If Nietzsche thought that all values dissolved along with the notion of a god, I say that those values still exist because of reason. Through reason do we understand the logical framework of cause and effect. Through reason do our social constructions live and all our apprehensions which mold our constructions. The world is but a playing field and through the faculty of reason, we are able to make sense of it to our own advantage.
So, although everything to me is 'broken' along with values systems (nihilism) and well, love, reason reigns supreme and it is the fountainhead for everything that has ever been created.
(Actually, nag eemo lang ako)
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Why I Love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Honestly, I am sick of talking about myself because that is not what I am only about. I have stopped talking about my passions in a passionate way. I have stopped talking about my ideas. NaNoWriMo, our writing escapades, the material I am currently reading, the movies I have been watching have all told me that I should finally shift my attention. My next posts will feature the beautiful and the ugly, the good and the wicked. But before I reach those depths, allow me to lighten the load. I will be talking about one of my favorite films, a film I have watched dozens of times but haven't tired of: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry, 2004).
This is not supposed to be a film review. It's more of a eulogy and perhaps I might splurge it in biases.
Most people would find films as purely didactic or cathartic. Some would dismiss sexuality or vulgarity in films because it clashes with their moral beliefs. Others would dismiss the "boring" films because they expect a kind of emotional provocation. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind surely has a "message" and the very premise of the film is emotionally gripping but those are not the only reasons why I love the film. I bow to Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry.
The beginning of anything produces lasting marks. The impression the very first scene gives me is of elegance. It begins with a zoomed-in focus of Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) waking "on the wrong side of the bed". Playful background music plays. Then, the camera angle follows the angle of the Joel's bed. Then, Joel kicks the blanket. The hue is even in cold blue. Jim Carrey's voice over is a solemn stream-of-consciousness. (Note, however, that the voice over scenes are very sparse.) The voice over is purposeful. It gives us a perspective of our hero's consciousness. This comes in handy as it hints Joel's clueless-ness--a clue of the memory erasure. When Clementine Kruczynski appears, we are forced to seek a different perspective. Joel is no longer the focus here; the chemistry of the couple at "first sight" is limelighted. We are given the impression that the two have a sense of familiarity.
Eventually, more characters are introduced and several back stories are revealed. The dysfunctional couple Carrie and Rob who fight in every scene they appear in poses a case study for fluctuating relationships. Another notable couple is Dr. Mierzwiak and Mary who both give us another case study of romantic affairs and their ramifications. All these back stories show that each character has deeper roots and that this movie simply captures snippets of grander chronologies, making the film more human. These characters are not simple or static, their behavior in the present-time of the film are grounded on their pasts. Instead of being used as instruments to expound on Clementine and Joel's narrative, they enrich the plot of the film and gives us the impression of people, relationships and lives.
Although the film is presented as a story of people erasing memories in order to stop suffering and move on with their lives, it speaks a lot about being human. Every single detail in the film is aesthetically utilized to express its message. Clementine's potatoes expounds on her jumpy personality. Mary's using of quotations serves multi-utilities: a predication of her character (how she seeks to strike a conversation with Dr. Mierzwiak), further expressions of forgetfulness as freedom from suffering and the last piece of the puzzle for our poetic title. We seek emotional solace to continue our functionality but at the same time, emotions are the rudimentary pieces of being human. This multi-layered film beautifully packages the messages, but not perfectly, into something expressive on every single level.
I am glad to have experienced this film. Every viewing of mine stimulates a different response. Sometimes I find myself contemplating on the details. Other times, I find the calmer scenes tear-jerking. But that is precisely what love does: it compels you to seek different perspectives and by those perspectives, appreciate and love the object even more--although object is such a detached word. If a movie were to be a carnal man in my life, it would be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is not only didactic or cathartic. It has an organic unity. It has the ability to capture moments' that matter and present it in such a beautiful manner--like Nabokov's writing (I keep rambling about it, I know).
This is not supposed to be a film review. It's more of a eulogy and perhaps I might splurge it in biases.
