In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stresses the importance of memory and how memories shape a person’s identity. Stories such as “In Search of Lost Time” by Proust and a report by the President’s Council on Bioethics called “Beyond Therapy” support the claims made in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) meet on a train to Montauk, New York, where they instantly become drawn to each other. They don’t know it at the time, but Joel and Clementine use to be in a relationship lasted two years and ended with heartbreak. Clementine, who is naturally spontaneous, hires a company called Lacuna Inc., and they specialize in erasing people memories. When Joel discovers that Clementine has erased him from her memories and has no idea who he is, he decides to do the same to her. The process happens when you are asleep, and the majority of the film is based in Joel’s own mind. We see his memories being erased one by one, from the end of the relationship to the beginning. Once Joel experiences a good memory with Clementine, he finds he doesn’t want to continue the procedure, but there is no way to stop it. Throughout the film he tries to preserve at least one memory of her, but he isn’t able to. The last memory of Clementine tells Joel to “Meet me in Montauk” (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
In a separate story arc Patrick, one of Lacuna’s technicians, is dating Clementine and using Joel’s memories and words to seduce her. Mary, another Lacuna employee, discovers that she also had her memories of an affair with Dr. Howard Mierzwiak erased. This leads to Mary sending all the company’s records to the clients. When...
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...Although there may be a few benefits to erasing a person’s memory, in the end it is wrong. Without their memories a person doesn’t have the chance to form their identity and without being able to learn from our mistakes, they will continue to be made. Being an adult with a blank slate isn’t right, and you can’t experience good things without also experiencing bad things.
Works Cited
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Dir. Michel Gondry. Perf. Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet. Focus Features, 2004. DVD.
Proust, Marcel. In Search of Lost Time: Swann’s Way, Vol. 1. Trans. C. K. Scott-Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin. Ed. D. J. Enright. New York: The Modern Library, 2003. Print.
United States. President’s Council on Bioethics. Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Report of the President's Council on Bioethics. New York: Dana Press, 2003. Print.
Joshua Foer’s “The End of Remembering” and Kathryn Schulz’s “Evidence” are two essays that have more in common than one might think. Although on two totally different topics, they revolve around the central point of the complexities of the human mind. However, there are some key elements both writers have contemplated on in differing ways.
Through this short story we are taken through one of Vic Lang’s memories narrated by his wife struggling to figure out why a memory of Strawberry Alison is effecting their marriage and why she won’t give up on their relationship. Winton’s perspective of the theme memory is that even as you get older your past will follow you good, bad or ugly, you can’t always forget. E.g. “He didn’t just rattle these memories off.” (page 55) and ( I always assumed Vic’s infatuation with Strawberry Alison was all in the past, a mortifying memory.” (page 57). Memories are relevant to today’s society because it is our past, things or previous events that have happened to you in which we remembered them as good, bad, sad, angry etc. memories that you can’t forget. Winton has communicated this to his audience by sharing with us how a memory from your past if it is good or bad can still have an effect on you even as you get older. From the description of Vic’s memory being the major theme is that it just goes to show that that your past can haunt or follow you but it’s spur choice whether you chose to let it affect you in the
There has been some ethical issues surrounding the development and use of technology, that would consist of some advancements, such as “when in vitro fertilization is applied in medical practice and leads to the production of spare embryos, the moral question is what to do with these embryos” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 182). As for ethical dilemmas that comes into play with “gene mapping of humans, genetic cloning, stem cell research, and others areas of growing interest to scientist” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 182). “Life support technology raises serious ethical issues, especially in medical decisions regarding continuation or cessation of mechanical support, particularly when a patient exists in a permanent vegetative state” (Shi & Singh, 2008, p. 182). Health care budgets are limited throughout this world, making it hard for advancements yet even harder to develop the advancements with restraints. Which brings us back to the “social, ethical, and legal constraints, public and private insurers face the problem deciding whether or not to cover novel treatments” 188. Similarly what was mentioned before the decisions about “new reproductive techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection in vitro fertilization (ICSIIVF), new molecular genetics predictive tests for hereditary breast cancer, and the newer drugs such as sildenafil (Viagra) for sexual dysfunction” (Giacomini, 2005).
In this paper, I will argue that genetic therapies should be allowed for diseases and disabilities that cause individuals pain, shorter life spans, and noticeable disadvantages in life. I believe this because everyone deserves to have the best starting place in life possible. That is, no one should be limited in their life due to diseases and disabilities that can be cured with genetic therapies. I will be basing my argument off the article “Gene Therapies and the Pursuit of a Better Human” by Sara Goering. One objection to genetic therapies is that removing disabilities and diseases might cause humans to lose sympathy towards others and their fragility (332).
Repressed memories is a topic that has been an ongoing dispute among some, however ac...
If an individual loses his past self, would he still be the same individual? According to the personal identity memory theory by John Locke, as long as a person is the same self, the personal identity of that person is the same. But for Leonard Shelby who is the main character if the Memento film, this does not apply after he suffered a condition that hinders him from creating new memories. This paper addresses the topic of the truth of John Locke’s perception of personal identity which follows that Leonard does not have a personal identity. The paper reviews the Memento film which is a psychological thriller which presents two different personal identities of Leonard Shelby after suffering from a memory condition. The paper
Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind was a very divert movie, yet it lacked so much. I feel as if it gave too much in certain scenes, and those same features lacked in others. Although the adventures kept me in interest, what was I to do about the parts that didn’t have action, I was left puzzled. This film was overall interesting, yet it still left me wanting more. More action, more answers, and more reality.
