On the other hand, as Joy is willing to enter the room, but Sadness is not, the lesson to children is that sometimes, when we are filled with joy, we cannot rationally make safe decisions. As such, humour is used as a conduit for science to influence or inform multiple demographics. Hence, in a family film setting, children would not understand the humour behind the dangers of abstract concepts whereas adults would. As Eunha Son (2021) writes, children at Riley’s age do not understand abstract concepts. Within the utopia of Riley's personality, there is a door to enter “Abstract Concepts” along with the warning sign “DANGER” (Fig. Therefore, feelings evoked in Inside Out can foster identification and empathy, which can influence audiences’ perceptions of their own worlds (Mathies 2020).Ĭonceptual incongruity, the surprise or distortion of familiar concepts and situations, or scale in general, is another form of humour in “Inside Out” and is cleverly used to explore psychological concepts. Finessed “by charm and humour” (Whitley 2008, 2), enjoyment creates an immersive “melding of attention, imagery and feelings” (Davies et al. In this case, emotional intelligence and, to a certain extent, psychological concepts are the ‘deep encounters’. Enjoyment and amusement correlated with animated characters and their adventures “may evoke positive feelings and attitudes that may lead to subsequent, deeper encounters” (Burns et al. The fantastical interpretation of Anger’s hair bursting into flames as it causes Riley's outbursts is meant to amuse the viewer through sheer exaggeration, a type of humour often used in audiovisual media aimed at family and young audiences. For example, in the absence of Joy and Sadness at Headquarters, Fear, Anger and Disgust cause Riley to have outbursts of rage and ruminate anxiously on her actions. Humour is used in Pixar’s film to communicate emotional intelligence, which is defined as an awareness of emotions in oneself and others which helps us make considered choices (Purushothaman, 2021). Portraying emotional reactions and intelligence through humour It plays on incongruity and the intrinsic link between fantasy and humour expressions (Shires 1988) to create exaggerated, multifaceted characters that not only point to animation’s ability to represent the unrepresentable (see Thain 2016, 5), but also lead to the representation of science as a relatable and easily digestible fantasy. Examined through a Science Communication and Humour Studies perspective, we thus argue that Inside Out communicates human psychology through anthropomorphic personification, hyperbolic and situational humour. Clarifying the functions and different forms of humour in science-related animated films opens up new perspectives for our understanding of humour in science narratives and the public imagination, if not the cultural power of science. Humorous pop cultural products exploring scientific themes provide enjoyment and other affective responses and experiences (such as amusement) in relation to the science at stake, and can thus form, reform or confirm science-related opinions (Burns et al. Humour is not only a powerful tool in communication but also a versatile frame for interpreting our relationship with science (see Carroll-Monteil 2022 Boykoff and Osnes 2019 Pinto et al. Against this background, we query: what humour strategies are used to create a fantasy of science-based emotions in Inside Out and to what effect? Not surprisingly, psychologists and neuroscientists were consulted in the development of the film (Ekman/Keltner 2015). Inside Out uses humour to convey its science, specifically psychology, through the exploration of mental processes and emotionally-driven behaviour (Burton et al. Joy and Sadness become lost in this utopia and must find their way back to Headquarters or risk Riley losing parts of her personality. Headquarters is at the epicentre of a fictional utopia in which memories are stored and developed into personality traits. It follows the anthropomorphised characters Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust who – at a place called “Headquarters” – control the emotional reactions of 11-year old Riley (Fig. Disney Pixar’s 2015 computer-animated family film Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015) is a comedy-adventure that explores emotions ‘standing outside themselves’.
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