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?
