Inside Out 2

I just recently saw the teaser trailer for Inside Out 2, and I can’t wait for this sequel to be released. I always forget how much I love the original because it tells such a unique but relatable story. The personification of different emotions in a young girl’s head made me cry throughout the story (not a surprise at all), but it also made me laugh out loud. The writing was perfect and I instantly connected with Riley.

I feel like this movie is a great example of the narrative structure that was discussed in chapter 4 of Moving Pictures because you have your protagonist (which I think is Riley because the audience is rooting for her, but between the emotions I think Joy was the protagonist because she was trying to make the most out of a bad situation) and then you have a bunch of obstacles (the other emotions making things worse, the core memories getting messed up, etc). Throughout the entire movie, I loved seeing the obstacles because the protagonist was able to figure her way through them.

Now, the teaser trailer shows the audience that Riley is about to go through puberty. I immediately thought back to all of the new emotions I had to experience during puberty, and how hard it was to adjust to life with my new feelings. Anxiety was the only one that was introduced in the trailer, but I can't relate to this as much. Luckily I never really experienced anxiety growing up, but hopefully some of the other emotions are more relatable for me or maybe we'll be able to see the different mood swings (I'd like to say my mood swings went away after puberty but unfortunately I still have like 100 a day).

At the end, the title card flips through various emotions, old and new, and has a question mark next to each of them. I think the question mark is anxiety’s fault, as she’ll be second-guessing everything. I think Disney will be able to tell a funny story of not being able to understand these new emotions during puberty and not knowing how control them. With that being said, I don't think young kids should be exposed to the idea of anxiety and other emotions like that too early because it might confuse them before they should worry about it. Either way, I'm excited to go watch it, and now I want to rewatch the first movie!

Drive-In Movies

Over the summer, I went to the McHenry County Drive-In movie theater for the first time. They had a double-feature, The Meg 2 would open for Jaws. Honestly it took me longer than it should've to realize it was Shark Week. I loved the experience of getting there early, setting up, and honking my horn with the rest of the cars in attendance.

That’s not to say that drive-ins are automatically better. I'm only 5'9", which isn't that tall but still felt it was difficult to get comfortable in the back of a car. We had to readjust positions every so often because unfortunately we forgot to bring extra pillows and blankets. However, it was a nice getaway and allowed me to check something off of my bucket list. It felt like there was more of a shared experience with the cars next to us rather than if we were in a normal theater. 

I enjoyed being able to divulge into conversation about whether or not we liked the movie like we do in class, and I feel like you don't get this same experience at a theater. It relates back to chapter 2 in Moving Pictures saying that everyone is a film critic: being able to talk about certain scenes, the cinematography, the sounds, etc. contributes to the drive-in experience. Cars honked instead of applauding. You could hear cheers when Jason Statham’s character did something cool, and you could also hear anticipation/screams from younger kids watching Jaws for the first time.

Drive-ins are becoming more and more of a novelty. There’s only a handful of them left. I’m not saying that I would instantly prefer a drive-in over a theater every time. Theaters are about maximizing comfort, and I can’t comfortably watch a movie in the back of my car. However, I would go back to McHenry, and I would suggest seeking out a drive-in yourself if you’ve never been.