Movie Reviews by Joyce Sinakhone

Eternal Sunshine brings back thoughts of Memento

I never thought that I would be learning about cognitive processes by renting movies, but this past summer’s Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind and Memento (2000) are probably two of the most provocative films that depict the extent to which memory is woven into one’s identity. Although there have been many psychological thrillers in the past, none have shown the perspective of an amnesic and how deeply a cognitive disorder can affect one’s personality. How would you feel if you found out that a past relationship was erased from your mind? What if you could never form new memories again, how would you know when and how to make moral decisions if you remember neither past occurrences nor the current situation? In Eternal Sunshine, Joel (Jim Carrey) decides to go through a radical, non-surgical procedure that erases precise memories out of the brain. In his case, it was to delete any recollection he had of his ex-girlfriend, played by Kate Winslet, but in the process recognizes how much that the ex-girlfriend, Clem, had added to his life. Do not make the mistake of associating the quality of this film with the types of characters that Carrey and Winslet usually play. While it may sound like a romantic comedy with a science fiction twist, Eternal Sunshine has neither slapstick humor nor corset-wearing beauties.

What sets this movie apart from the rest of the typical comical or sentimental films, besides the ingenious story, is the unique perspective that the director imposes on the audience. Director Michel Gondry combines vivid imagery with hundreds of camera manipulations that create the visual illusions to recreate memory loss. In fact, his innovative work on award winning commercials for Gap, Smirnoff and Polaroid, set up his movie making career for success. Just a few music videos with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Bjork, Foo Fighters, The White Stripes and Daft Punk made him one of the most sought after visual surrealists of our time.

Another innovative movie that exploded onto the movie scene in 2000 was Memento, with the same kind of visual and psychological manipulations. While Eternal Sunshine casts a faint light on how involved memory develops one’s personality, Memento’s intention is glaringly apparent by depicting the chaotic and frustrating existence of one who has anterograde amnesia. When trying to save his wife from an attacker, Leonard (Guy Pierce) sustains a head injury which causes him to lose all new memory forming potential. Leonard constantly writes himself notes, takes pictures of people and gets tattoos to help him remember in his quest to find his wife’s killers. To help the audience experience life as an amnesic, every scene begins abruptly and out of order to make it seem that one just became conscious for the first time. One never knows what happened just before, where they are or why they are there. Without memory, we are just merely victims of the situation, never knowing why we feel a certain way, what the objectives of our actions are and who we can trust.

Both movies make an intelligent attempt at portraying the dilemma that one might encounter when trying to define one’s life without the fundamental blueprint that memory brings to identity, while creating a reality that amnesia imposes on people’s lives. Not only does memory help us form our self-concepts, but it also allows humans to be able to make basic social developments in our lives by learning from past experiences.

[Joyce Sinakhone is a psychology major and assistant in the department. She will graduate in 2006.]

Saint Lucia day is coming up. We celebrate it each year here at Gustavus. Prior to Saint Lucia Day, sophomore girls who are active in community service are nominated to be crowned Saint Lucia. During the early morning of Saint Lucia day, these sophomore girls run around campus singing Christmas Carols. Then in chapel, there is a great ceremony in which the girl who is selected as Saint Lucia gives a speech. But how much do we really know about Saint Lucia?

The story of St. Lucia begins when she was a girl growing up in Italy. This was a time when the Romans were persecuting Christians. Lucia was a Christian, and at night she would sneak out to deliver food to poor Christians. She would wear candles on her head to light up the night as she delivered the food. One day her widowed mom fell ill and, so, decided to arrange for Lucia’s marriage. The man that was chosen was not a Christian. Lucia decided that she was going to remain a virgin and devote her life to serving others. Lucia prayed that her mother would get better, so she would not have to marry. Her mother eventually regained her health and agreed that Lucia could live her life as she chose. When her would-be husband heard of this, he was so angry that he told the Romans who came and tried to sell her into prostitution, but they could not make her move. So they tried to set her on fire, but she would not burn. Finally one of the men cut Lucia’s neck with a sword and she died. The legend goes that she comes around on the shortest day of the year bringing light into the darkness. That is how the celebration of Saint Lucia came to be known as “The Festival of Lights.” This festival begins the celebration of the Christmas season.

[Marie Woog is a psychology major, assistant in the department, and regular contributor to this newsletter. Marie will graduate in January 05]

(Editor's comment -- Marie has been a wonderful asset to the work of the Psychology Department. Her contributions to the department and to this newsletter have been significant and much appreciated. Thank you for all your work Marie, and best wishes to you in the future from the entire department!)

Thank you, Marie!

(http://www.handwriting.com/facts/history.html)

So how will this help YOU evaluate others? Here are some traits to look for in a signature:

• -A very large first letter of first name indicates the individual is proud and maybe egotistical
  -An illegible last part of the name says that the individual does not want to reveal their true self
  -If the last part slants up, they are proud of themselves or in an optimistic mood
  -If the last part slants down, they are feeling depressed or pessimistic
  -An extremely large signature may indicate they are trying to overcompensate for feelings of insecurity and emphasize how important they would like others to think they are
  -An extremely small signature may indicate the person is ashamed of something

Last name:
All of the characteristics identified for the first name can be applied to the last name. However, the last name deals with the family instead of the individual self. For example, an illegible part of the last name, slanting down, would indicate a person is not proud of something within their family and would prefer to keep it hidden.

General characteristics:

• *Slanted to the right: Emotional, open, looks towards future
• *Slanted to the left: Hides emotions, closed, may be stuck in past
• *Neat/organized letters: Prefers order, pays more attention to detail
• *Sloppy disorganized letters: More flexible, willing to go with the flow, less attention to detail

So the next time your roommate starts whining, and you suspect you are about to go off the deep end if you have to listen to their complaining anymore, collect a handwriting sample before jumping to conclusions. They may simply be having a bad day and need to talk to someone, or their incessant raving may be due to underlying personality characteristics or insecurity that you will be able to deduce from their signature. Handwriting analysis is a very simple means of delving deep into the personal life of your friends without them ever suspecting a thing. So next time you want to know what’s really going on you'll be able to employ one of the greatest existing spying techniques.

More details can be found online at the following websites*~
History and characteristics of graphology
http://www.handwriting.org/main/hwamain.html
Tips for analyzing your own handwriting!! http://www.quantumenterprises.co.uk/handwriting/hwa4.htm

Julie Severson is a third-year psychology and criminal justice major. She is an assistant in the Psychology Department and first-time contributor to this newsletter.

The rumor that Dr. Ohnesorge doesn't let students use calculators in his Statistics course (PSY 224) is false. It IS true, however, that batteries are not allowed. :-}

Calendar of Events:

Psychology Club Bowling - Monday, November 22

Deadline for Psych major t-shirt designs - Wednesday, November 24, 2004

(Psychological thriller) movie night, Wednesday, December 8th at 8:00 p.m.

Department Holiday Cookie and Cider - Wednesday, December 15, 2004

National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2005 -- April 20-23, 2005

Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA) 2005 -- May 5-7, 2005, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL