Talk:Riley Andersen/@comment-148.204.160.21-20150903011446/@comment-24667521-20150903013538

I read in an interview somewhere that "the emotions control how Riley feels, but what she does with these emotions is up to her." Not sure where the interview was, though, and the movie didn't seem consistent with that. Like, usually they would push a button and Riley would respond accordingly, but at one point, Anger put an idea into Riley's mind and then claims that "she took it," indicating that it was possible for her NOT to take it. So that was a bit confusing.

Anyway, I like to think that the emotions are guided by the Core Memories and Islands of Personslity when they act, so that's where Riley's personality comes into play. If Riley chooses to use things like yoga and meditation, that might become a part of her and the emotions would act accordingly--they'd probably mellow out and become more organized, like with Riley's parents.

There's also the fact that the emotions don't control Riley, they ARE Riley. In real life, there's a bunch of different psychological things going on inside our heads that determine things like personality, fears, etc. I don't think most people would say the chemical reactions inside their brains control them, but I think we'd all agree that it makes us part of who we are. (Yes, I know, Inside Out takes place in the mind and not the brain, but you get my point).

The movie was just trying to take these complex psychological aspects and represent them in an artistic way. We aren't controlled by psychology like robots, it's who we are. Likewise, Riley isn't controlled by her emotions, they're just a personification of Riley's thoughts, and, you guessed it, feelings. Everything that the emotions say is actually a thought in Riley's head--that's why the tag line for this film was "meet the little voices inside your head." They don't conrtol her, they are part of her.

Phew, rambled on there, sorry. But that's my two cents, anyway. XD