Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the most widely discussed and thought-provoking films of recent years.
This is the first book to explore and address the philosophical aspects of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Beginning with a helpful introduction that places each essay in context, specially commissioned chapters examine the following topics:


philosophical issues surrounding love, friendship, affirmation and repetition


the role of memory (and the emotions) in personal identity and decision-making


the morality of imagination and ethical importance of memory


philosophical questions about self-knowledge and knowing the minds of others


the aesthetics of the film considered in relation to Gondry’s other works and issues in the philosophy of perception

Including a foreword by Michel Gondry and a list of further reading, this volume is essential reading for students interested in philosophy and film studies.

Christopher Grau is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Clemson University. He is the author of several essays that explore ethical issues through film, including ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the Morality of Memory’, which appeared in the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. He is also the editor of Philosophers Explore The Matrix (2005).

1. Introduction Christopher Grau 2. Two Blue Ruins: Love and Memory in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind C. D. C. Reeve 3. Miserably Ever After: Forgetting, Repeating and Affirming Love in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Troy Jollimore 4. Bad Memories, Good Decisions, and the Three Joels Valerie Tiberius 5. Memory, Desire, and Value in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Julia Driver 6. Michel Gondry and the Phenomenology of Visual Perception Stephen L. White 7. Trying to Remember Clementine George Toles Index