Naina Jain Week 12 - Memories

Memories. 

They come in all types of shapes and forms. The small. The big. The good. The bad. And so the big question arises: are some memories really worth forgetting? 


The movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” does an excellent job of communicating this idea. Before you read any further, I highly recommend that you to watch the movie if you haven’t already without any more prior information, as I believe going in clueless is a major reason that it has turned out to be one of the best movies I’ve seen yet. However, if you wish to proceed reading, here is some context first. 


The movie tells the story of a man named Joel who was in a 2 year relationship with a woman named Clementine until it came to an abrupt end with an ugly breakup. When Clementine decides to undergo a procedure to completely erase Joel’s existence from her mind, Joel decides to do the same. The movie primarily focuses on Joel’s experience within his mind as he slowly relives his time with Clementine, with the viewers right there with him. As you can imagine, the filmography is phenomenal. 


The movie does a brilliant job in providing a very real depiction of all of its characters, as I would have trouble trying to find even one seemingly “perfect” character. Every character was well rounded with their own story, taking away the idea of superficiality or stereotypes. Even Joel, whose point of view we follow, has his many flaws. And yet, it is difficult to really dislike any of them, no matter their faults. Because chasing this idea of perfection, of “eternal sunshine,” is impossible, something Joel comes to realize over time.


The film does a wonderful job showing how viewing past experiences from a new perspective can completely alter your older perceptions. Joel’s efforts to rid himself of so many memories lies in a fruitless attempt to chase the idea of “eternal sunshine.” While the idea of unlimited peace and happiness feels like a perfect solution to all of our problems, the ironic reality is that without painful memories and experiences, your mind is essentially left “spotless.” In other words, choosing ignorance would only leave you with an underdeveloped version of yourself.


You come to realize that at the end of the day, every one of our memories holds some fraction of power over us. And they all play a role in shaping us into who we are. How can we learn from our past mistakes if we don’t remember them ever happening? What Joel and Clementine had was beautiful, but it was far from perfect. 


So no, I don’t think that some memories are worth forgetting. I believe that removing all the “bad” in your life creates 2-dimensional paper people that never learn to properly deal with real emotions. I believe that erasing “bad” memories will only cause you to repeat the same mistakes again and again. Because how can it be considered “bad” when it contributes to shaping us into better people? 


So to tie things off, I believe that “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is an incredible movie that I highly recommend with all my heart. It is the only movie that I have ever considered perfect, as it is a perfect blend of comedy and realism, full of many other small details and overarching plots that truly enhance the overall experience. 





Comments

  1. Sophia ShaoMarch 3, 2025 at 6:35 PM

    Hi Naina! I like your introduction. It’s very stylistic and captivating, for sure. I have heard of this movie before, but I never got around to watching it. I hesitate to finish reading your blog to truly enjoy the movie, but I will continue nevertheless because I am curious as to what it talks about. I’ll probably still watch it later anyways. Clementine is such a cute name! It feels so warm and fuzzy! Ugly breakups sound so, so painful. I could not imagine. The scenario for this movie sounds quite interesting and thought-provoking. I don’t think I’d undergo a procedure to forget my boyfriend even if we broke up in the worst way possible. I think our memories together are so worth the pain of moving on, and I’d want to be able to look back and treasure everything that we had together. Also, I feel like I’ve been taught a lot in the relationship. If I forgot him, would I also forget everything I learned? That is so not worth it, in my opinion. It’s great that the characters are flawed but still likable; it’s different from EINTY in that way. I really like this quote: “choosing ignorance would only leave you with an underdeveloped version of yourself.” Yes! I believe so. A spotless mind sounds so dull, and within memories lies so much power. I like your second to last paragraph as a reflection. It’s totally valid and conclusive. Thank you for sharing, Naina!

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  2. Anushree NavaneethakrishnanMarch 5, 2025 at 1:00 PM

    Hi Naina, I have been actually searching for movie or tv show recommendations for the long weekend, and I think this blog found me at the perfect time. While reading this blog, a question that popped into my head were: what are the aspects or criteria that a memory needs to fit into for it to be categorized as either “bad” or “good” memories? For so long, almost since birth, we have been taught to learn from our mistakes, and I believe that the repetition of this quote has caused it to lose its significance. But these so-called “bad” memories play a pivotal role in guiding us into not making the same mistakes again, because then we create a certain behavioral pattern that will destroy us at some point in our lives. In the case of the movie, I believe that the “bad” memories from the breakup or the relationship can help them learn how to maintain a healthy relationship when they are in the right mental state to move on. Thank you for bringing such a refreshing reflection on such an underrated topic!

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  3. Yash SinhaMarch 5, 2025 at 9:15 PM

    Hi Naina! Your intro of this blog was really good and insanely captivating. As a reader, I read it and felt compelled to read the remainder of the blog. This overarching question which you mentioned are some memories truly worth forgetting really made me think about some of the more prominent memories which I have that I would not mind forgetting (mostly bad memories) and I would not even want to lose those memories because they shaped me into the person that I am today. I really like how you build up to the reference of a movie that is about memories. Personally, I have not watched this movie but I do think that after the description which you have given, I may have to take a look at it. I really agree with the claim that you made about every one of our memories holding a fraction of us, as we use memories to grow and learn. When we do bad things, we remember them and try to avoid doing those things, similarly, when we do good things, we try to continue to do those same things as we remember good outcomes coming from them. Overall, I think this is a great blog and thank you for introducing a new movie to me.

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