Author: Sarah Murphy

In this week’s module, the film Marjorie Prime and the Star Trek episode “Measure of a Man”, demonstrated the different ways in which memory can be represented and utilized in understanding one’s identity. In the film, Marjorie speaks to a hologram version of her dead husband called Walter Prime, who was brought in to give her comfort at the end of her life. I think it’s interesting because each of the Primes are given information by the loved ones in order to act in the most realistic and accurate way, but they are receiving skewed versions of events (to no one’s fault but the fact that each person has a different experience). But, it should be noted how some characters would leave out information while speaking to the Primes, and we can see how those gaps of information cause some confusion with the Primes in the very final scene.

We see this when Tess has a conversation with Marjorie Prime, and explains their strained relationship, or the relationship she had with the real Marjorie. After the real Marjorie dies, Tes admits to Jon that she just wanted her mother to love her as much as she loved her brother Damien (1:09:30). Jon tells Tess that “She did, it was obvious from a little further away”. This reminded me of something I heard in the lecture which stated that “memory change over time as we construct and think about them through different contexts and from different perspectives”. Tess never got to see what her experience with her mother looked like from an outsider’s point of view, and Jon is trying to comfort her with the idea that Marjorie did love her, and it was easier to see for him. Tess’s relationship with Marjorie Prime won’t replace the memories and experiences she had with her real mother, but it does add on to the dynamic she might have while looking back on those memories. This supports the idea from the lecture that “memory is influenced by content, emotion, and environment”. We find out later on that Tess takes her own life, but for the sake of the argument, if she did find closure and emotional healing while spending time with Marjorie Prime, that could have an effect on how she remembers the interactions with the real Marjorie. 

One concept that I think the film portrayed in an interesting way was the extended cognition. The Primes are examples of cognitive integration, which is “the brain, body, external tools and technology, interpersonal and social supports, and culture create complex and interactions that form a cognitive system”. The characters are able to speak to the Prime’s about past events in order to help the piece of technology undergo the process of becoming an accurate representation of the person.

In Marjorie’s case when she had Walter Prime, he was able to help her remember things that she wasn’t able to in her old age. But, it was Marjorie herself (as well as Jon) who gave Walter Prime the memories in the first place. It was like watching them prepare a tool that they knew would eventually help them in the future. In one scene, when Tess is talking to Marjorie Prime(1:02:10), she says “Do you have emotions? Or do you just remember ours, do you feel anything?”. Tess is trying to get an understanding for how the Prime is taking in and internalizing what she is telling it. Is the Prime able to connect certain feelings to the memories, or is it just “storing it away” until it is needed for recall. This made me think back to the film Inside out, and how each memory had an emotion attached to it. The Primes have what I thought of as an “artificial” emotion attached to what they are told.  I think this also leads into the idea of a constructivist’s view of memory. Because the Primes did not experience these events themselves and are only told how the real version of themselves felt during it, they are not able to construct memory. The people who speak them construct the memory and the Primes simply remember it, as we hear them say throughout the film “I’ll remember that next time”. Remembering and actually having the memory are two different things. Their idea of “self” is not their own. 

In the Star Trek episode, I think we see through Data how emotions are so closely knit with memory. In the scene where Maddox is explaining the procedure he will do on Data he states that “I will run a full diagnostic on Data, evaluating the condition of its current software. I will then dump its core memory to the Starbase mainframe computer” (9:21). Data is an android, and his memory seems to be something that can be separated from his body, but we know that the body is a tool that helps the mind process and take the interactions around it. We heard the term “core memories” in Inside Out, and we know that in that film, the core memories are what makes a person themselves, it creates individuality.

The episode focuses on the argument that questions if Data should be considered property, or if he is his own person. Data has experiences with the other crew members, most of them being his friends. Maddox goes to Data again and tries to convince him to do the procedure, assuring him that his memories will remain intact afterwards (16:27). Data replies saying “Reduced to mere facts of the events. The substance, the flavor of the moment could be lost..I do not believe you have acquired the expertise necessary to preserve the essence of those experiences. There is an ineffable quality to memory which I do not believe can survive your procedure”. Data is trying to point out that as our lecture stated, “we experience emotions when we remember, both of the memory itself, and how we feel about the memory”. Data doesn’t want to lose that element of himself because without the feelings attached to those memories they won’t have significance to him and his relationships he has with the other crew members anymore.

In this week’s module, the film Inside Out and The Star Trek episode “Man of the People”, touched upon the intersection of our cognitive system with our emotions and how they function. I think the film did a nice job showing how our emotions can fluctuate due to our surroundings and how we are interacting with it. When Riley moves to a new home, we can tell that she seems to be in a nostalgic state or mood, but she experiences a variety of emotions on top of that. This relates back to our lecture where it discussed that moods are “modulated and sustained background feeling”, while emotions are “self organizing patterns of the organism, the collection of responses, many of which are publicly observable”. When they first enter the new home you can tell that Riley is not impressed by their condition and misses her old home already, but after Joy plants an idea in Riley’s mind to play mini sticks (10:50), we see that she is happy. Riley is seen laughing with her parents, a physical display of the emotion she is feeling. Her nostalgic mood for her home did not disappear, it’s still there, just hidden below the current emotion she is feeling.

