I find the whole concept of memories very intriguing. How we choose to remember things and how deeply we remember them. Our memories really develop us as people and we definitely have defining memories in which we simply can’t forget. I really feel like this is where emotions come in. We really feel like we remember something accurately based on the deep emotional ties to it. Memories like those are ones we hold on to and create who we are as people.
In the Star Trek episode “Measure of a Man”, we are really able to explore the concept of memories creating who we are. In the episode Data is essentially fighting for his right to make decisions for himself. Data being an android, which essentially is a machine, he is technically not looked at as a living being. However what really defines a living being? Data is more afraid of losing the emotions in his memories. As Maddox is explaining to Data that his memories will not be erased, Data is trying to show Maddox that although his memories will not be erased the emotionally connections he has made will be lost. This really plays on this aspect of how affect strong influences memory. Data is essentially afraid that he will lose how he properly perceives these memories. There will no longer be an affect influence on his memories and essentially they will just be things he knows not feel like things he actually experiences. I feel like this also plays apart in personality because without affect of memories we don’t properly experience these memories and there is no layers to add to how we are. Memories and emotions sculpt who we are and if we can’t remember the emotions we experienced how can we properly know the influence of the memory?
Marjorie Prime was a film that really focused on memory. Marjorie had Alzheimer’s and essentially utilized a hologram of her husband in order to remember. However once Marjorie passes away her daughter, Tess, utilizes the hologram to recall memories with her mother. Eventually she commits suicide and her husband then buys a hologram in order to talk with Tess. I felt like the film was overall very sad because essentially these holograms were like a storage for memories which in turn the characters utilized them as a coping mechanism for the loss of loved ones. Here we see cognitive offloading because essentially the holograms were storing these memories of their loved ones and when talking to them they can recall memories they shared together. The scene above really discusses the concept of forgetting memory which I found really interesting. Tess was talking about how every time you remember a memory it becomes less reliable. It becomes less reliable you don’t remember the original source but the last time you remember the memory therefore it keeps dissolving with time. I just really find this scene fascinating because even the memories the seem like they just happened yesterday can become very skewed especially with the input of other people. As this scene progresses we see that because Tess and Jon continue to speak of the last time they talked about a memory and started disagreeing on the ice cream flavor he was eating the last time they talked about this. It really just shows how everyone remember things differently and I am sure the next time they tried to remember the ice cream flavor would change because of the input from someone else. It really just makes you wonder, what did I actually experience and what is just a false? Also, why does it feel like I actually experience something when it never happened?
4 thoughts on “Memories Create Us”
Hi Alesha,
Emotions play an important role in determining what we remember and how we remember it, but they actually don’t necessarily make our emotions more accurate. Part of the reason for that is that our emotions play a role in what we attend to and what we perceive. So, say you were out for a night with friends. You are all having a great time, and as a result, the food tastes better than it does if you go back to the same restaurant for an terrible first date. The food itself might be exactly the same, but your company and emotions have shifted, which affects your perception of what you are eating.
I think that you’re absolutely right that Data is concerned about what it will do to his sense of self if he loses the emotions associated with his memories. Can you connected this to what you learned in this week’s VT about how we construct our autobiographical selves?
I love your point about how input from other people helps to determine what and how we remember. This is similar to what you learned about in this module’s VT about the social dimensions of memory. Our cognition is extended through our interactions with others. We’ve probably all had the experience of talking about something with other people, and everyone remembers different parts of it, and you work together to construct your memory of the event.
Jessica Hautsch
Hi Alesha,
I agree with when you say our emotions influence how we remember things. The same memory can seem different depending on how you feel when you access it, which is why many people who have gone through traumatic events can eventually learn how to live past said event. The memory and the pain are still there but the intense emotions attached to the memory over time dull. The film is overall sad, from the mother using the holograph to help with the Dementia before she passes away, Tess, who could not cope with her emotions taking her life, and her husband John, who is then left to pick up all the pieces. Our memories are how we perceive them, and they have the power to destroy us or keep us alive.
I also agree with your thoughts on Data, he is an android, but over the years, he has developed memories and emotions attached to the memories; his fear is valid; what if he can not recall the emotion with the memory, just the memory itself, it may be regarded as not meaningful or important.
cstiglianese
Hello,
The definition of a living being is such a broad term. People have many different aspects of what makes a being alive, but I think anything that breathes is a living being. What makes them different is if they are simple or complex. For example, a plant would be a simple living being. But Data is highly complex, having a consciousness along with memories and emotions integrated with his inner working and outer environment. With the distance between memories, they start becoming less reliable and meaningful, which is a concept that both films show. Data is aware of this and says that once his memories are separated, his essence disappears. With Marjorie, she is unable to retell memories with accuracy. The importance of memories come with making a person and without them, there is no sure way to define who anyone is.
amyint
Hi April,
You make a great point that memories are what makes a person. The theory that our autobiographical self is constructed means that we rely on our memories to develop a sense of self. These texts raise important questions about what happens to our selves if we lose those memories.
Jessica Hautsch