Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Essay Example

Research and Analysis of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” Gender and sexuality is a pervasive variable affecting all spheres of human activity. In the movie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” gender expresses the sexual inequality between women and men. The movie vividly portrays hierarchy and power, between men and women driven by sexual desires. The topic under analysis unveils important problems of sexual relations and image of gender created by media industry. This topic is important for analysis, because there are dramatic differences among viewers regarding the type of gender differences, the levels of gender inequality, and the amount of violence that is necessary to maintain both systems of difference and domination.

The essay consists of introductory part with thesis statement, two body paragraphs and conclusion. Thesis A treatment of body images and gender relations unveils the social dynamics of modern culture based on sexual relations and a role of women as “sex objects”. The film under analysis has a unique complex structure that helps to impress viewers and create a personalized story message. The film employs reverse chronology structure that depicts relationships between Joel and Clementine in reverse order, from the most painful moments to happier times.

This structure focuses on the sexual memories and emotions of the heroes and understand the essence of their relations. Unusual chronology affects viewers greatly making them active participants of the scenes and story telling. Clementine is depicted as a "sex-object" for Joel. This interpretation of society reflects low cultural norms based on longing and sexually oriented behavior of men. Through a complex interaction of identification processes, gender systems, and social institutions, gender differences of both characters are produced--typically in the form of a dichotomy that not only opposes masculinity to femininity but also translates these oppositional differences into gender hierarchy, the privileging of traits and activities defined as masculine over those defined as feminine.

This movie portrays male characters obsessed by sexual desires and emotional pain in contrast to women characters which underlines social dominance of males. Women bodies are sexualized can be defined as “features of modernity” (Bordo, 2003). Through the lenses of gender differences, filmmakers depict that both characters are impressed by painful moments and completely forget about happier times. Pain erases happiness and starts to dominant, although memory keeps happier moments, and in reverse order the hero is able to “extract” the happiness.

The opposition of Joel and Clementine, depicts that gender is about power, and power is gendered which allows to examine the relationship between masculinity and femininity. Memories of Joel allow to look at activities associated with masculinity (e.g., team sports, politics), it appears simply that men are present and women are absent. In general, it creates a serious and sensitive impression and forces viewers to follow and sympathize Joel in his internal battles (Kimmel, 2000). Emotional impact is achieved through unusual chronology that creates an atmosphere of joy at the end.

According to Susan Bordo “the contemporary homophobic psyche” is based on images and fantasies of the males which influence viewers’ perception of sexual relations (Bordo, 2003). The plain truth is that modern American women, liberated or not, have little economic security as wives and mothers. Clementine breaks away from the conventional feminine roles. The heroine seems to be oscillating between two worlds, caught between contradictory definitions of motherhood and sexuality, and seeking either to synthesize them or to go beyond them.

In sum, with the emphasis on the irrational and examination of the conflicts between male and female interpretation of the world and sexual relations, and the brute force of emotional pain, this movie reflects cultural and gender stereotypes of male and female roles and body images which determines social standpoints and crucial role of sexuality and longing in modern culture. Bibliography 1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Directed by M. Gondry. Mca Home Video, 2004. 2. Susan Bordo: Feminism, Chapter 7, in Spikes, M.P. Understanding Contemporary American Literary Theory, pp. 154-180. University of South Carolina Press, 2003. 3. Kimmel, Michael S.

The Gendered Society. Oxford University Press, 2000.