Blessed are the Forgetful: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

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Mapping Contemporary Cinema

Mapping Contemporary Cinema s a new. regularcoumn or Film Matters, managed by staffand students n he Fil m Studies Department at

Queen Mary, Univesity of L ondon. t s devotedto he publication of nteligent n-depth accounts

of indivdua contemporary ilms. A ll he work sproduced and deveoped by a student run editori aboard. For more nformation and o ead other piecesin his proec, please visit: http:/ / www.mc cslfqmul.acuk /

Blessed are he Forgeful:Etena Sunshine of the SpotlessMind(USA, 2004, dir. MichelGondry)Written by Shanshan Chen(2010) : edited by Nick Jones

(2011) , Film Studies, QueenMary, University of London/K I . Y w O R D S : Etena Sunshineof the Spotless Mind, memoryfilms, Charlie Kaufman,Focus features, MichelGondry, Jim Carrey

I N I N D I E W O O D , USA, Geoff K ingdescribes this eponymous film formas a combination of independent andmanstream filmmaking styes, "a kind of

cinema that draws on eements of each,combining some quaities associated withthe independent sector, athough perhapsunderstood as softened or watered down,with other quaities and industria practicesmore characteristic of the output of themaor studios" (3). Financed by a three-wayco-production between NBC Universa-owned Focus Features, Anonymous Content,and This Is That, and subsequently sold as

a pilch to Steve Colin, then of PropagandaFilms (later to be Anonymous Content),Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindfits within this category, athough variouseements of the production ensured creativefreedom woud take precedence overcommercia concerns. Such freedom has ledto a film that, while fitting within a sem-independent romantic-comedy rubric, asooilers a complex politica alegory of theUnited Staes in the twenty-first century. Itcan aso be seen as a prime example of anemergent cycle ol "memory films," a cyclethat aso includes maor blockbusters.

Focus FeaturesThe screenwriter ol Etena Sunshine

Charlie K aufman, recals that the film wasenormously popuar as a pitch " I t was afive mnute pitch, which turned out to bevery exciting to people, for some reason"with Focus Features, the art-house divisionof major studio NBC Universa, eventualysecuring the rights amdst strong competition(133). Since its inception in 2002 from themerger of USA Films, Universa Focus,and Good Machine, Focus Features has

established itsef as a reputable name insem-independent film production, offeringa rare combination of solid financia supportand space for creative experimentation

and risk taking. The company boasts animpressive list of sem-independent films thathave garnered Academy Award recognition,including 1 he Pianist (2002) and 21 drains(2003), as wel as a number of commerciahits, including traffic (2000, grossing $207mllion worldwide) and Lost n Transation(2003, grossing SI20 mllion worldwide).

Focus Features positioned Etena Sunshineas a qurky new take on the romantic comedy

and this alowed the film to tap into amanstream audience. The theatrica tralerfor Etena Sunshine emphasized the playfunessand whimsicaity of the film, focusing on thelight-hearted moments of the reationship andbanter between Joe and Clementine. Thelagine lor the film ("You can erase someonefrom your mnd, (jetting them out of yourheart is another story") aso emphasized theemotiona. Although art-house financingwas secured by the promnent positioning ofAcademy Award-nomnated writer CharlieKaufman, who had deveoped a strong culfollowing thanks to the success of Beng ohnMakovkh (1999) and A daptation (2002), hisinvolvement was not placed at the forefrontof the films marketing campagn, likey dueto the potentia risk ol aienating manstreamlilmgocrs. Jack Foley; head of distribution lorFocus Features, describes how they adoptedan aggressive advertising strategy "thatspoke outside of the confines of the CharlieKaufman brand" (King 83). This followed thetrend of highly successfu sem-independentfilms such as Miramax's top-grossing tdpFicion (1994) that had brought together "anart house audience [and a] wider action-thriller clientee" (Wyatt 81).

Rather than Kaufman, the centraseling point of Eternal Sunshine was JimCarrey. Carrey's image domnated the

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Mapping Contemporary Cinema

marketing and promotional materia for thefilm, even though the role of protagonistJoe Barish (unctions as the antithesis ofCarreys previously cultivated star personaol slapstick funnyman, a persona whichhad made him a household name by thelate 1990s. In contrast, Barish is loneyintroverted and unhappy. Such A-listerrebranding has become something of atrend in sem-independent films, with starsknown for their broad physica comedy suchas Robin Williams, Bill Murray and AdamSandler renventing themseves in far moredownbeat roles in One Hour Photo (2002), L ostin Translation, and Punch Drunk hive (2002)respectivey. Additionally, Eterna Sunshneslove interest Clementine Kruczynski afoul-mouthed, tempestuous and impulsiveborderline acoholic - was a stark departurefor star Kale VVinset, most widey known forEngish rosc-typc characters in British periodfilms and the widely seen Titanic (1999).VVinset hersef noted this seemng reversaof presumed roles: " I realy had the JimCarrey part, and that was pretty terrifyng tobe honest. At first I was like, 'Oh, I've got tobe the unny one. Oh no. How on earth am Igoing to do that?'" (Cavagna). The presenceof these two stars, role reversas or not,heped the film reach a wider atidience awareof ther more manstream star pcrsonac.

The film aso benefited from the distinctstye of Michel Condry, who despitedirecting a poorly receved comedy feature[H uman.Nature (2001), aso written byKaufman), had aso deveoped a distinctiveand lauded visua stye in music videos forMassive Attack and The White Stripes,among others. Condrys transition to feature-film directing is consistent with a wider trendof music and commercia directors movinginto sem-independent features, such as Spike

Jonze (director of Fatboy Slim music videosand Beng John Malk ov ch), and later JonathanDayton and Vaerie Fans L ittle Miss Sunshne

(2006)) and Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer

[2009)). This trend reveas the internieshingof commercia and aesthetic aspects of short-form and feature-length storytelling. Many ofthe films of these directors have an inherentmusicaity and distinctive aesthetic to them,the result of their extensive experience inshort-form directing. Condry describesthe music video as "the perfect medium todo kinetic or geometrica research" whichcan then be applied to feature films (qtd. inKleinman). The rich mse-cn-scenc in EternaSunshne can be attributed to Condry'sexpertise in combining "imaginative fictionand emotiona reaity," including hissignature of "in-camcra" specia effects andthe dramatic use of long takes (Hirschberg).The idiosyncratic styes of these directors,as wel as the youthful and experimentanature of their work, has clearly resonatedwith a pop-culture-sawy demographic andunderpinned the financia and critica successol ther respective projects.

Blessed are the Forgetful

Although the world of Eterna Sunshne seemsmostly sef-contaned and superficialyapolitica, the film can be read as an alegoryof the American (sub)conscious subsequentto the terrorist acts of 9/ 11. The centra ideaof the film was conceved in 1998, the scriptwritten from 2000 to 2002, footage shot andedited in 2003, and the film finaly reeasedin 2004. The fact that production spannedthe course of the late 1990s and early 2000s,during which many changes were made,vaidates the reading of Eterna Sunshne asboth a pre- and posl-9/ 1 I film. AlthoughEterna Sunshne has autobiographica rootsin the lives of Kaufman and Conchy DavidMartin-Jones sees the film as a (somewhatdisguised) "politicaly engaged critique" (180).

I n a mnor plot line, Lacuna Inc.'sreceptionist, Maty (Kirsten Dunst) discoversthat site has had erased the memory of anaffar with her boss Dr. Mierzwiak (the affar

had resulted in an abortion). Her discovery

wrecks her emotionaly, even though she wascomplicit in the erasure of these memories.Martin-Jones suggests that Marys characteris indicative of the negative consequencesof this kind of willful amnesia, and that thefilm here is commenting on how the UnitedStates attempted to "forget" the experience of9 1 1 (primarily through a denia of its causes

namey the CIA's clandestine operationsin Afghanistan in the 1980s, including thetraning of Osama bin Laden - and a desireto "move on" without serious sef-reflection).

