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Professors Bring Human Emotions to Life
Faculty scholars Steven Emmanuel, Gabriela Martorell and Terry Lindvall don Pixar personas during multidisciplinary conversation
University News | April 4, 2025
Inspired by the Pixar Animation Studio's film "Inside Out" (2015) and its 2024 sequel, three VWU professors brought human emotions to life during a Robert Nusbaum Center event— “Pixar’s Inside Out and Ethics: Understanding Emotions Across Life Stages in a Multidisciplinary Conversation.” Professor of Philosophy Steven Emmanuel, Professor of Psychology Gabriela Martorell, and Professor of Religious Studies Terry Lindvall presented, in character, on how emotions shape our decisions and inner lives. Drawing from their expertise in their respective disciplines of philosophy, psychology, and cinema studies, they explored the Pixar films' insights on moral decision-making, emotional identity, and life transitions.
Dr. Emmanuel emulated “Anxiety” as he referenced 19th century Danish theologian and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard’s “The Concept of Anxiety.” He anxiously and nervously explained Kierkegaard’s concepts, discussing the negative and positive roles of anxiety throughout our lives. “Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate.”
Dr. Martorell, who gleefully presented as the Inside Out character “Joy,” talked about the basic emotions and how they impact human development. She shared several takeaways from the film: Emotional development isn’t about surpressing emotions, it’s about learning to work with them; Recognizing and acknowledging emotions fosters emotional intelligence; Inside Out visually demonstrates this emotional integration process, making complex psychological ideas accessible and engaging.
“I’m too sad to walk,” said a gloomy Dr. Lindvall portraying “Sadness.” He talked about the role of melancholy throughout our lives.
“We often see certain emotions as negative experiences, but they possess positive purposes,” noted Lindvall. “God grants us Sadness to teach us compassion and empathy. Without it, we become hard-hearted and cynical. So Pixar recommends that we "Embrace Sadness" and thus find spiritual comfort.”
Lindvall says that professors at VWU seek to show their scholarship as well as talk about it, seeking to inspire creative, comic, and even odd modes of communication.
“The delight of becoming children again was evident in the three of us, exuding Joy, spreading Anxiety, and embracing Sadness. Steven's frenetic “Anxiety” raced him across the front of the room, while Gabi's cool and collected optimism as “Joy,” and my deep and empathetic compassion as “Sadness” sought to show how emotions shape us and how we manage them.”
Attendees most likely entered the event looking for a fun conversation, however, they left with even more—a deeper understanding of the interplay between emotions, ethics, and development, along with practical insights on how to manage emotions in their own lives.
“Kudos to Director of the Robert Nusbaum Center Craig Wansink and Assistant Director Kelly Jackson,” said Lindvall, “for encouraging such mischief and academic folly among scholars, following Chesterton's old line that if someone can't make a fool of himself once in a while, the effort would be superfluous.”
Learn more about the Robert Nusbaum Center at VWU.