User:RossKoepke/Freud Final

Freud examined the concept of memory repression throughout many of his literary works. Freud clearly delineates between the conscious memories and memory traces that lie in the preconscious. The conscious memories are accessible to the person while the preconscious consists of memories that have the potential to become accessible in the conscious mind. In Moses and Monotheism: Section 1, Freud elaborates on the nuances of memory repression. He states, “The forgotten material is not extinguished, only ‘repressed’; its traces are extent in the memory in their original freshness, but they are isolated by ‘counter-cathexis’,” (M & M 121). Cathexis is defined as, “The process whereby ideas and mental attitudes are invested with a ‘charge’ of emotion,” (M & M, 177). Therefore, counter-cathexis is the process whereby ideas and mental attitudes are stripped of emotion. These concepts lie central in the themes of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The plot of the movie involves two lovers seeking to have their memories of each other repressed by an eccentric doctor. It is clear throughout the movie that the filmmaker’s are attempting to invoke the spirit of Freudian analysis. Freud’s writings provide an appropriate framework to analyze and criticize the concepts of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The protagonist of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel Barish, is a thirty-something white male who lives on the east coast. Joel suffers low self-esteem and general unhappiness. Joel attributes these characteristics to his memories of a discontented childhood. As he remembers, Joel’s mother was distant and his need for intimacy was not fulfilled. This is evidenced by Joel’s thumb-sucking. Freud comments on thumb-sucking, “There is no question of the purpose of this procedure being the taking of nourishment,” (Th. Essays, p. 46). Early in the film, Joel asks himself, “Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?” Joel deals with the trauma of his emotionally malnourished childhood by becoming exceedingly needy of others, especially women. Freud states, “Trauma is a universal human experience.” Joel’s trauma, inflicted by the actions and affect of his mother, influence him in other ways. By Ericksonian psychology, Joel did not establish trust as a child and thus has extreme difficulty establishing trust as an adult. He is inhibited by this lack of trust in others. Joel does not take chances. Joel progresses from his needy, insecure self into a more idyllic person when he meets and falls in love with Clementine. The relationship almost never begins because of Joel’s untrusting nature. At first he refuses eye contact and speaks only in soft tones and short sentences. It seems as if only Clementine, with her probing questions, could penetrate into his psyche (and eventually his heart). Whereas Joel’s mother was distant, Clementine is always obnoxiously intimate. She tells him everything about herself, even the most menial of details. Joel removes the psychosexual conflict of intimacy from his relationship with his mother and transfers the conflict to his relationship with Clementine. Through this act of transference, Joel’s need for intimacy is fulfilled. At Clementine’s insistence Joel becomes less inhibited. This is evidenced by Joel and Clementine’s experience on the ice. At first Joel is reluctant to even step foot on the iced over Charles River. However, after he is persuaded by Clementine, he remarks, “I’m happy as can be!” The inhibition instilled in Joel by childhood trauma is transferred to Joel’s apprehensive nature toward venturing out on the ice. Joel’s inhibitions, deeply instilled in childhood, fell reluctantly Clementine’s nurturing nature. Clementine becomes the mother figure in Joel’s life righting the wrongs perpetrated by his birthmother. This process is extremely developmentally important to Joel and he connects many strong emotions to the memories created with Clementine. Overall, through his relationship with Clementine, Joel is less needy, less inhibited, and generally more trusting. Just as in all relationships, all good things must come to an end. Clementine and Joel hurt each other emotionally and their once perfect relationship starts presenting problems. Later in their relationship, Clementine mentions her want for a baby with Joel. Joel first attempts to avoid the subject before exclaiming, “Clem, do you really think you could take care of a kid?” This exchange triggers an argument, which leads to the demise of their relationship. Clementine is distraught over Joel’s remark (and it’s implications) so she seeks to have all memory of him erased. In response, Joel also seeks to have all memories of Clementine erased. The former lovers enlist the help of Howard Mierzwak, a doctor who specializes in memory repression through technology. After the procedure, Joel regresses to his former self. In the relationship with Clementine, Joel was essentially cured of the trauma suffered at his mother’s hands. Although Joel does not remember his relationship with Clementine, the memories created then still have the power to penetrate into his consciousness. Freud states, “The forgotten material is not extinguished, only ‘repressed’,” (M & M, p. 120). He goes on to say, “This repressed material retains its impetus to penetrate into consciousness,” (M & M, p. 121). Freud claims that this process is possible under three circumstances: 1.) When the strength of counter-cathexis is diminished by an illness which acts on the Ego itself; 2.) When those instincts attached to the repressed material become strengthened; and 3.) Whenever recent events produce impressions or experiences which are so much like the repressed material that they have the power to awaken it. Joel’s repressed memories find their way into his consciousness in these ways. Firstly, Joel is affected by depression, an illness that acts on his ego. The counter-cathexis, his need not to feel the pain caused by Clementine, is weakened by his depression. Joel regresses to the pain where he is reliant on his experiences with his mother, which originally lack intimacy. The depression with its increased need for intimacy overpowers his counter-cathexis. Secondly, the film presents one scene where each character received cassette tapes detailing the memories of each patient, which are to be erased. When Joel comes across Clementine’s tape of grievances, he is traumatized because it strengthens those flaws that Joel already knows to be true of himself. Thirdly, upon hearing Joel’s pet nickname for Clementine, “Tangerine”, spoken aloud, the repressed memories are awakened. It is in this way that a similar recent event has the power to evoke a deeply repressed material. Although Joel never clearly remembers all of his interactions with Clementine, he does feel something missing. When the film nears the end the characters, devoid of any memory of each other, yearn for something but they do not know exactly what. Joel, once again, is the inhibited, unfulfilled thirty-something with low self-esteem. His relationships are influenced by his relationship with his mother (just as they were before he met Clementine). Then, the repressed memories start to influence Joel’s actions. He finds himself on a train to Montauk. There, he (supposedly) reunites haphazardly with Clementine. This idea is evidence of Freud’s statement that repressed memories are never truly extinguished. With this, Joel and Clementine start again. Freud’s writings provide a framework to analyze and criticize the characters. Joel, before Clementine, has all of his relationships with influenced by the trauma inflicted by his mother; he is fearful, needed, and inhibited. Joel is untrustworthy as exhibited by his own statements showing that he has low esteem. Once he meets and falls in love with Clementine the wrongs perpetrated by his mother are righted and his needs for nourishment are fulfilled. At Clementine’s prodding, Joel makes advances toward being less inhibited and fearful. The need for intimacy is fulfilled through transference where Clementine assumes the nurturing responsibilities, which his mother failed to take on. Following the memory repression, all of the righted wrongs are returned to their pre-relationship state. While Joel is having his memory repressed, one character quotes Nietzsche in saying, “Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders.”