---------------------------------------------------
The beginning of anything produces lasting marks. The impression the very first scene gives me is of elegance. It begins with a zoomed-in focus of Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) waking "on the wrong side of the bed". Playful background music plays. Then, the camera angle follows the angle of the Joel's bed. Then, Joel kicks the blanket. The hue is even in cold blue. Jim Carrey's voice over is a solemn stream-of-consciousness. (Note, however, that the voice over scenes are very sparse.) The voice over is purposeful. It gives us a perspective of our hero's consciousness. This comes in handy as it hints Joel's clueless-ness--a clue of the memory erasure. When Clementine Kruczynski appears, we are forced to seek a different perspective. Joel is no longer the focus here; the chemistry of the couple at "first sight" is limelighted. We are given the impression that the two have a sense of familiarity.
Eventually, more characters are introduced and several back stories are revealed. The dysfunctional couple Carrie and Rob who fight in every scene they appear in poses a case study for fluctuating relationships. Another notable couple is Dr. Mierzwiak and Mary who both give us another case study of romantic affairs and their ramifications. All these back stories show that each character has deeper roots and that this movie simply captures snippets of grander chronologies, making the film more human. These characters are not simple or static, their behavior in the present-time of the film are grounded on their pasts. Instead of being used as instruments to expound on Clementine and Joel's narrative, they enrich the plot of the film and gives us the impression of people, relationships and lives.
Although the film is presented as a story of people erasing memories in order to stop suffering and move on with their lives, it speaks a lot about being human. Every single detail in the film is aesthetically utilized to express its message. Clementine's potatoes expounds on her jumpy personality. Mary's using of quotations serves multi-utilities: a predication of her character (how she seeks to strike a conversation with Dr. Mierzwiak), further expressions of forgetfulness as freedom from suffering and the last piece of the puzzle for our poetic title. We seek emotional solace to continue our functionality but at the same time, emotions are the rudimentary pieces of being human. This multi-layered film beautifully packages the messages, but not perfectly, into something expressive on every single level.
I am glad to have experienced this film. Every viewing of mine stimulates a different response. Sometimes I find myself contemplating on the details. Other times, I find the calmer scenes tear-jerking. But that is precisely what love does: it compels you to seek different perspectives and by those perspectives, appreciate and love the object even more--although object is such a detached word. If a movie were to be a carnal man in my life, it would be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It is not only didactic or cathartic. It has an organic unity. It has the ability to capture moments' that matter and present it in such a beautiful manner--like Nabokov's writing (I keep rambling about it, I know).
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There's an emotional core to each of our memories, and when you eradicate that core it starts its degradation process. - Dr. Mierzwiak
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Movies like this remind me of why I take pains in downloading films and watching them no matter how boring or how lengthy. It's the processing of crushing the films and breathing them in that keeps me alive. (Excuse the drug reference.) The same goes for all other mediums of art. I am currently high on beauty.
My last film discussion, by the way, is David Lynch's Eraserhead. Read it here.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Ramblings: Because Love Does Not Exist
I wrote this last night when my internet was fluctuating:
Nostalgia
I have already forgotten your name
Your birthday
Your cellphone number
The names of your siblings
Your mother’s face
Even your face, your cat-like face
In the past our fingers laced awkwardly
Our lips met in youthful eagerness
Our embraces emancipated us
And we fantasized as
The moon lit the salty seas
Of our only restaurant date
Because she was jealous of the city lights
The bitterness of yesterday
No longer bites me
And I write this poem
With a happy heart
But you are with her
And I am with my pride
Perhaps this summarizes
The adorable romance we had
The last time my heart (I cringed at the use of it) truly oscillated was three years ago. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach and I could feel a weight on my chest. There was never a moment so uncertain and so terrifying. I still recall the pangs of its brokenness and helplessness of holding on. Nothing could match it in passion or downright insanity. When obsession and the intense desire for control sit at polar opposites, perhaps that is the first symptom of a love so corrupting.
Love and rationality should never tango. And lately, I have been cynical over the whole concept of love. It seems to be just chemical reactions that go wild over a person's pheromones. That makes sense for we are animals who claim to be more evolved, more rational and other "mores" that we pride ourselves. At the end however, one could simply scrutinize the idea of love the way it chooses to shove religion and the concept of a god.
Years ago, I told my dear friend that it would take me forever to love like that again. I realize how right I was. Because although I scrutinize over the whole concept of love, I still wish to tread the line between plummeting and soaring.
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