Whe When Joy Movie Analysis

The most important take away from this movie, one that all the emotions and Riley learn, is that not all memories (especially the core memories) have to be only one emotion, they can be, but in most situations, it’s okay to feel upset and happy in the same memory. For instance, when Joy finds the memory of Riley when she and her teammates lost the hockey game. At first the “memory bubble” is blue with sadness, but then the team comes over and hoists her up in the air, which cheers her up turning the bubble golden again. This process is called reframing, or in this case reframing memories. Joy at the beginning of the movie only saw things in an upbeat manner, so therefore all of the memories she was in control of were happy because that is the mindset Riley was in.
It was then that she understood that not all memories need to be happy or joyful, they can be both. American University psychologist Nathaniel Herr said, "Being able to recognize that our memories aren't just simply good or bad, but have different sides to them, is a way people cope with their complicated lives," (Weller, 2015). This idea of reframing helped the emotions to work together to help bring Riley home. When she came home the first thing she did was hug her parents. She started crying and these tears were sad at first, but then she was happy to be home so they became happy tears. From then on whenever a memory was created it’s memory bubble in her brain would be more the one color, proving it’s okay to not be happy all the time like she once