in Inside Out 2 when Anxiety is in complete control, Riley breaks down and Anxiety is both unable to move and moving too much at once. This anxiety attack is what nonstop Anxiety will lead us to. Anxiety needs to be able to speak but not control, just like all emotions and parts of ourselves

[@evilinterpol]

Self help is not self perfection. You can let narcissism ruin anything including how you view others self improvement and reflection 😊

[@tonym6566]

14:00 ish

[@alexiphigenia1618]

Avoid anything that helps you break through your programming

[@elklown]

This reminds me of something I often debate about with my mother. While we are both what you would call leftist progressives, it’s interesting that my ideology -being an elder millennial- leans towards trying to change external conditions (through change in political and economic systems, policies, etc.) to benefit society, while she-a boomer with a more new-age ideology- believes that the only way to bring about positive change in society will come from individual improvement. This seems more in line with what Jared calls narcissism in this video but I don’t believe it’s necessarily so. I do agree with her that self-improvement can -paradoxically-also be altruistic. I don’t think either ideology is wrong, I just think that if we sit around waiting for 8 billion people to become enlightened we’ll all be dead by economic and environmental collapse before that happens.

[@Mr_Case_Time]

Just curious- what actual actions do you personally take to improve society?

[@elklown]

@@Mr_Case_Time being as informed and politically active as I can, either in elections, public manifestations or anything that could potentially make a difference. Also trying to have constructive debates with people on different sides of the political spectrum.

[@Mr_Case_Time]

@@elklown But not really any tangible changes being made around you as a direct result of your actions, right? I think it’s easier to focus on improving yourself because you can typically see results much sooner, and they’re easier to measure. You can lose or gain weight, count the number of books you’ve read on any given subject, quit a bad habit, look for a new job, etc. When we try to fix society though, that is much more difficult to measure as a product of our actions alone. You can vote on something, but it’s very likely nothing would have changed if you didn’t vote at all, or voted the opposite way. Whoever I vote for this November, or even whether I vote, will not be the deciding factor regarding who gets to be President. But, I can shave my beard when it looks messy.

[@elklown]

@@Mr_Case_Time I think we can do both, it’s true that it’s harder to visualize the result of individual actions on a macro scale but it’s the sum of the actions that matter. You could say that if you throw litter on the street, no one will notice a single wrapper in a whole city , but if a million people decided to do the same thing the city would be full of garbage. Things like labor rights need collective action to change and even if you don’t see the results it might benefit your children or grandchildren.

[@ちにたてとな]

8:55

[@ghost21501]

Joy can only be found in Christ. It transcends your sense of self and external circumstances.

[@JoshuaFlores-f9k]

Amen

[@Rooskie91]

The way you're talking about how managing our own emotions is most important sounds so much like Ayn Rand's objectivism, where people are encouraged to think only of them selves for the benefit of society. I wonder if the forced adoption of neoliberalism has anything to do with it? I'd be curious if there's a connection there somewhere.

[@soufian2733]

I remember the praise for the first movie being extremely high and yet it didn’t resonate with me at all. Watched the sequel last night so I could understand what you have to say in this video and I wasn’t impressed by it either. I think I have a problem with the way the human characters are portrayed as robots controlled by their emotions. Still enjoyed the essay, I love how you’re able to apply Zizek’s concept of enjoyment to virtually any piece of modern media

[@MtsBrg-ob6gf]

Acutally the „neuroscience“ in inside out is largely based on Paul Ekmans work, which is pretty much rejected nowadays. Love the Movies though.

[@tokyworld]

I think inside out 1 and 2 are great movies...that said Im liberal as it gets, but I fear that they're preparing for a woke 3 installment where Riley comes out as gay (studio notes said to tone down the romantic angle of Riley and her idolized teammate and that big gal in the secret vault hints to that). That will be a kick in the nuts whoever is a fan of this IP.

[@DanLyndon]

So, the idea that neuroscientists were consulted is almost funny, because Inside Out is NOTHING like how neuroscience tells us emotions work. There is not a group of distinct primary emotions that all take turns at the control panel, like the film shows. That's based on a myth. Rather, there are broad categories of experiences that are are constructed in a different way every time that we only give crude labels to because our language is limited.

[@gregtaylor9806]

I don’t think anyone watches Inside Out and assumes it is anything like the way emotions actually work. I don’t even think that’s a common myth.

[@twiho]

Wait there are no colorful little fantasy people in my head? What am I hearing then?

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

​@@twihoif anything, you would have 3 times the people in your head depicted because emotions are more complex than what is presented in the movies.

[@Segkee]

@@bazzfromthebackground3696 yet less complex than anyone wants to believe.

[@DanLyndon]

@@twiho The most predictable response to this comment and yet completely missing the point being made.

[@alexxx4434]

Shame that the Inside Out 2 was rushed. The second film treads the same path as the first - growing up makes our inner world more and more complex. So far the life of the protagonist was pretty light. I say, Inside Out 3 should touch the subject of trauma and not being able to properly mature, unless healed.

[@s.r.2985]

First

[@cptkilgore]

Good Job!

[@Watch-0w1]

My man!

[@kilgoretrout413]

Jesus Christ, he is so slow