Memory Alteration a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: would you do it?

[Raz]

In the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jim Carrey's character undergoes some kind of procedure to remove all memory of his ex-girlfriend from his mind to spare him having to think about her and having emo pain. At least I think that's what happens, I haven't actually seen it.

Anywho, question is: if you could undergo a voluntary procedure to remove only certain memories, 100% risk free and 100% guaranteed to work, would you do it?

 

[up all night]

No, for pretty much the same reason that Joel Barish regrets his choice. It's a total cliche, but we're the sum of our experiences. Most of the time, the only reason we don't make the same mistakes over and over is because we have learnt from our past. By erasing certain parts of our life, we're completely ignoring the importance of them. Pain helps growth and strength. What is there to gain from a life in which only good things happen to you?

Even for truly bad experiences that nothing good seems to come from - eg you watched your family be brutally murdered - I still wouldn't want to erase those memories forever. Although, I've read (or more likely seen on TV) that our brain sometimes represses memories of its own volition as a coping mechanism, so maybe it wouldn't be so far removed from nature.

And besides, it's important to remember:

Buttercup: You mock my pain.
Westley: Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.

 

[vanth]

No, because much like UAN says, I'd probably be doomed to going out with guys like my first couple of serious boyfriends repeatedly, and that is a horrifying though. Also I wouldn't be able to spot and avoid people that are most likely going to cause me a lot of trouble if I befriend them.

Hypothesis about the possibility of repressed memory state that if a particular memory or set of memories, are too traumatic for the individual to cope with, particularly at that current point in time. The acutely painful are blocked out and may or may not return at a later time. A common example of a repressed memory is the experience of sexual abuse as a child, with their brain suppressing the abuse so they can continue to function while living with the abuser. The whole concept is still up for debate though.

http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/abuse/a/reprmem104.htm

 

[hoptis]

It's such a romantic ideal, so deeply ingrained into some of us, the idea that our memories and experiences make us who we are. So much so that many of us would foolishly choose to live a less happier life (given the choice) out of some misguided notion that the path of greater suffering is more "real".

I believe, uninfluenced by dogma, that our lives are a gift. That in all human history there never has been and never will be another person exactly like us (yay! ) and that no matter what epoch of time you were born, lived and died, whether you lived your life entirely in the chains of enslaved bondage or inherited Google when you turned 18 the only thing that is ever truly unique and truly yours is your story.

Even if sometimes that gift feels like it's one of these...

 

[MazDan]

I must be having a blonde moment but i have no idea what that picture is supposed to mean.

I came in here thinking yes I would be happy to lose some but after reading some replies i am not so sure cos they make sense.

I guess i look forward to other arguments to help me make a decision.

 

[leecie]

Maz - google 'dick in a box' it's Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg on Saturday Night Live

 

[MazDan]

Thanks Leecie, I sort of figured thats what it was but i dont understand how it relates to Hoptis post which I was quite enjoying until that point when he completely through me............lol.

 

[Raz]

I think he's saying sometimes life fucks you around, so always make sure to carry KY and extra condoms.

 

[BREAKaBEAT]

Not erase, not change, at all. As Up All Night put so succinctly, we are a sum of our experiences. I very much like the person I have turned out to be, and I know Im only like this because of the things I have come through and dealt with.

One thing I did always wish though, even after successfully preaching this mantra, was I wondered how different life would be if I was given different parents. I know this is incredibly lame street, but after I watched this movie, The Butterfly Effect, I totally got everything, and finally understood why I had to go through what I had gone through. It highlighted to me that I was who I wanted to be and where I was, and that was all that mattered. The past has done its job. After I watched that movie, I went into the shower and bawled my eyes out like a little girl. It was very cathartic, it made me understand a lot I had refused to understand before.

 

[Klue]

I'm certain everybody has fucked up repugnant memories, some more fucked up and repugnant than other peoples though, I guess. It's what makes a person human.

Everyone needs things to regret, stew over and get depressed about...

 

[endlesseulogy]

I think people should be allowed to whatever the fuck they want with their minds, whenever they want. If people want to erase memories, it should be their decision and theirs only. If memories are taking control of your life then for some people the benefits may outweigh the negatives. It's one of those things needing to be dealt with on a case by case basis.