I n marked contrast to Mary, Joe andClementine (athough both subject tomemory erasure procedures) seem toindicate that the procedures arc inadequateand are drawn to pursue the same ill-fatedreationship agan in the arguably tragc

ending of the film. As Martin-Jones notes,the coupe "consciously choose to recreate thesituation that led up to their trauma, andto rc-cxamne their own role in creating it"(Martin-Jones 157). Joe and Clementine'sdecision to enter a new reationship together,which "consciously acknowledge [s] ther owncomplicity in creating the [prior] trauma"is presented as the mature, sensible wayof coping with such difficult experiences(Martin-Jones 1 77). This sentiment isunderscored by the music of the closingcredits: Beck's mournful "Everybodys GottaLearn Sometime" whose lyrics ("Change

your heart/ It will astound you") echo themessage that rather than forgetting thepast and moving on, we should confrontthe actions that led up to the traumaticevent in order to seek full resolution. As ifto emphasize this point, the film has Maryresign from Lacuna and inform al LacunaInc.'s patients of the procedures they haveundertaken. Whether motivated by revengeor the desire to have others share her panis left largely ambiguous but in these actionsthe film seems to indicate its preference forthe truth rather than a more comfortable (butheavily redacted) version of the past.

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Map p in g Con te mpo ra ry Cin ema Blessed are the forgetful: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless M i n d

Kaufman's original script included a (lash

forward fifty years into the future, w i t h M a n ;n o w an old woman, sti l l working lor Lacuna

In c . , collecti ng and preservin g people'smemori es in a book . She attempts to get this

published, but dies before succeeding, anddie book is probably lost in lime. Joel and

Clementine in this alternative ending arc

also shown to have repeatedly broken up andgotten back together throughout the decades

Kauf man 143). Alt hou gh never f i l m e d ,

this sequence would have given the story amore tragic tone. Fur the rmor e, i f read mor e

broadly as an allegory of the American copingmechanism in the aftermath of the national

trauma of 9/ 1 1, it would have painted a farbleaker picture of a helpless nation caughtin a viciou s circle of sell-destructive amnesia.

f l i c decision to exclude this scene, originallyplanned as the opening sequence, couldpotentially reflect Focus Featurcs's and NBC'sreluctance to be associated w i t h a f i l m offeringsuch a dark vision in the immediate yearsafter 9/1 1 and (he US invasion of Iraq, but

also seems to indicate how the f i lm wishes toshow that critical self-reflection might succeedin breaking the cycle of self-improvement via

wi l l fu l forgetting (Joel and Cl eme nti ne i n thei r

desire to deal w i t h the messy realities of theirrelationship might just f i n d a way to make it

w o r k ) .

While the technology deployed in the f i l m

is presented as quasi-archaic, and seemi ngly

primitive, it is nonetheless highly invasiveand - during successful procedures leavesno evidence of its depl oymen t, thanks to

the memory erasure of the subject's v i s i tto Lacuna along w i t h the relationship

being deleted. Issues of medical ethics aresubordin ate to the emoti onal core of the

f i l m (Joel and Clementine's relationship 1

but nonetheless Eternal Sunshine taps intowidespread anxieties about computerized

bodily augmentation and manipulation in the

twenty-first century, an age in which public

and private boundaries arc being rapidly

broken down by new technologies, f l i c f i l m

can be seen then as l i n k i n g these anxietiesw i t h contemporary concerns regarding therewriting of history in the United States

in Eternal Smshhu af At Sptillcss Mind

35

f o l l o w i n g 9/ 1 1, an d the o missi on of key-

events f r o m cultural consciousness for the

sake of avoiding traumatic recognition.

