ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Joy

Genius Finale — Bringing Back the Joy

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(National Geographic/Dusan Martincek)

One January morning in 1998, I walked into a lecture hall at Furman University, not knowing what to expect in the Psychology class I was registered for.  The professor walked in, a rather tall man with bright red hair, and spoke: “Good morning.  My name is Dr. Einstein.”  The class laughed, then he continued: “If you’re wondering, I am actually related to Albert.”  At that point, the class grew silent, then sat back for a fantastic semester of learning with a professor who sincerely loved to teach.  To this day, I still believe Dr. Einstein was the smartest–not to mention most challenging–professor I had.  (If you’re wondering, he’s still teaching at Furman)

In the final two-hour conclusion to National Geographic Channel’s Genius, Albert Einstein (Geoffrey Rush) has moved to the US and is a professor at Princeton University. But the events of the world have seemed to conspire against him. Franz Haber (Richard Topol) dies, as does Mileva, his stepdaughter Ilse, and his current wife, Elsa (Emily Watson). To assuage his feelings, a svelte Russian bombshell named Margarita (Ania Bukstein) enters his life and helps him get through the process of becoming a US citizen.  We soon discover she’s a spy attempting to get access to Einstein’s calculations for an unknown purpose, but she fails in her mission. Later, Albert’s work on general relativity becomes linked to the atomic bomb being worked on by the US and Germany, a thought that makes him sick.  When the bomb is dropped on Japan by the US, Einstein is thrust into the spotlight again—not as a brilliant scientist, but as the harbinger of nuclear death.

(National Geographic/Dusan Martincek)

As a result of this new moniker, Albert begins to push away from his love of science, becoming more active politically.  It creates another big issue in the form of J Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI (TR Knight).  He thinks Albert is a Communist and is willing to go to any length to prove his assertion true.  It makes life difficult as Einstein is concerned with the witch hunt going on for people like the Rosenbergs and is ready to make his feelings known to the world.  But that’s exactly what Hoover wants.  When Albert writes a letter to the judge of the Rosenberg trial, Hoover intercepts it and proceeds to discredit Einstein all over the pages of America’s papers. All Albert has left are a few friends and his assistant Helene (Emily Laing), who he prefers to see and not hear.  His son Hans has come over from Germany, but the rift from the divorce is still fresh.

Sinking into a funk, an unexpected help arrives in the form of Alice Edwards (Dixie Egerickx), a little girl who asks him to help her with her long division homework.  Suddenly, he remembers the joy of teaching and breaks out of his depression.  In the end, he is able to reconcile himself to Hans (even telling him that he would’ve never achieved anything without Mileva) before finally passing away.

Ken Billings directs the final two part-episode and provides a satisfying conclusion to the series.  He’s even able to inject a little emotion into the end sequences as Albert is reconciled to Hans and tells Helene she’s a blessing to him.  It was nice to see a little glimmer of hope as Einstein’s carefully crafted world began to crash down around him. I’m already looking forward to the second season of Genius, which will feature the life of one Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (yes, that’s the painter’s full name).

One of the neatest things to see in the final episode was how Alice Edwards, with her constant questioning and eager desire to learn, helped bring Albert back to a love of teaching.  When life seems to feel unbearable and the only safe space is under the covers of the bed, there is a way to get back to normal. King David mentioned this in Psalm 51, when it seemed like his sins and mistakes were going to overwhelm him.  He went to God and asked for forgiveness, then prayed, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways” (verses 12-13 NASB).  Sometimes all it takes is asking God for the joy to be restored, and it will arrive in a form that will do the trick. Then we will be able to take on life with a renewed confidence and vigor, making a difference in the lives of others.  And isn’t that what we, in the end, want to happen?

Inside Out: Surprised by Joy (and Sadness)

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Islands of Personality - Inside Out
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way now: you should run—not walk—to your nearest movie theater and go see Pixar’s latest film, Inside Out. It’s a unique and powerful tale that thrusts emotions and feelings into the spotlight, where they shine (in some cases literally) for the world to see.

The premise for the movie is a fairly simple yet challenging one: What are the voices in a person’s head like?  What do they do?  How do we react as a result?

