Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “blessed are the forgetful for they get the better even of their blunders.” We always think that forgetting is the solution to our misery and our problems. We indulge in the idea that ignorance is bliss and that what we don’t know won’t hurt us. But do we really get the better of our mistakes if we forget about them? Do forgetting and ignorance make us better people? Does oblivion make us happier? Is it worth going out of our way to make sure we forget? These are the kinds of questions Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind addresses. Even though it is one of those movies which grapples with immense philosophical concepts, it does so effortlessly and without seeming elitist or pretentious. In this romance-science-fiction-comedy …show more content…
This would explain her discomfort and confusion whenever Patrick, one of the people who work at the memory erasure company and initiates a relationship with Clementine, impersonated Joel and tried to replicate his memories with Clementine. In her subconscious, Clementine knew that she had to experience these moments with someone other than Patrick, namely Joel, but she didn’t know who he was at that point. This might bolster the idea of true love that is worshipped in all or most of the movies with a romantic undertone and in this movie specifically. The Atlantic’s film critic Christopher Orr considers this “a need for atonement and redemption” (Orr). He argues that as they erase their memories, the never get the chance to ask for forgiveness or forgive, to reconcile their damaged relationship. “It is only through Fate or God 's grace or True Love…that they are given a second chance to make themselves whole” (Orr). In a broader philosophical light though, we might consider this as a situation where both free will and determinism are in play or what might usually be referred to as fulfilling one 's destiny. We might consider this an act of free will since, despite the brain erasure/damage Joel and Clementine went through, they still chose to meet each other again by planting that seed into their own subconscious. On the other hand, we might consider this a way in which powerful forces beyond Joel and Clementine’s reckoning are forcing them back into each other 's arms. Whichever position the viewer chooses to take, it would determine the way he/she views the ending. It may be a hopeful closure in which Joel and Clementine overcome the hardships in their previous relationships and get to live a happily ever after signified by their joyful dancing and running on the snowy beach where their relationship began. On the other hand, if we focus on the quick jump cuts loop and
Do we control the judgments and decisions that we make every day? In the book,
Even our social interactions with others are dependent upon what we remember. In a sense it can be said that our identity relies on an intact memory, and the ability to remember who we are and the things that we have done. Almost everything we do depends on our ability to remember the past.
The sentiment from Laila’s childhood, that people should not have more children if they have already given all of their love to their other children, informs her reaction to becoming pregnant with Rasheed’s child because she was worried that she would repeat history by not loving Rasheed’s child as much as she loved Tariq’s. Laila did not feel that her mother loved her as much as she loved her brothers. She felt as if her mother had no love to give her because she had already given it all away to her two sons. When Laila became aware that she was pregnant with Rasheed’s child, she contemplated killing it inside the womb because she did not believe that she could love
it is seen that knowledge can hurt. It is also shown that sometimes one can know
In Nuremberg or National Amnesia, A quote that caught my attention was, “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat the past” (Tutu 457). I feel the quote means that by forgetting the past you also forget the lessons you learned with that experience, which will cause you to repeat it without the knowledge you learned
Our knowledge is a key to our success and happiness in our life to give us personal satisfaction. Knowledge is power but not always. Sometimes our self-awareness and growth as an individual gives us negative thoughts that make us want to go back to undo it. Everyone wants to unlearn a part in our life that brought us pain and problems. Good or bad experiences brought by true wisdom can be used for our self-acceptance, self-fulfillment and these experiences would make us stronger as we walk to the road of our so called “life”, but Douglas’s and my experience about knowledge confirmed his belief that “Knowledge is a curse”. Both of us felt frustrated and sad from learning knowledge.
memory, “An eye for an eye,” is what they always want to say. But it really
The first issue that needs to be addressed however is what exactly is memory? “ Without memory we would be servants of the moment, with nothing but our innate reflexes to help us deal with the world. There would be no language, no art, no science, no culture. Civilization itself is the distillation of human memory” (Blakemore 1988). The simple interpretation of Blakemore’s theory on what memory is that a person’s memory is at least one of the most important things in their life and without it civilization itself could not exist.
Although the film plays out in non-linear progression and is somewhat confusing at times, the audience quickly catches on to the plot. Joel and Clementine are in a relationship for two years before finally deciding to break it off. Like most couples, the two shared a lot of good memories but the fights that lead to their breakup were too emotionally heavy for free-spirited Clementine to bear any more. She pays some futuristic company ...
Her decision to kill her children and herself is simultaneously an act of self-affirmation and self-destruction, paradoxically selfish and selfless.... ... middle of paper ... ... Memory represents an obstacle to such an existence. it is both a barrier and a bridge between individuals. By the conclusion of the novel, memories dissipate and dissolve.
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.
Learning and memory are fascinating. The world could not function without either. They both are used in many different fashions in a wide variety of places. Learning and Memory have been carefully studied by professionals but are also well known and used by the common people on a daily basis. I am one of those common people, a student who is constantly learning and making the most of my memory. Since enrolling in The Psychology of Learning and Memory class I have come to the realization that I encounter situations in my life that exemplify the very concepts I have studied. I have also learned that it is beneficial to apply the lessons learned in class to my everyday life. Positive reinforcement, learned helplessness and serial recall are a few among many of the learning and memory models that have come to action in my life and in my final reflections surrounding the course.
Thus, story and memory remove humans from the horrible brevity of mortal life by bringing existence into a realm outside of time. Humans die, but through story their fellow humans can make them immortal. Even amidst life’s tragedies, stories allow us to transform what seems an unbearable reality into something deeply beautiful. And yet their power is not merely retrospective since stories impose moral responsibility on our every action. Forgetting, therefore, is among the worst evils; not only because of the “moral perversity” it permits, but also because of the meaning it denies.
Are we human if we don’t have a choice to choose between acting good or acting evil? A Clockwork Orange directed by Stanley Kubrick is a brutal film that entails many sociological meanings. Alex DeLarge and his “droogs” (gang) live in a derange society of “ultra-violence” and rape. Alex and his gang cause havoc around the town that leads to the “droogs” turning on Alex during a mischievous act on an innocent women and Alex getting arrested. While in prison he is chosen for “treatment” that is suppose to purify Alex and turn him into the “perfect citizen”. We’ve gone over many sociological concepts in class, but the three that I believe apply the most to this film are socialization, deviance, and resocialization.
A Beautiful Mind tells the life story of John Nash, a Nobel Prize winner who struggled through most of his adult life with schizophrenia. Directed by Ron Howard, this becomes a tale not only of one man's battle to overcome his own disability, but of the overreaching power of love - a theme that has been shown by many films that I enjoy.