چكيده
Memory plays a crucial role in forming the characteristics of each of us. It defines who we are and how much we are capable of creating a good future ahead of us. Remembering good memories refreshes our souls but remembering the bad ones may disturb our present lives. Being capable of coping with the bad memories is a privilege strong people have. Some are strong enough to learn from their bad experiences and move on and some may stick to them and ruin their lives. Forgetting, the other side of the coin, is the decision many of us wish we could make after a bitter experience. The ethics of memory and forgetfulness has been addressed by many philosophers including John Locke, Utilitarians, Immanuel Kant, Freud and Nietzsche. Despite the differences in their theories, they are unified with the idea that forgetting the past blindly will not bring the best consequences. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ,a science-fiction romance film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, is the story of a newly broken up couple, Joel and Clementine who decides to forget the memories related to each other in a clinic called Lacuna. The story well illustrates the future ahead of the people choosing to forget and manipulate the memory which is an unreachable desire many of us have in our present world.
This study reads the film concentrating on memory, forgetting the loss and the consequences it brings to the lives of the main characters. Accordingly, it mainly focuses on the ethics of memory and study the positive and negative effects of forgetting on our present and future lives.
