Mimesis at the Movies: Inside Out 2

Join us in July to discuss Kelsey Mann's Inside Out 2 (2024), a sequel to the 2015 film of the same name.

In the first movie, an ensemble of five emotions works to catalogue the memories captured in the mind of an 11 year-old. Initially, it is Joy who always takes the lead. She engages with Anger, Fear, and Disgust, whereas the presence of Sadness is merely tolerated. Joy seeks to minimize Sadness's contribution until, at a crucial moment, she encourages Sadness to take the lead. Sadness then forges a path for Joy, and they share into the formation of a core memory Joy would have otherwise had no part in. It is quite a touching storyline.

In this movie (part 2), puberty arrives!

A new team of maybe-more-nuanced but definitely more-intrusive emotions moves in: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. Meanwhile, select memories have been sprouting beliefs, which intertwine to form a sense of self! This sense of self is, simply put, a wondrous, jaw-slacking, fantabulous production resulting from years of meticulous emotional labor... it's also a little less than stable.

Bring all your selves, and come join the conversation!

Mimesis at the Movies is a live open-to-all video-teleconferenced conversation that meets under the auspices of Theology and Peace. On the first Thursday of each month, we discuss a film suggested by a participant. We are on the look out for stories that depict interpersonal growth nurtured through shared desires.