Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:
An Analysis of Memory, Relationships, and Identity
Jeszenia McGuire
Elms College
What was the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Perhaps you totaled your brand new car leaving the dealership, or you lost your dream job? Maybe you were bullied as a child, or were the victim of a crime. Did you go for a routine checkup, only to be told you an expiration date? Maybe you watched on as a pair of taillights faded into the darkness, as the love of your life left you. Worse still, maybe you witnessed your best friend’s, your parent’s, or your child’s chest rise and fall for the last time. Whatever came to your mind when I asked you the worst event of your life, remember that. Recall that emptiness, and that crippling pain. Now if I offered you an out, a way to delete that memory from the depths of your mind, would you take it? In his 2004 romantic comedy, Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind, writer Charlie Kaufman explores the complexities of our memories, relationships, and identities. In doing so, he created arguably one of the most powerful films of the decade. In the movie we watch as Joel Barish, an overly nervous and reserved man falls in love with his polar opposite Clementine Kruczynski who is as spontaneous as her vivid and ever-changing hair color. We get invested in their relationship, as they seem extraordinarily happy; nevertheless, this happiness doesn’t last long, and they go through a tough breakup.
Have you ever wanted a bad memory erased? Is love erasable? These questions are attacked head on in the wonderfully complex drama Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. After working together on the film Human Nature, director Michael Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman discussed the possibility whether or not they would have their memory erased of a bad relationship should the opportunity present itself (dvdtalk). Out of that discussion a movie idea was formulated, pitched to a studio, and a film was created showing the potential impact of doing so. Through Kaufman’s brilliant and strange storytelling, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind takes its audience on a journey challenging us to ask: what would we do
There are multiple things that Hansberry could do to improve the quality of Walter and Beneatha’s acting. Mama and Ruth gave the audience a sense that the play was taking place
Hello, my name is Valerie Faris, and I am one of the co-directors (along with Jonathan Dayton) of the film, 'Little Miss Sunshine'. When making this film, my co-director and I heavily aimed to portray the different ways we as human beings search to find our place in the world. We focused on the conception of building relationships and trust within the concept of a family. We wanted to convey the concept that when it comes to family, its never too late to re-connect and belong.
In the movie A Better Life, the Main Character Carlos Galindo is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who started working as a day labor worker when he first arrived in the country, however he has had steady work from Blasco Martinez who owns a gardening business which he tries to convince Carlos to buy from him as he says he is moving. The idea of being self employed is very appealing to Carlos but he knows he can never afford to do so and the risk of getting caught and deported is very high. Carlos has a son Luis who is reluctant to go to school on a daily basis and gets into trouble as he is influenced by his friends who are part of the
The movie The Breakfast Club was released in 1985, and is based on a group of five high school students from stereotypical cliques; the popular, jock, nerd and the outcasts, who all wind up stuck together for Saturday detention. Throughout the movie many themes present themselves such as teenage rebellion, peer pressure and family issues as the students get to know each other. The most prominent theme throughout the movie is the student’s placement in the social structure of the school. From the very different reasons why they are in detention to the way that they are all treated differently by the principle, their social placement is evident.
Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski were a couple in love. Everything changed when Clementine woke up one day and just decided to have Joel erased from her memory. He was “boring” and she wasn’t happy and wanted to move on. Joel then decided he wanted to also remove Clementine from his memory. This was all possible due to Lacuna Inc. who asked those wishing to remove a particular person from their memories to remove anything from their homes that could possibly be associated with that person. They sit the patient down, map out where memories are located that are associated with each object. Then, the company sends a couple of their scientists/psychologists to the home at night after they’ve fallen asleep. They then track down any remaining memories as they appear while asleep
In the movie Wit, English literary scholar Vivian Bearing has spent years translating and interpreting the poetry of John Donne. Unfortunately, she is a person who has cultivated her intellect at the expense of her heart. Both colleagues and students view Bearing as a chilly and unfriendly person lost in her private world of words and mysterious thoughts.
In Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the connections between people and memories become the focal point of a very unique romance. Through the use of new technology, the possibility of erasing memories makes painful relationships disappear like they never happened. The tale of Joel and Clementine allows the audience to rethink and question the process they undergo as beneficial or destructive. Though the process might be helpful in eliminating the pain caused from another person, four key scenes show how the lessons learned through relationship experiences are important.
As well, the films touch on social, cultural, economic, and psychological aspects. In Thelma and Louise, the social aspects that are present are between the girls to each other, the men in the women’s lives, and the autonomy of the law in their lives. The girls influence each other to live their lives without any restrictions, but the men held them back until the very end. The police force officer, Detective Hal Slocumb, maintains the relationship of the law to the women by staying in contact with them until the very end of the film. In Blow-up there was not significant social aspects.
Thelma & Louise by director Ridley Scott is a powerful film because it is about more than just friendship. It examines a bond between Thelma, played by Geena Davis and Louise, played by Susan Sarandon. This film is about transformation, liberation, and escaping, it transcends the genre. (Lipsitz) In the film Thelma & Louise, the use of foreshadowing, mise en scene, and character development depicts the message of men vs women.
In her essay "Beloved: A Question of Identity," Christina Davis discusses the issue of identity from an historical perspective, a textual perspective and an authorial perspective. She looks at the text in comparison to the slave narrative, explores how the text itself expresses issues of identity and describes Morrison's choices of authorship and their contribution to identity. Her exploration of the theme of identity calls upon the treatment of self-image, particularly in the context of slavery; and outward image as expressed by naming and other white descriptions of the black characters. Her organization of information is historically sequential, ordering elements as they occurred
The film, “the Power of One,” followed the life of a boy named P.K. from a small child to a handsome young man. It showed all the hardship and tragedy he had to endure throughout his life. Although the movie could have focused more on the apartheid, it instead portrayed the vulgarity of those times through the eyes of an English boy. As time went on, P.K. slowly began to realize the full severity of the apartheid. It was difficult for a child to comprehend how horribly people could treat one another for no apparent reason.
“Men and women can't be friends, because sex always gets in the way”, is the main theme of the movie “When Harry met Sally”. The script is a good example of the interpersonal communication ten stage model by Mark Knapp. This developmental model entails the stages of a relationship from it’s infancy to an ending. In the movie we can clearly identify all ten stages of this model.
A system is a set of interrelated parts. Systems theory assumes that a system must be understood as a whole, rather than in component parts. It is a way of looking at the world where all the objects are interrelated with one another. Many family systems are addressed in the movie Little Miss Sunshine.
My First Memory- Personal Narrative I’ve had many memories during my lifetime, many good, and some bad. My