T h e Rise of the Memory F i l m

f hc past decade has seen the release ofa string of "m emor y f i lms . ' ' Such f i lms

usually deal w i t h themes o f consciousness,perception and time through a focus on issueso f recollection and dreaming. This emerging

cycle has proved to be immensely popular, and

several sub-cycles have developed, includingthose that overlap w i t h the romantic comedy{Eternal Sunshine, 50 First Dales (2004)), the

psychological thriller (Fight Club (1999), Memento

(2000), Mullmlland Drive (2001), The Buttafy

Effect (2001)), and science f ic t ion [Dark City(1998), The Matrix (1999)). Arg uab ly, the trend

can be traced back to science fiction films likeBlade Runner (1982) and Total Recall (1990),

detective stories in which the protagonist must

question their memories and deconstruct their

o w n reality. These f i lms place their central

characters in situations of existential crisis, inwhich they are overwhelmed by a staggeringly

radical new worldview, conducted w i t h i n

a simulat ed realit y or alternati ve universe

that acts as a microcosm of die real w o r l d .However, in die last ten years, in f i lms such as7he human Show (1999), these concerns havebecome embedded in less fantastical worlds

and plots, striving instead to comment on theeveryday lives of cinemagocrs. Alter native

universes have become increasingly mundane,a trend shown in Eternal Sunshine, w i t h its

contemporary setting and down-to-earth unse

en-scene.

James Harkin has referred to such c ine maas "cybcr-realist" - f i lms which appeal quite

specifically to a generation that has grown up

in the digital era (Harkin). The m u l t i p l i c i t y

o f storylines and plastic sense of time andspace, as w e l l as the use of a plurality of

perspectives, arc all disti nctl y post moder nand influenced by the profusion of discoursesproduced by a web-based culture, a culturewhich - through the rise of the Internet,

social networkin g, and portable digital

devices - has fostered a generation of tcch-

sawy people used to constant information

J JI

T o m Wi l k i n s o n and Jim Carrev W5z

in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind wmm^KK^^^EIk

F i l m Matters Summer 2011

bombard ment. Such a generation is w e l l

adapted to multitask ing and confidentlyhandling various streams of informationsimultaneously. Noting this shift, Memento

director Christopher Nolan has stated: ; ' I

think people's a b i l i t y to absorb a fracturedmisc-en-scene ... is extrao rdina ry compared to

40 years ago" (qtd. in 1 l a r k i n ) .

A n audience of "digital natives" demands"a new k i n d of story telli ng that delibera tely

engages ou r restless, cybernetic imagination, "heralding the rise of the memory f i l m

(1 l a r k i n ) . These f i lms are "oblique andelusive enoug h to allow for a wide variety of

interp retation s, and broad enough to allow

the reader more freedom of manoeuvre tofo l low their own path through the narrative"

(I l a r k i n ) . Th e neat narrative segmentationbetween be ginn ing, middl e, and end is usually

abolished and replaced by a non-linear or

non-chronological narrative. However, this

creates the challenge of keeping an audienceengaged even when traditional narrativegrounding has been relinquished. AsKauf man himself has commen ted regardi ng

the development of the script for Eternal

Sunshine: "| t| hat was a big discussion in the

studio, always. I low long can you keep the

audience confused before they turn off?"(141). Eternal Sunshine am be consi dered the

answer to this question, offering as it does a

combination of challenging multiple, nonlinear narrative f o r m and an intellectually

stimulating concept while avoiding alienating

esotericism.

David I [arvey writes that the condit ion

o f postmodernity is one of "excessiveephemerality and fragmentation in the political

and private as wel l as in the social realm"

(306). The archetypal protagonist of the

memory f i lm is also somewhat symptomatico f a postmodern American audience who,while intercon nected in an expansive, pervasive

media net, are nonetheless increasingly isolatedo n an individual level, hi Eternal Sunshine,

Joel is incarcerated w i t h i n his memories

o f Clementine, unable to stop the erasureprocedure. This character type also usuallyembodies a growing sense of existentialanxiety thanks to the deconstrueti on of the ir

