Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel's (Jim Carey) memories are erased in a very interesting way. From the disappearance of facial features, destruction of the background, the dark (spotlight) lighting, and the eerie hollow sounds. Spotlight lighting reminds me of the focus of memories, since we will only remember details that we have focused on. All of the unnecessary information is quickly forgotten.

The traveling inside of Joel's mind is really the highlight of the film, and it is a large portion of the film takes place there. We are able to learn greatly about about who he is and why he behaves the way he does. An example of this is when Joel and Clementine (Kate Winslet) hide from the Erasers in Joel's early memories. It shows that Joel has always been mild-mannered, wants to please others, and wanted to receive more attention/affection from his mother. Also, most of Joel's memories are the bad, embarassing ones. It also shows that, no matter the age, memories that stay in our mind have a profound affect on us. This is apparent in Joel's memory of him getting peer-pressured into killing a bird, he tries to confront these bullies, showing that he is still affected in some way by this situation. Should have erased this memory? It was painful. But in some ways, it shapes who Joel is as a person.

I ask those that read this blog to think about their most influential memories; memories that still affect them in some way or another, do you agree that they shape your personality? And, would you erase a memory if you honestly believed that it would help your life?

Classical vs. Revisionist

Stagecoach vs. Unforgiven

There are significant differences between the "classical western" to the "revisionist western." Although they both have the same types of settings the major themes of the two sub-genres split into completley different arenas. Many times, revisionist westerns will show a different depiction of Native Americans, or question other aspects that are commonplace in the westerns of the past. The film Unforgiven (directed by Clint Eastwood) shows the act of killing, violence aren't as thoughtless as in John Ford's Stagecoach were Indians fall off their horses, dying with a single shot. Another big difference is the aspects of heroism and cowardice. Many of the characters are seen by many as heroic, or ruthless when really the "word of mouth" or print distorts the real image that is sometimes bathed in cowardice.

The appearance of blood and overall brutality of killing isn't seen in Stagecoach. This seems to be fairly obvious to the viewer; they want to focus their attention on the development of John Wayne's character and the survival of the passengers of the stagecoach not dwell on the facts that the numerous armed Native Americans weren't able to kill anyone...not a single person. Now let's turn to Unforgiven's depiction of murder and the prime example would be when Will Munny (Clint Eastwood) guns down a man who was complicit in the "slashing" of the town prostitute. This man has a slow painful death, he calls out for a drink of water, he complains of the pain from the bloody bullet hole in his stomach. This was just two diverging examples that show a divergent theme.

As far a cowardice vs. heroism: Unforgiven challenges the classic western the most in this category. It shows how journalism, story telling, and other means can create an image that is false and/or too idealistic. A good example of this is the character English Bob (Richard Harris) who is represented in books and most areas of the country as a larger-than-life cowboy. He is, however, exposed by Little Bill (Gene Hackman) as a drunk who just was lucky at the time. There are no chinks in Ringo Kid's (John Wayne) idealized personality and he is the almost-perfect protagonist of the film: he is still a "reluctant" hero because that was classic westerns have. Overall, these differences along with many others divide Unforgiven and Stagecoach into sub-genres of western films, but each film is key in Western genre's history.

Journal #3: Easy Rider

What do you get when you mix great rock and roll music, two counter-culture bikers, and the open road? Easy Rider. The film has been a cult classic since its inception and has some clear frustrations with intolerance that ran rampant at the time. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda were independent film makers who decided to use their own favorite records to create another dimension for the open road. They were naive to think that all of the popular music would be in their movie and Fonda later said "...if the [film business] is tough, the music business really gets sticky".

The film featured artists such as Steppenwolf, Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Byrds, The Band, and many more artists that were making influential, counterculture induced music. All of the songs work so well into the scene, with the surroundings of untouched Americana and the two men who seem to be living the American dream. That is until they reenter almost any type of civilization where they are mistreated by scared individuals. There is no great music playing when this is happening. The famous movie critic Roger Ebert says that

"The budget was so limited, there was no money for an original score, so Hopper, the director, slapped on a scratch track of rock 'n' roll standards for the first studio screening. The executives loved the sound and insisted the songs be left in, and "Easy Rider" begat countless later movies that were scored with oldies."

I find that interesting that Hopper and Fonda might have stumbled onto this, I really can't imagine the movie without these "rock 'n' roll" standards bellowing through to the admiring audience.

The two main Easy Riders are Billy (Dennis Hopper) and Wyatt (Peter Fonda) along with a great but short lived friendship with George Hanson (Jack Nicholson). Together, Billy and Wyatt dream of getting to New Orleans for Marti Gras but things unfold like they want them to. The music really ads to the ideal feeling of the open road. Without it, there is a good argument that the movie doesn't have the same power. The obvious effect of the music was to add a spark to the long rides through the country.

The response to Easy Rider was astounding. The movie production costs were around $600,000 which was nothing compared to the millions it raked in.