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Intro: So, I recently saw Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind! Everybody on Reddit appears to be obsessed with this movie, which is why when I saw it on my Netflix homepage, I felt obligated to watch it. And I would personally like to thank the programmers of the Netflix algorithm. I kid you not, I wrote an entire three page journal entry just trying to understand what my eyes (and ears!) were blessed with for 108 minutes. I would love to discuss the alluring cinematography and the interpretations of the ending, but for today’s episode, at least, I will talk about the science of memories in relation to this movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, please take the time to do so! It is available on American Netflix, but I am sure other streaming platforms will have this cult classic, as well.
Segment 1: Introduction to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Basic Facts:
Genre: Science Fiction / Romance
Year Released: March 19, 2004
Director: Michel Gondry
Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman
Story: Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, etc.
Cinematography: Ellen Kuras
Plot:
“is there any brain damage” audio clip
the most basic explanation of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is as follows:
Joel Barish undergoes a memory erasing procedure after his girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski, gets one.
Now, this memory erasing procedure allows for the person doing the actual memory erasing to erase very specific memories -- those of the patient’s choosing. Clementine erased all memories of and associated with Joel and now Joel, in grief, wants to do the same with Clementine.
“the first thing we need you to do” audio clip
And that was Dr. Howard Mierzwiak explaining the logistics of the procedure to Joel.
As he said, their technicians create a map using physical objects that bring back memories of the person. He tells Joel to bring in everything he possibly can that he associates with Clementine. In the next scenes, Joel is given back these items, one by one, while hooked up to a machine that lights up where in his brain the memories of the object, and thus person, are. So by creating this map, Stan Fink, Joel’s technician, knows what to erase while Joel is asleep.
And so, Joel goes to sleep and the procedure begins.
In his dream, Joel revisits every memory he has had with Clementine in reverse order.
happy audio clip
Now (still in the dream) Joel is in the happier days of the relationship, and this is when he realizes that he doesn’t want to erase Clementine anymore. And so it begins, Joel trying to hide Clementine in other memories and other parts of his brain that were not mapped by Fink.
The procedure prevails and the memories of Clementine are erased from Joel’s mind.
But Joel goes to Montauk on a whim, subconsciously, by fate, you really don’t know, and meets Clementine again. And again we see them falling in love.
But Mary Svevo, a receptionist for Lacuna, mails out to everyone that had undergone the procedure a recording of themselves explaining who the person they were erasing was with a letter explaining how they requested to get their memories erased of the person. Which an unsuspecting Clementine opens in front of Joel. Then Joel goes to his apartment and finds a similar recording of himself explaining who he was and who he was erasing.
“my name is joel barish” audio clip
Him and Clementine wonder if their relationship is really worth pursuing again to which Joel responds with a light hearted
“i dont care” audio clip
creates this really nice non-linear storyline that personally took me like a whole graphing session to get chronologically right, or at least somewhat
it's a really beautiful story that teaches you about cherishing your memories with another person. And to love for the little moments.
i hate myself for having such a bad memory. there are things my mom remembers of me that i don't remember myself. i know on a conscious level some of the things i've done and experienced, but i always feel like im missing a part of me. lots of parts me that have been to places and done things but just don't remember. which is why everyone should journal! because life is about being present and living in the little moments, but also being able to look back at them and feel the emotions you felt then, now.
i think its also a story of fate and a higher love. maybe im listening to a little too much queen. love of my life has been on repeat these days and has me thinking about the one person that i'm destined to be with. but thats me being dramatic!
Segment 2: What Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind gets right. Is Memory Erasure Possible?
First off, memory erasure is possible!
https://www.livescience.com/7315-drug-deletes-bad-memories.html
Administration of amnesia drug U0126 in rats was able to selectively remove a specific memory related to a fear-inducing event.
In this study, two musical tones were played for rats, both with mild electrical shocks. One particular tone was played while the rat was given this drug. And after the treatment of this drug, the rats did not associate that tone with the electrical shock, yet braced themselves when the other tone was played, thus effectively proving one memory was deleted.
It is important to note that there is a possibility that the rat may still have a conscious memory of the tone, but it did not display an emotional reaction to it by not bracing itself for the electrical shock.
Study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research has found that the drug propranolol and therapy were able to “dampen” the memories of rape in nineteen rape victims.
Propranolol is also being administered to soldiers with PTSD.
Technology like the one in the movie is not available right now, clearly.
But can it be developed? Possibly.
Segment 3: Ethical Considerations
Joel LITERALLY unconsciously but also in a way consciously realizes that he doesn’t want to erase Clementine midway through his procedure, but cannot alert Fink because he’s very much sleeping.
There are clear ethical problems in this, the first being Joel doesn’t want to undergo the procedure anymore, but the second and arguably more important being no one knows Joel didn’t want to continue the procedure because after it was completed, he had no memory of it, which is precisely the point.
You are your memories
If you erase your memories, aren’t you erasing yourself?
How do you know you’re not going to make the same mistakes?
You learn and grow from your memories, even the most painful of the bunch.
Erasing memories, altering memories
Erasing memories can alter your memories. Though this, as of now, is science fiction and we don’t know the logistics of memory erasure, selectively erasing your memories of particular events will inevitably alter the timeline of your conscious.
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