The Spotless Mind Identity

The “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is a science-fiction film set in an alternate reality, in which humans have the ability to wipe all of the memories of a specific person from their minds -- forever. The movie can be difficult to entirely understand until the very end, as it does not follow a linear narrative. We are introduced to the two main characters, Joel, who is played by Jim Carrey, and Clementine, who is played by Kate Winslet, and they are on a train back to Rockville Centre. The two characters are opposites but they both seem somewhat odd.
Joel is quiet and reserved while Clementine is loud and emotional. Although the personalities of the characters are apparently diametrically opposed, they are nonetheless intensely attracted to
On the contrary, Joel wants to try again… even if it ends the same way. Eventually Clementine agrees and that is where the movie ends.
This movie provides an interesting perspective on self-identity and what makes us who we are. The French philosopher, Rene Descartes, argued that self-identity depends on consciousness. John Locke agreed that self-identity is dependent on consciousness, but he also argued that the same identity depended on having the same soul. Locke argued that one’s memories are what constitutes his self-identity. He said that argument is what links a person’s past self to the person that she is today.
In the movie, the memories of each character are wiped clean of those memories about each other, but their memories are not entirely erased. This situation is very interesting when considering Locke’s perspective on self-identity. If their memories were to be wiped completely clean, then Locke would probably argue that they would not be the same person that they were before. In the movie, the memories of Joel and Clementine were supposed to wiped