In her article, “Head Over Heels in Love”, she describes Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind as “a dizzying plunge through love, loss and, finally, consciousness itself’(Hornaday). Hornaday summarizes the film, focusing on what makes a relationship. She also praises Gondry for his portrayal of Joel’s and Clementine’s relationship and use of visual effects. Hornaday begins her summary describing the procedure Joel and Clementine underwent. After breaking up with Joel, Clementine decided to visit Lacuna, a firm known for erasing memories. To begin, the doctors have their patients “bring in every memento that reminds them of the soon-to-be-forgotten” (Hornaday). The patients are then hooked up to a computer to create a map of the brain. The doctors use the map to erase “every offending memory while they sleep” (Hornaday). In the article, Hornaday describes the procedure as outrageous, but easily believable. She continues to summarize Joel’s experience with the procedure and his efforts to keep his memories with Clementine. Hornaday describes the process as “a journey through ever-opening doors of perception that Joel experiences as if in a waking dream” (Hornaday). Hornaday goes on to praise Gondry on his portrayal of Joel’s journey through his mind. Gondry uses low tech visuals, sound design, and staging to dramatize the film. Hornaday states, “in one of the film 's most powerful scenes, Joel enters another realm of
“The Vow” is a movie that encases the turmoil and hardship associated with retrograde amnesia and the classic symptoms and steps associated with recovering and potentially regaining lost memory. Taking into account the information gained through multiple sources; such as, lecture of Mental Health, medical databases, and the personal experiences of Krickett Carpenter, the Vow provides both an accurate and inaccurate depiction of retrograde amnesia.
The movie, “A Beautiful Mind” is based on events and life of John Nash. The movie begins with John Nash arriving at Princeton University to hone his mathematical skills. During his time at Princeton we learn John is incredibly smart but lacking in the social department. After graduating from Princeton he is offered and accepts a potion with MIT as a Department of Defense contractor. With his new position as a DoD contractor and teacher he eventually meets his future wife in one of his classes. As the movie progresses we see John’s schizophrenia progress to the point he ends up in a mental institution to receive advanced psychiatric care. It’s at this time we learn the Charles, his roommate in school was actually a hallucination the entire time. We also learn that William, his top secret case manager for the government, is also a hallucination. Finally we learn that Charles’ niece was a hallucination. Eventually John gets a hold of his illness with treatment, medicine, and a loving wife and he is able to return home. He remains healthy fro sometime but eventually relapses back to his life as a code breaker for the government. He and his wife refuse treatment this time and decide they will deal with his illness without the help of medication.
And so I turned to Proust, finding relief within his exquisitely nuanced precision and pacing. My love of all things French was born with Proust, as I marveled at his privileged people and their luminous lives. Who were they really, I wondered, and was all of Paris like this, and if so, how soon could I get there? For the next two weeks, I cut back and forth between that unlikely duo, Wolfe and Proust, sweating from July's heat and the emotional impact of Brother Ben's death (best read when one is fifteen), then cooling off with the soothingly elegant rituals of Monsieur Swann and company.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a film that narrates the lives of a couple who wish to wipe all aspects of their relationship away from their memories in a clinic named Lacuna—the word itself meaning gap or emptiness, which in return refers to the service the same-named clinic in the film provides. It plays with the concepts of memory, society, and perception, and questions the balance of association’s effects on a character, and a character’s effect on the memories they form. (“The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Memory and Association”, n.d.) It reaches towards personal matters such as disquieting memories deep in our psyche, and touches on the thoughts we put aside whenever we’re in the company of others and whenever we’re
The film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is a film which follows Joel, a man who initially seems stuck in a repetitive boring routine who meets the spontaneous and impulsive Clementine. Their relationship unfolds into a passionate yet conflicting romance which ultimately leads to them both seeking aid from a memory erasing business called “Lacuna”. As Joel’s memory is in the process of being erased, and as he re-experiences their memories once more, he discovers that he doesn’t want to lose the love they shared. The film proceeds a whirlwind of their memories and their attempts to salvage the relationship. One of the key images for the movie, is the scene where Clementine and Joel find themselves lying on a frozen river, their bodies sprawled out above an ominous crack which represents the weakness and vulnerability of their relationship. This scene takes place on one of their early dates and initially Clementine stands on the frozen river, surrounded by darkness, coaxing Joel to come
Memory is our past and future. To know who you are as a person, you need to have some idea of who you have been. Your remembered life story is a pretty good guide to what you will do tomorrow. "Our memory is our coherence," wrote the surrealist Spanish-born film-maker, Luis Buñuel, "our reason, our feeling, evens our action." Lose your memory and you lose a basic connection with who you are.[2]
After reading about memory’s, in the book, I then read the article. My point of view is that it may be possible to retrieve old memory’s, that happen a long time ago.As in the article it talks about a murder as one might want to compress that memory, she might have gotten it when she was hypnotized. While the second part talking about abuse and remembering the person who did it. The victim may remember the person, as it was a traumatic experience they want to forget.