G u y IVarce in Memento


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M a p p i n g C o n t e m p o r a r y C i n e m a

reality. M emento' s L e o n a r d Shelby ( G u y Pcarcc).struggles to differentiate between his alliesa n d those eomplici t in his wife 's murder, andgrows increasingly anxious and sell-doublingt h r o u g h o u t the film, unable to t rust anyone,not even himself. That film's con clusio n- i nw h i c h t r a u m a is wil l ful ly forgotten f or thesake

o f the protagonist ' s stale of m i n d is at oddswith the indications inEternal Sunshi ne thatfac ing up to reali ty is necessary; even thoughbo th f i lms tread similar psychological gro un d(albeit in very different styles) . Furt herm ore,the protagonist of die Bourne franchise seeksdie t ru th of his lifebefore he was affectedby amnesia, a n d i n d o i n gso uncovers thed a r k abuses of p o w e r with in the US m i l i t a r yindustr ia l c o m p l e x .

M e m o r y f i l m sare often self-reflexive,self-re fe ren t ia l , and s o li p s is t ic . M a n y m e m o r yfilms frame narratives fromthe sole andi n t r in s i ca l ly subjective an d f lawed perspec t iveo f a cent ra l , unre l iab le nar ra tor.In EternalSunshi ne, even as Joel relives allof hism e m o r i e s w i t h C l e m e n t i n e , the entire story-i s u l t imate lyto ld f r o m his perspec t ive as them a i n n a r r a t o r. As K a u f m a n p o i n t s o u t ,"Youd o n ' t rea l ly know what the i r re la t ionsh ipis.Yo u o n l y k n o w w h a tJoel th inks about the i rr e l a t i o n s h i p " (135). T h i s n a r r a t i v e f r a m i n gis echoed in 500) D a ys of Summer, in w h i c hthe story of a r e l a t i o n s h i p is a g a i n v i e w e dent i re ly v ia the male pro tagonis t ' s m i n d .

S y m p t o m a t i c of ( p o s t m o d e r n c u l t u r e ,ande n g a g i n g with issues of unre l iab le nar ra tors ,

t h e m e m o r y film genre is also a perfect fitfo r the h o m e - v i e w in g D V D m a r k e t ,as thisf o r m a t is idea l for instantaneous repealedv i e w i n g of the w h o l e film or just fragmentsof i t . Indeed , the densely layered structuresof memory f i lmshave w o n o v e r m a n y fansw h o have made f i lm s t h a t u n d e r p e r f o r m c dat the box office cult hi ts whenreleased onD V D . Fig/it C l u b , whose box office revenue d i dnot meet f inancing s tud io Tw ent ie t h C entu ryFox's expectations (i t made S37 m i l l i o nbuth a d a p r o d u c t i o n b u d g e t of near ly doublethat) , l a te r went on to become one of the best-se l l ing DVDs inthe studio 's history, grossingmore than 155 m i l l i o n in v i d e o a n d D V Drentals (Bing).Th e poten t ia l of these films tobe sold more thanonce (encouraging mul t ip lecinema visi ts and com mit ted hom e v iewing)is an i m p o r t a n t f a c to r i n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e i rc o m m e r c i a l viab i l i ty and longevi ty.

The most successful and mains t reamm e m o r y f i lm to date is die blockbuster ncepti on(2010). Invo lv ing a mul t i laycrcdp l o l in whic ha psychologically troubled thief infi l tratesthedreams of rich businessmen, ncepti on enjoyedt remendous commerc ia lsuccess at d ie boxoffice ($825 million). A large port ionof thefilm's box officecan be a t t r ibu ted to repeat

v icwings ;it grossed S62.7 mil l io n on i ts openingweekend and onlyfell 3 2 % a n d 3 6 % in itssecond a n d th i rd weeks respectively. Suchpopu la r i ty rcve;i ls that die memoryfilm genreworks equally well in avowedly com merc ia lcontexts (Inception is an action thri l ler)as it docsin the d o m a i n of " I n d i e w o o d " p ro d u c ti o n s l ik e

Eternal Sunshi ne. Such flexibility suggests that them e m o r y f i lm cycle will remain cen t ra l to diec o n t e m p o r a r y cinema for some t ime to come./ E N D /

Wo r k s C i t e d

l i ing , J ona than . " " F igh t Club' Au tboi H ooks I 'air

o f D e a l s . " V n n m h o c . V m i i l v E a i i c m i ,10 A p r. 2001.

