During the summer, my grandparents and I went to see “Inside Out 2,” and I consider it the most important movie I’ve seen this year.
When I first heard this movie was coming out, I was very excited and knew I wanted to see it. My excitement initially came about when I saw four new emotions introduced: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui. Even though I haven’t seen the first “Inside Out” in years, I liked it and found it a unique and entertaining movie. With the showing of “Inside Out 2” this week at the Robinson Quad, the movie recaptured my attention.
What I love about this movie is that it captures important life lessons for boys and girls who are starting to become teenagers and young adults. There is a scene where the main character, Riley, said “I’m too gross to go to camp or anywhere ever again,” which was a moment that stuck out to me when I sat in the theater. While I feel like that statement was very overdramatic, it would still be something kids would say during their first stages of puberty.
I started growing facial hair in eighth grade. When my classmates noticed them, I started questioning my appearance and why it was happening. Now that I’m 21, and I’ve had facial hair for years now, I like it because it makes me look older and feel good about myself. Watching Riley go through something so similar to what I’ve dealt with makes the movie more impactful.
Another thing that I feel this movie did a great job of is representing what kids will do when they become a part of a larger community and try to fit in. Towards the end of the movie, Riley dyes part of her hair red to make herself look like the cool girl and her friends, who all have some parts of their hair red. She does it because she feels like her new friends will accept her if she looks more like them. Throughout the movie, she acts like she enjoys the same food, even if she truly doesn’t and agrees with almost everything they say. I enjoyed how much this movie can represent real situations in which teenagers can behave around others.
Something that a lot of people have talked about, mainly teenagers, is how the movie grew up as we did. While most college-age students were between eight and 10 when the first movie came out, the movie didn’t necessarily age the same way as us. Still, watching Riley go through the same things we already have and will continue to go through in college as we navigate friendships and who we are, is a much-needed reminder that we’re still learning.
Especially for college freshmen, trying to fit in and make friends in a new environment with new people can be terrifying. Riley met the cool girl, she was at hockey camp, which had a lot of older girls, and felt the need to change herself because of them. I’ve always been myself, and I let the sense of belonging come to me naturally. However, sometimes everybody needs that reminder that it isn’t necessary to change yourself to make new friends.
I’d say one of my favorite scenes is the ending. I love how it shows that kids don’t have to change for other kids to like them more. What everyone should do is be themselves, and that message was represented in the ending.