Why didn’t I love the movie Soul?
A short commentary on the movie Soul.
The trailer to the movie Soul got me excited. Inside Out is one of my favourite Pixar movies and the Soul preview gave me that same kinda vibe. And although the animation kept me in awe the entire film, I thought it missed an opportunity to dive deep into the emotional dangers and social isolation that comes with trying to live your purpose. More plainly, the execution of the story idea was good, not great.
The plot was straightforward enough — their’s meaning in simply being alive and we need to move beyond the belief that we have a singular purpose. Soul tries to show how damaging the purpose narrative can be to our mental health if it’s exchanged for the cost of actually enjoying life.
I got all that, and the movie touched on some heavy topics in a clever way. Its commentary on lost souls is brilliant and was one of the only times my heart and mind were communicating in ways I anticipated would be happening throughout the entire film.
But for me, those moments were rare. I’ve read commentaries that have suggested some racial blunders. Not sure I’d take it that far. The case of one of the souls mistaking Joe, a Black man, with another Black man felt insensitive. And if you really turn up your racial lens, I can maybe see how what could be interpreted as a white woman…
