"Inside Out" Director Pete Docter gave some attention to young teen's mental and emotional health on his acceptance speech at the Oscars. The film won the Best Animated Feature Film.
Instead of just saying thank you and uttering some cliche onstage, Docter went up the stage with producer Jonas River with a goal in mind: make young people embrace their emotions. He told young viewers that it is okay to be sad. He also gave them the gift of recognition, telling them he knows that kids and teens can "suffer." Parents are not too keen on taking these "suffering" tales and end up not giving the young ones the attention and advices they deserve.
Instead of letting these negative emotions take control of young viewers' lives however, Docter wants them to put the gut-wrenching emotions they feel into good use. "Anyone out there who's in junior high, high school, working it out, suffering. There are days you're gonna feel sad, angry and scared, that's nothing you can choose. But you can make stuff, make films, draw, write. It will make a world of difference," he said. He probably made a lot of young viewers happy- since his speech made young people know that they are valid, and that whatever they can do out of their feelings, will make an impact.
Celebrities and viewers alike took to Twitter to say how beautiful the speech was.
Pete Docter you deserve an Oscar for that speech #makethings @PixarInsideOut
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) February 29, 2016
What a terrific speech by Pete Docter: "Make stuff."
— Andy Ihnatko (@Ihnatko) February 29, 2016
crying over inside out I'm letting my emotions show they should be so proud #Oscars
— rachel erickson (@rachelericksons) February 29, 2016
What Docter said is not something he just whipped up out of the blue. In fact, there is a scientific basis for what he said. Sadness indeed, can be good. Studies have shown that sadness can improve one's memory, improve judgement, increase a person's motivation, and can even improve interaction.
While sadness is not normally celebrated and valued in the current culture, there are now reasons why sadness is hardly the "problem emotion" that people, especially teens who get overwhelmed easily, should keep at bay or eliminate. The movie "Inside Out" even showed why.
