Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
Dr. Daniel Schacter
Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind— How do our brains form memories of intense emotional experiences?
Program Description
Dr. Schacter discussed how our brains form memories of intense emotional experiences.
Presented At
Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
Film Synopsis
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a procedure to have each other erased from their memories. But it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.
Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to get the same treatment. But as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her. From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman and visionary director Michel Gondry, this comical and poignant look at breakups, breakdowns, and breakthroughs won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
About the Speaker
Dr. Daniel Schacter is a professor of psychology at Harvard University. His research has focused on psychological and biological aspects of human memory and amnesia, with a particular emphasis on the distinction between conscious and nonconscious forms of memory and, more recently, on brain mechanisms of memory and brain distortion. Dr. Schacter received his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974, and his MA and PhD from the University of Toronto in 1977 and 1981, respectively.