SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: HIRENDRAN

STUDENT ID NO: 0319894

FILMS SELECTED: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND/ INCEPTION

WORD COUNT: 1232

ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: APRIL 3RD, 2015

Films are an extraordinary form of media. They are not just a sequence of moving

images that inevitably give its audience a sense of happiness and entertainment but

they are also progressions of moods and feelings that captivate its audience with

intricate plots and relatable characters. They tell stories of larger than life spectacular

moments through visual storytelling. One of the most popular film genres of the twenty

first century is science fiction. Science fiction is a film genre that uses speculative,

fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by

mainstream science such as time travel, mind manipulation, extraterrestrials and much

more. The two science fiction films that I have chosen to write about are Inception and

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Although both films have a slight similarity in the

sense of mind manipulation, this essay however, would be about the differences

between the two respective films.

The Irish playwright Denis Johnston once claimed that all stories are based on the

same eight plots. If his theory is true, filmmakers often create dramatically different films

out of similar plots, whether they work from identical source material or original

screenplays. This however is not the case between Inception and Eternal Sunshine of

the Spotless Mind. Both films have very contradicting plots. One deletes your memories,

while the other sends you into a dream world. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is

a basic yet complex science fiction that surrounds a love story whereas Inception is

more of a thought provoking, science fiction espionage. Eternal Sunshine of the

Spotless Mind is a hauntingly beautiful story about a couple named Joel and

Clementine, who partake in a procedure to erase each other from their memories when

things turn sour in their relationship, but it is only through literally re-experiencing these

memories that they realise why they were together in the first place. Inception on the

other hand, is about a skilled thief, named Dom Cobb who is an expert in the dangerous

art of extracting valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream

state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. His ability has made him a key person in

a corporate world that is filled with treachery and corruption but it has also made him an

international fugitive and cost him his loved ones. With a chance of redemption, Cobb

undertakes a new mission to perform the impossible which is inception. Inception is the

process of planting an idea in someone's thoughts subconsciously in their dream. Thus,

with the help of his team of specialist, Cobb has to perform an inception on the heir of a

huge corporate empire and convince him to break up his father’s empire. Cobb’s

unresolved marital issues and their implications in the stability of his team’s shared

dream world causes the team to encounter obstacles along the way.

The nuance in the personality of the protagonist is also very clear in both films. Joel

from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, has a very subtle personality. He is

likeable, sympathetic, and timid. These characteristics can be tied to Joel’s unhappy

childhood which is seen during the erasing of his memories. Besides, Joel has a

‘socially awkward’ demeanor but not to the extent that if comes off as obnoxious and

over the top. This is evident he first met Clementine on a train ride from Montaux. He

rarely engaged in a conversation with her and mostly just listened to her speak. Cobb

from Inception has a very different personality which is almost the polar opposite to

Joel. Cobb is very resourceful and is not afraid to take risks. After being labeled an

international fugitive, Cobb finds work as a professional extractor in which he infiltrates

his victim’s dreams and steals their ideas. He is also quite a conversationalist. He twists

the truth of the team's reason for drawing the victim deeper into the dream levels for his

personal gain. Lastly, Cobb is a disturbed man as he struggles to cope with the death of

his wife as he blames himself for her death. Although Joel and Cobb have very different

personalities, both characters are able to carry their respective films exceptionally well

and add a different perspective to their films.

Most films are about a certain theme or topic which creates a fine line that sets them

apart from each other. One of the main themes that is evident in Eternal Sunshine of the

Spotless Mind, is love and realisation. During the procedure of erasing his memories

about Clementine, Joel re-experiences every second of those memories, and starts

reliving them. After going through some of the happiest and saddest memories, he

realises that he still wants Clementine to be a part of his life. Joel starts to regret his

decision of partaking in the procedure and tries his level best to escape from his

subconscious. As the film progresses, more of their relationship is exposed through the

subconscious of Joel. Although, Joel is more of a socially awkward wallflower and

Clementine, a chaotic mess, their love for one another is clearly very genuine and real.

Inception on the contrary, surrounds the theme of guilt and redemption. Struck by the

sense of guilt following the death of his wife, Cobb attempts to seek redemption and a

new start to life by undertaking the almost impossible task of performing an inception.

Cobb also relinquish the chance to reclaim his former life and get back to his children

whom he left after being accused of murdering his wife.

Both films also have a very different style and approach in the aspect of

cinematography. Michel Gondry, one of Hollywood’s biggest filmmaker, was the brains

behind the creation of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His cinematography style

for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was very simple. There was not any of the

usual fancy camera works. The film was shot in a very organic and natural fashion.

Which gives a warm authenticity to the film. The use of handheld shots is clear, as

some scene it look slightly shaky. But somehow it all complemented the film’s concept

and visuals. On the other hand, Christopher Nolan, the director of Inception took a

vastly different approach when it came to making his film. His style was very cinema

friendly with many steady close up shots during conversations between characters. A lot

of complex camera movements and breathtaking shots were also present in the film as

there are many high paced action scenes. One of the most pivotal scenes in the film is

anti-gravity fight scene, whereby the characters are able to float and run on the ceiling

of a hotel hallway during the dream state. This scene is was created by an unorthodox

method of building a rotating 360 degree hotel hallway instead of just manipulating

camera angles.

In conclusion, both films contradict each other in the aspects of storyline,

characters, themes and cinematography. However they are both very thought provoking

and tied to the similar ideas of mind manipulation. One of the interesting qualities of

both films are the cliff hangers at the end that make the audience question how the

concepts of reality would be susceptible to alterations of human ability to understand

them. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Inception are the pinnacle of

successful science fiction films of the twenty first century.

REFERENCES:

Cady, C. (2015). The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Memory and Association

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artifice.com/the-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-memory-association/

Essay, H. (2015). How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay. wikiHow. Retrieved 8

April 2015, from http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Compare-and-Contrast-Essay

Newton, D., & Gaspard, J. (2001). Digital filmmaking 101. Studio City, CA: Michael

Wiese Productions.

Outlaw, K. (2010). Inception Ending Explained. Screen Rant. Retrieved 8 April 2015,

from http://screenrant.com/inception-spoilers-discussion-kofi-68330/

Wikipedia,. (2015). Denis Johnston. Retrieved 8 April 2015, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Johnston