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Not really identity as such but Plato has Aristophanes provide an account of love in his Symposium that seems to accord with choice one in the poll (soulmates). Here's a brilliant retelling from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

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The Origin Of Love - Hedwig And The Angry Inch

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Combining points 2 and 3 above, could Joel (and Clem) be self-gaslighting through their choice to have the procedure? While this might be negligent and short-sighted, it's up to them really isn't it. It might be norally reprehensible to treat another in this way but what we do with ourselves is really up to us isn't it?

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Your point last night about "relationality" constituting personal identity is important. Two personal examples about my physical identity: (1) I can't see the back of my head and need others to do that for me; (2) my voice that I hear while I speak is different from my voice recorded on a machine as I listen to it on playback (so presumably the former is not the same as what other people hear when I speak). The "I" is not the sole arbiter of "my identity".

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It might be good if more than one choice is allowed.

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I thought the set design and the effects without cgi was clever. I also think the music had a lasting impact also...

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I think a few of us agreed in the group discussion that the above poll missed out "Human". I think this is a recurring theme in the film. Humans are messy, conflicted and go through an array of emotions/behaviours and experiences.

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Need to watch it again at least once !! Enjoyed it.

Usually find JC tedious but he was ok in this film.

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Lacuna Inc. Terms of Service: Data Usage

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Lacuna Inc. Terms of Service: Data Usage

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By contributing to The Lacuna Archive, you are participating in a collective philosophical experiment. Please note that we may share standout anonymous insights, questions, or reflections from this board on our social media channels to continue the conversation with the wider community.

Your privacy is paramount: All posts remain strictly anonymous. No personal data is captured or shared - only the ideas remain.

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Read some further thoughts on the philosophy behind the film here.

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Eternal Sunshine: The Ethics of Erasure and the Architecture of Regret

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind begins with a premise that is dangerously seductive: if a relationship ends in heartbreak, why not just hit delete?

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Subscribe to Film & Philosophy for information on upcoming events.

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For full instructions visit the official Archive home.

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The Lacuna Archive: A Collective Memory of ESOTSM

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To accompany our screening of Michel Gondry’s masterpiece, ESOTSM, we are inviting our community to participate The Lacuna Archive.

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Please ➕ any additional thoughts, ideas, and reflections on the film and/ or discussion below.

These needn't be profound or deeply philosophical. It may just be something you loved (or hated) about the film, a memory (!) it sparked, or even something (or someone) you would happily forget! Don't forget to ❤️ the posts of others to show some love.

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Please select your response from the poll above. You can ➕ your reasons why and/ or share as a conversation starter in your group.

Here are some further prompts to guide your conversation, if required:

1. The 'Handmade' Subconscious: Gondry famously avoided CGI, using 'in-camera' tricks (like spotlights and forced perspective) to show Joel’s world disappearing. Does this 'handmade' feel make the tragedy feel more human and less like a sci-fi spectacle?

2. Colour-Coding: Clementine’s hair changes from Blue Ruin to Red Menace to Agent Orange. How does this visual 'coding' help us navigate a non-linear story? Is our own memory colour-coded by emotion?

3. The Architecture of the Void: In the house at Montauk, the kitchen disappears while Joel is still in it. How does the production design illustrate the terrifying reality of Alzheimer’s or memory decay better than dialogue ever could?

4. The Voyeuristic Camera: The camerawork often feels shaky or intrusive, like we are spying on Joel's private shame. How does the cinematography force the audience to become 'accomplices' in the Lacuna procedure?

Please ➕ your responses. And don't forget to ❤️ those of others.

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Which cinematic element most effectively captured the 'feeling' of a crumbling memory for you?

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Practical Effects: The collapsing sets, disappearing doors, and "lo-fi" tricks.

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Colour Palette: The shifting colors of Clementine’s hair as a timeline.

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Sound Design: The distorted voices and ambient echoes of the subconscious.

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Editing: The jagged, non-linear jump cuts that mirror a fragmented mind.

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Please select your response from the poll above. You can ➕ your reasons why and/ or share as a conversation starter in your group.