Web. I 1 l e l i . 2011.

C a v a g n a , C a r l o . ' IL ieroa l S uns h in e I n te r v iew ' ,

A b . j u t F i b n.rom, April 2004. Web. 1-1 Feb.201 I .

D i j ck . Jose van . " M em or y M at t e r s inthe D ig i t a l

A g e . " [. J.4'**. 12.:'. 200) : 349 7:'.. P r i m .

H a r k i n . J a m e s , " loos ing th e p lo t . " The Observer.

Cunr r luK t .co .uk .22 M a r. 2009. WV;b. 14 Feb. 2011.

H ar vcv. D av i d . T / i e ( C o n di t i o n of y. s b n o d e m i t v.

O x f o r d : h i a c k w e l l . 1990. h i n t .

I l ighee, Wil l . " L ' ng r ou r id ing th e Narrat ive of

N at ion . " R h n - P U h a o p h y. 13.1 2009): 156 64. h i n t .

l l i r s . hberg, Ly n n . " L a R o m a m i c j ii e . "l h r .\ h r York

l i a r s . X l ' l i m r u o i u . 17 Sept . 21106. Web. I 1 Feb

201 !.

K a u f m a n , C h a r l i e . E t e rna l Sunsh i ne o f t he Spo t l e ss

M i n d: 1 hi Shoo t i n g Sn i p . ' . N ew Yor k : N ew mar ke t

Press. 2on I . Pr in t .

K i n g , Geoff , hntiricn,. ,!. I X I ; Where H A m W . W r t

I ndependent Q n e m a . N ew Yor k : E .B . Tau r i s .2009.

Print .

K l e i n m a n , G eoff r ey " I n te r v iew w i th Char l i e

K a u f m a n a n d M i e h e l G o n d r y. " D V D l u l l . . c o m .Mar.21RH. Web. I 1 Feb. J u l ! .

Martin-Jones . David . i J i l r n . y. Cbtemn u n i t X n t i o n a l

I d en t i t y : X u r m t i c e l i m e i n X a t i a n t i l O m t r x t s .K d i n b n r g h :

t .Hinbnryh Univers i ty Press, 2007. Print.

O l s e n , M ar k . " ' Rev iew :E t e rna l Sunshine of I h r S p o t l t s i

M i n d . " S i g h t a n d S o u nd , 14.5 (2004 : 57.

Wa t t . J u s t i n . "1 he f o r ma t ion of the- 'M ajo r

I n d e p e n d e n t : M i r a m a x . N e w F i n e a m ithe

N e w H o l l y w o o d . "C/mt etnp nenry H o l t f t v o o d(.Muma.

Fd s . S teve N ea le and M ur r ay S mi th . Lo n d o n :

Rou t l edge , 19518. P r in t .

io r BiographyShanshan Chen was an associatestudent at Queen Mary. University ofLondon in 2010-11 and is currentlya Bachelor of CommunicationStudies Honors student at NanyangTechnological University in Singapore.Sh e is i nterested in film journalism andcontemporary semi-independent cinemain the US and Britain.

t o r B ick Jones is a

Queen Mary, University of London,researching issues of space andgeography in the contemporaryHollywood action film. He is themanaging editor of the MappingContemporary Cinema website.

Department Overview

I\ Q J Q u e e n MarylUniversity of LondonFilm Studies at Queen Mary is anexciting and vibrant department,which offers s tudents the chance tostudy all aspects of film history andtheory, as well as the opportunity tolearn production skills. In 2009, thedepartment ranked first in the UnitedKingdom for overall quality, out of 83university departments offering media-related subjects.

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Blessed are the Forgetful: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind