By Penny Theodorakopoulou,
Going through a tough heartbreak can be quite difficult. In fact, there are some heartbreaks that we wish we could just… forget. Michel Gondry, the director of the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), presents a couple who quite literally had their memory of the existence of each other erased. Gondry also makes sure to add a secret symbolism based on the female protagonist’s appearance.
The plot
The male protagonist, Joel Barish (Jim Carrey), finds out that his ex-girlfriend, Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), has, in actual fact, erased him from her memory, with the help of a company called Lacuna. Frustrated as he is, Joel heads over to Lacuna to get the memory-erasing procedure done. The erasure of Joel’s memories with Clementine starts with the most recent one when they had an argument and she left the house. As the movie goes on, however, and, thus, we go back in time, we notice that Joel does not wish to erase her from his memory. He realizes that, apart from the unhappy memories he has had with her, there were several happy memories, where romance and passion were at the center of their relationship. In the end, every memory of her was erased. As the movie comes to an end, we see Joel and Clementine having found out about their common past, and having reached a compromise, where they accept the inevitably, vicious, and repeating circle they would be each time if they attempted to be in a relationship.
The secret symbolism
We notice a constant change in Clementine’s hair throughout the movie, which, we can assume, is relevant to each phase the couple is going through, as well as the seasons of the year. When they meet, she has green hair (“Green Revolution”) at the end (or the beginning), when Clementine and Joel first meet, seems to represent the beginning or birth of the relationship: it is a springtime color. It could represent a revolution, a great change in Joel’s life. It could also refer to a revolution as a cycle, hinting at the repetitive nature of Joel and Clementine’s relationship. Moving on to the next “season”, summer, we see Clementine’s hair in a deep reddish auburn color — the undisputed color of love (“Red Menace”). This part of Joel’s memory is defined by pure happiness. Clementine’s red hair embodies the Honeymoon phase of their romance — the most passionate and thrilling time when a couple experiences the joys of truly knowing each other before the fresh, new love is burdened by too much history. “Agent Orange” is the next dye of her hair; a fading version of red, which marks the autumn of the couple’s love, and visualizes the passion that is slowly dying out. The differences in their characters lead them to constant arguing, ergo to the final argument Joel and Clementine had when she left the house. Finally, we move on to winter (“Blue Ruin”). We are in present time, when Clementine has erased Joel from her memory. After Joel gets the procedure done, we would assume that their relationship is over. Even though her hair is blue, we notice her roots are somehow green, which we can assume results in spring once more; for winter is not only the season of death but also of hibernation. In their case, that would mean a fresh start, by meeting again at the train at the beginning of the movie, their romance could be reborn if both of them came to terms with their own flaws, and made their relationship eventually work out.
My opinion on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Even though Gondry’s magnum opus is — undoubtedly — my favorite movie, the reality he presents, on which we can wipe out a bad experience from our memory, is cruel and unethical, in my opinion. No matter how hard it is to get over someone or a bad situation, we should not erase those bad memories. Each memory that we acquire, defines us as individual human beings and makes us who we are. From each bad experience in our life, we learn from them, as the moral of the story is to avoid making the same mistake again. On the other hand, the optimistic side of the movie. It is affirming that however hard we may try, we cannot erase our deepest nature, who we are, and what we love. Despite all our misguided efforts, that inner seed inside of us will lead once again to a flower. As Alexander Pope wrote in his poem in 1717 Eloisa to Abelard, “How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot, the world forgetting by the world forgot / Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, each prayer accepted and each wish resigned”. But the braver, human choice is to remember, to face the truth, to stay aware. Their choice to relive the seasons of their love, accompanied by a whole new array of hair colors, is an affirmation of the life cycle itself. Where there is death, decay and disappointment, there is also birth, discovery, and, as always, love.
References
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004
- Hair in film: ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004), suzannecamfield.wordpress.com. Available here.
- The Movie Review: ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, theatlantic.com. Available here.