We get to see the answers to these questions played out in the form of an 11 year-old girl named Riley Anderson. As a baby, the only character that exists in her life is Joy (voice of Amy Poehler), who manages a central control center inside her head. There’s only one button to push on the console, and it’s uniquely satisfying to see Joy push it and see Riley smile and coo. Sadness (voice of Phyllis Smith) soon joins the party (33 seconds later, according to Joy), and when she touches the console, Riley starts crying. Joy’s goal is to create and collect happy memories (denoted as colored spheres) while keeping Sadness from adding any on her part. Sadness wants to be a help, but when she touches a memory, it transforms to her color (blue) and changes to a sad one. Sometimes, there are memories that are so ingrained in Riley’s life that they become Core Memories and are saved in a special vault. These memories eventually form islands (or components) of Riley’s personality—Family, Honesty, Goofiness, Hockey, and Friendship. As a result, the console gets larger and a few more characters join the action—Fear (voice of Bill Hader), Disgust (voice of Mindy Kaling), and Anger (voice of Lewis Black), who has fire shoot out of the top of his head when he’s sufficiently agitated.

Riley's Family - Inside Out
Thankfully, Riley’s memories are joyful ones for the early part of her life. Then something changes—specifically, a move by her family from Minnesota to San Francisco when she’s eleven years old. What was a joyful existence is suddenly rocked to its core with unfulfilled dreams of what the new home will be like and change around every corner.  Riley’s parents want her to stay happy, but she soon finds Dad spending less time with her and a moving company that makes settling in very difficult. School provides a major test for Riley—and the voices–when she’s asked to introduce herself.  Sadness jumps in and messes with the core memories, changing them and bringing the little girl to tears in her class. This sets off a chain reaction where Joy and Sadness get sucked into Long Term Memory (think of the door sequence in Monsters Inc, but on steroids). Disgust, Fear, and Anger attempt to handle the situation in the meantime, with predictable results. They try a last-ditch solution that causes Joy and Sadness to attempt to rush back to headquarters before Riley loses who she is.

There’s a lot more to this (including an appearance by Bing-Bong, a pink elephant representing Riley’s imagination), but it’s impossible to explain in a short review.  Trust me that it all makes sense by the end of the film, which provides a powerful emotional punch that will likely leave you choked up or reaching for some tissues.

Thankfully, there’s also a heaping helping of inventiveness and humor included with Inside Out. Dream Productions and the Land of Imagination are two such examples.  And I hope you like clowns . . .

The voice casting works wonderfully, as does the bluesy music throughout the film. Of course, the graphics are what one has come to expect from Pixar—bright and full of color, yet able to convey dreariness when necessary. But, as is the norm with Pixar, the story drives everything–and Pete Docter and his crew did an excellent job with it. If there’s anything I would’ve loved to see more of, it would’ve been a deeper probe into the parent’s individual voices (though you still get an appropriate taste of their personalities—and a few additional people when the credits roll).  However, Riley is the focus—and that’s a good thing. She’s going to be the center of someone’s Ph.D. dissertation one day.


Joy and Sadness - Inside Out
One part of Inside Out that deserves mentioning is the interplay between Joy and Sadness. The two aren’t enemies, but Joy is the leader of Riley’s voices and does whatever is necessary to keep Sadness out of her life.  Sadness, for her part, mopes around and recalls the sad times. When the two are sucked into Long Term Memory, Riley begins to spiral out of control and darkness begins to take over her life.  As a result of this, Joy has to let go and allow Sadness to play a role in restoring Riley.  This is just like those times in our life that are painful and sad–often, we don’t feel like going any further and would rather quit or stew in misery. But as Joy notes, “There’s always a way to change things around.” When we allow God to heal and change us, He is able to transform a thing of depressing sadness into incredible beauty.  Or, to put it in biblical terms, He will comfort “and turn . . . sorrow into happiness” (Jeremiah 31:13 [CEV]).  In the end, we become better people for the experience.

Inside Out is a film that will simultaneously convict and challenge you to examine the voices in your head.  What will you find inside as a result?