Inside Out 2: The Emotions of 2018
And you thought the original emotions were intense.
In the sequel to the Pixar hit movie Inside Out, we find our heroine, Riley, has grown into a young woman in Trump’s America. 2017 was a tough year for her: under the GOP tax plan, her family will no longer be able to afford their annual trip to visit friends in Minnesota; her best friend Rosa got deported; and she is starting to doubt whether she’ll be able to fulfill her dream of working for the EPA as a climate change scientist.
Luckily, Riley’s emotions are looking out for our girl. Her old friends Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear and Disgust have evolved a bit, but they’re still manning the control center in Riley’s brain, keeping things running smoothly and reminding us that now more than ever, every day is full of emotions.
Joyless
Since the original, Joy has been beaten down by life and the constant onslaught of bad news, transforming into Joyless. She makes sure that Riley can no longer find happiness in anything, from the beautiful sunset visible from her bedroom window (it’s a result of all the pollution in the air) to a cute guy who shyly asks her out (he’ll probably turn out to be a jerk and drop his pants uninvited, because #allmen).
When Riley’s mom takes her to a hockey game as a special treat, Joyless reminds Riley that the players are likely all suffering from undiagnosed CTE thanks to the violence of the game. All in a day’s work for Joyless.
Rage
Anger wasn’t really enough for the Trump era, so he’s taken it up a notch to Rage. Riley’s parents telling her to go to her room was a job for Anger; a stream of lies from the leader of the free world is a job for Rage. At this point, Rage is triggered by wrongs large and small, and is always a millisecond from flying off the handle.
While Riley waits for the bus or stands in line at Starbucks, Rage urges her to take out her phone. After scrolling through Twitter for 10 seconds, her rage-o-meter is through the roof again, and Rage sits back, satisfied, his job done and done well. (And of COURSE Rage is a “he,” so he gets credit for his work.)
Hopeless
A year into the Trump presidency, Sadness has become Hopeless, who, in between re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale, reminds Riley that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward apocalypse. Hopeless can often be found curled up in the fetal position, sobbing and paging through Pete Souza’s book of photos from the Obama administration.
When Riley’s friends talk about how much better things will be if Trump is impeached, Hopeless reminds Riley that a Mike Pence presidency could be worse, with potentially devastating consequences for gay rights and women’s reproductive rights. Hopeless and Joyless often work together to ruin brunches and girls’ nights out, causing Riley’s group of friends to dwindle, thereby ensuring that they themselves are her most constant companions.
Nausea
Disgust has worked overtime since the original movie, reacting to things as varied as spoiled milk, dudebro burps, and the Trump administration’s vast corruption. At this point, Disgust is so visceral she’s become Nausea.
When Riley reads the news, Nausea turns her stomach and takes away her appetite. Nausea is proud of the power she’s exerted this past year, causing Riley’s vocabulary to consist mainly of “vom,” “barf,” and “this makes me want to puke,” much to her mother’s chagrin.
Nausea’s most effective tool: photos of Trump golfing in tight white shorts.
Terror
Fear’s job was to keep Riley safe by alerting her to the everyday dangers she needed to avoid: electrical outlets, hot stoves, dark alleys. But Fear wasn’t really built for the prospect of nuclear war triggered by Trump’s insecurity over the size of his manhood, so the reins have been turned over to Terror.
Along with potential war, Terror now responds to white supremacist rallies, ICE raids on schools, and men who have a button behind their desk that locks their office door.
Riley tries to keep Terror at bay by planning her dream vacation to Hawaii. But since the incoming ballistic missile alert scared the crap out of the islands recently, even that pleasant daydream has been overtaken by Terror. For Riley’s sake, let’s hope that experience — and the rest of the past year — ends up in the Memory Dump.
Grab some popcorn and tissues (and maybe a mild tranquilizer), and check out the movie at a multiplex near you!
Julie Parker is a writer in Boston who is full of emotions and whose most prized possession is Pete Souza’s book of Obama photographs. Read her West Wing “reviews” at McSweeney’s, and follow her on Twitter @julierparker.
