Popular Culture, Representation, and Ingenuity: Or Why Inside Out 2 Isn’t an Original Take on Anxiety.
Every summer seems to be defined by the standouts of various media categories, clothing trends, and pop culture moments. Whether it’s the song of the summer or the movie of the summer, pop culture can categorize an entire season. Barbie undoubtedly defined last summer, and this summer is shaping up to be defined as an emotional roller-coaster of joy, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and even anxiety —or as you may know it, Inside Out 2.
Despite being a product of the ‘hey this movie made money let’s make a sequel’ effect, Inside Out 2 prevails from its production and capitalist holds to take its rightful place among the ranks of sequels that are arguably better than the originals (among the ranks of Spiderman 2, Empire Strikes Back and Puss and Boots the last wish- if you haven’t seen that last one do yourself a favour and give it a watch). Beating Dune Part 2 in a mere 8 days Inside Out 2 is officially the highest-grossing movie of the year. Now there’s still plenty of 2024 left for another film to compete for the capitalist crown of cinema, but this animated bundle of complex emotions, adolescent nostalgia, and a shockingly insightful screenplay is not a terrible pick for the top spot.
Fandago Poster of Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 gave audiences every beat of a classic Pixar film — from the hysterical and charming antics and colourful (both physically and spiritually) characters voiced by an array of talented actors who will have you feeling all the feelings from their feelings to the hard-hitting insights into what it means to be human — it’s safe to say that Inside Out 2 gives Pixar its much-needed comeback. Perhaps its biggest praise comes from its genuine and ground-breaking portrayal of anxiety in a ‘children’s’ film (animation is not just for children it is an underappreciated art form, but that’s not a conversation for this article). As with any piece of popular culture, the question prevails as to whether this ground-breaking representation is truly the first of its kind to be represented, or if it’s just exactly what its cultural category denotes it as: popular.
Now before I completely tear the film apart, the movie does speak to the experience of anxiety and adolescence in a surprisingly profound manner. Anxiety is complicated. The movie not only understood this complexity but used it to showcase what happens when anxiety does take over. Emotions are messy — they can’t always be as neatly packaged as Joy, Anger, or Sadness. By understanding this, the film gives representation to some of the world's most complicated and isolating feelings. The positive spin to the aforementioned sequel effect is that a large majority of the audience are fans of the first film who have since grown up and choose to revisit this franchise because of nostalgia. The other side of this coin is that these audience members also have likely experienced exactly what Riley is going through in this sequel.
I saw the first Inside Out when I was in grade six. I’ve since experienced many life milestones, including the struggle Riley faces in this movie — trying to battle the stresses of transitioning to a new period of your life while managing your anxieties and expectations. If I had been able to see such an honest portrayal of anxiety at that age, I would have felt not only seen but like my anxiety and experiences were normal, valid, and most importantly wouldn’t last forever. But is Inside Out 2 truly ground-breaking? This question has begged my mind whenever I hear someone endlessly praise this movie for its unique approach to portraying anxiety. Although what I said in the above three paragraphs remains to be true, I’ve concluded that Inside Out 2 is not revolutionary — it’s just popular.
And this is the exact effect of popular culture. We praise its ingenuity and creativity, without critiquing its lack of originality.
Saying this, it's not as if every movie can exist as a unique and original story- in fac, the inspiration for most films comes from the admiration of other sources. Book-to-movie adaptations are the most common example of this. Although most times the source of a film’s story is accredited within its promotion, there are times when that message gets lost (or forgotten) from filmmaker to audience member. One of the most popular films of last year beheld this effect. Although Anyone But You may have had audiences thirsting over Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, its story is not original. Anyone but You is inspired by one of William Shakespeare’s works ‘Much Ado About Nothing’- a fact that often gets overlooked when you are too busy releasing your inhibitions and feeling the rain on your skin. Popular culture, although entertaining and more nuanced than people give it credit for, lacks true originality.
Anxiety is not a new topic for film- but it is however a new topic for popular film. For a long time, mental illness either made a character villainous, clinically insane, or isolated them entirely. Inside Out gives us the exact opposite of what we have come to expect, and shows audiences that anxiety is what makes us human and that most importantly: none of us have to face it alone. This kind of validating and nuanced representation of anxiety is not however the first of its kind. One particular film, produced back in 2018, shares some similar beats to Inside Out 2. Eighth Grade follows a thirteen-year-old girl named Kayla whose transition into a new period of her life causes her anxiety to make rash decisions and overcome her other emotions. Sound familiar?
Oh and for those who say “Well that’s not a kid's movie, Inside Out 2 gives the first representation of anxiety in a children’s film”. To this, I would FIRST say that just because something is animated does not mean it's just for children so don’t go discrediting the nuance and depth of animation. SECOND, I would say that unfortunately for Disney- this is not the case. Remember that movie I mentioned earlier? Puss in Boots the Last Wish is the sequel to the Shrek franchise spinoff following the story of everyone’s favourite swashbuckling, save, Spanish feline. This sequel follows Puss as he rattles with the looming inevitability of death, and faces the loss of his sacred identity as a fearless feline- all while battling the complexities of anxiety. The movie even shows Puss having a panic attack, where he learns that to face his fears, he has to depend on others instead of facing them alone. So much for a ground-breaking representation of anxiety in a ‘children’s’ film —sorry Inside Out 2 but Puss did it first.
So as Inside Out 2 enjoys its place as the top-grossing film of 2024, I hope to inspire a more reflective approach to viewing popular culture. To not fall prey to the ever-growing jaws of capitalism — a delicate balance must be held. We must see popular culture as having the ability to both understand and represent the nuances of human life, while also acknowledging that it’s not always the first to do so. Instead of waiting for popular culture to give us long overdue and awaited representation — the answer lies instead in uplifting the nuanced and representative stories that are already being made.
Or we can just give Disney more money. Up to you.