Here are some further prompts to guide your conversation, if required:

1. The Eternal Recurrence (Nietzsche’s Test): Nietzsche asked: If a demon told you that you had to live your life over and over for eternity, would you curse him or call him a god? Is Joel’s 'okay' at the end a sign that he has passed this test?"

2. The Value of the Scars: We see the house in Montauk literally crumbling around them. Does the beauty of a relationship come from its permanence, or from the very fact that it is fragile and destined to decay?

3. The Absurdity of 'okay': The final 'okay' acknowledges that they will likely make each other miserable again. Is this the ultimate romantic gesture, or the height of human stupidity? Can love exist without a 'Happily Ever After'?"

4. Sartre and 'Bad Faith': By erasing their memories, are Joel and Clem living in 'Bad Faith' (denying the reality of their past)? Is the only 'authentic' life one where we carry our burdens in full view?"

Please ➕ your responses. And don't forget to ❤️ those of others.

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How do you view Joel and Clem's final decision to begin again - the 'okay'?

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Tragic: They are doomed to repeat a cycle of misery.

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Heroic: Radical acceptance of a flawed, beautiful reality.

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Naïve: They should have walked away while they were ahead.

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Authentic: It’s the only way to truly live "in the moment".

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Please select your response from the poll above. You can ➕ your reasons why and/ or share as a conversation starter in your group.

Here are some further prompts to guide your conversation, if required:

1. The Emotional Residue: Joel still feels an 'ache' in his chest when he sees certain objects, even after the data is gone. Does this suggest that identity is stored in the body/heart, not just the synapses?

2. The Character Loop: Patrick tries to 'become' Joel by using his stolen words and gifts, yet Clementine still feels 'wrong.' Is identity found in our words or in our energy? Why can’t Patrick successfully 'hack' her heart?

3. The Ship of Theseus: If you replace every plank of a ship, is it the same ship? If you erase every 'Clementine' memory from Joel's head, is he still the man who loved her? How many memories would you need to erase before it was no longer Joel at all?

4. The "Sketch" vs. The "Painting": Is the 'Self' just a collection of memories (the painting), or is there an underlying sketch (personality/ temperament) that remains even if the paint is stripped away?

Please ➕ your responses. And don't forget to ❤️ those of others.

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Why do Joel and Clementine find each other again at Montauk?

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The Essential Soul: They are "soulmates" who transcend data.

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Cognitive Residue: The procedure is imperfect; an "ache" remained.

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Behavioral Loops: They are simply attracted to the same toxic patterns.

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Pure Chance: It’s a big world, but their habits are small.

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Please select your response from the poll above. You can ➕ your reasons why and/ or share as a conversation starter in your group.

Here are some further prompts to guide your conversation, if required:

1. Happiness vs Truth: Is Howard Mierzwiak a hero or a villain? Does removing the 'harm' of a memory benefit the individual, or does it rob the individual of the lessons learned through suffering? What matters most, happiness or truth?

2. The "Consent of the Future Self": Is it ethical for your past self to make a life-altering medical decision for a future self who won't remember why they made it? Is 'Past Joel' a dictator over 'Future Joel'?

3. The Mary Sweeney Factor: Mary (Kirsten Dunst) discovers she had the procedure to forget an affair with the Doctor. Is the Lacuna procedure a tool for healing, or a dangerous weapon for those in power to gaslight their victims?

4. Cosmetic vs Reconstructive Surgery: Might there be an analogy with the procedure shown in the film and with existing cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries? Are the heartaches displayed merely 'cosmetic' and, if so, should the procedure be reserved for only those memories which are truly traumatic?

Please ➕ your responses. And don't forget to ❤️ those of others.

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If the Lacuna Procedure were real and affordable, would you use it to erase a traumatic memory?

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Yes: Ignorance is bliss; peace of mind is the priority.

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No: My "scars" are my lessons; I refuse to lose them.

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Maybe: Only if the memory was preventing me from functioning.

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Never: It is a form of psychological suicide.