We see this again when Riley is at the dinner table with her parents and she gives them attitude after they bring up hockey (27:30), which causes Riley’s Dad to scold her. Riley eventually yells at her father to “shut up”, her anger clearly on display. This emotion is a reaction to the conversation between herself and her father, but her underlying longing for home is at the bottom of it.

For me, I felt like the film represented emotions as something that we first construct at birth, but then afterwards it is something that happens to us (post us creating them) which I think is interesting that it can be both in a way. When Riley is born and she first sees her parents (1:34), Joy is sprung into existence in Riley’s mind. This shows how Riley herself constructed Joy based on what she was feeling and seeing in that moment even though she was just a baby. We see that as things begin to happen Riley constructed all the emotions into existence, Sadness arriving second.

We see how emotions are represented to be the “masterminds” of the brain as they are located in Headquarters, which is far away from the other areas such as long term memory, imagination land, and the dreamland. The emotions in headquarters have access to a large console where there are buttons and levers that trigger something in Riley’s mind to then act a certain way physically with her body. When Riley stands up to introduce herself in front of the class, Sadness touches one of the “joy” memory balls and turns it blue. Now that that memory has a new emotion attached to it, Riley begins crying and having a physical reaction. We see this again when Riley is playing hockey and Anger fully sends one of the levers and Riley throws her hockey stick before stomping off the ice. But this made me think back to the lecture where it discusses that one of the tenets of the Theory of Emotional Construction states  that “Emotions are not something that happens to us, they are something we do”. So, this made me think about how the act of throwing her hockey stick is anger itself, and that’s how she was expressing it, not that anger “told” her to throw the stick as represented in the film with the console that was controlling Riley. 

In the episode of Star Trek, I thought they had a really cool way of representing negative emotions, and how it can take a physical toll on your body, showing how our emotions, mind, and body are so closely intertwined. Also, it touched base with how our own emotions can sometimes have an affect on how we perceive and interact with others. When Ambassador Alkar reveals what he did to Captain Picard (33:14), he justifies his actions by saying “If I came to these peace talks hindered by unwanted emotions, then Rekags and Seronians would be condemned to go on fighting.”.

He is worried about his own emotions becoming obstacles in trying to create peace between two sides who have their own negative feelings towards each other. In other words, the emotions have the capability to control your mind to an extent, because they can be so strong, and the power may be unconscious. This goes back to how in the film, the emotions Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear were located in the Headquarters with the brain with access to a console. Earlier in this scene though, Alkar says “I discovered long ago I had the ability to channel my darker thoughts”, which then leads to the idea that Alkar is so hyper aware of his emotions that he can separate them from his mind, even though they are actually heavily connected as the mind functions in unison with emotions. 

In a later scene when we see Deanna on the table, Captain Picard and his crew are trying to figure out what is wrong with her (36:20). They note that “If Alkwar is flooding her with all this psychic waste, that would explain the high level of neurotransmitters, all these negative emotions pouring into her, they have caused a chemical response in her brain”. We see throughout the episode that Deanna’s body is aging at an exponential rate, and her demeanor is becoming more aggressive. There seems to be a correlation between negative emotions and physical health, and how what we are feeling can ultimately take a toll on your body. Also, Alkar dies at the end of the episode because all of the negative emotions he had pushed onto Deanna went back to him and he looks like an old man. This made me think about how some people die of a broken heart. Their sadness and grief surrounding a loss actually cause their body to not function as it is supposed to. First the emotions affect the brain, the person becomes numb to their surroundings and eventually the body seems to follow. 

In this week’s module, the movie Arrival, and Star Trek episode “Darmok” demonstrated different aspects of cognitive linguistics through the characters and their interactions with other life forms. In the Star Trek episode, there is a scene where Captain Picard and the Tamarian Captain spend a night on the planet at a healthy distance from one another (11:29). We have seen previously that Picard is not able to understand the language of the Tamarian when they first meet during the day, creating a barrier between them. It seems that a common theme throughout the episode was fear, and how fear due to lack of understanding can lead to violence. Picard watches the Tamarian build a fire and place objects of some sort arround the fire before turning over to go to sleep. Picard stays awake freezing, because he does not trust this foreign being, and the absence of trust stems from the fact that he can’t put words or meaning behind the action of the Tamarian. He doesn’t know if the Tamarian is going to be peaceful, or if he will try to harm him in the night when he finally goes to sleep. The Tamarian can sense that Picard is cold and untrusting, so he offers him a torch of fire to keep warm in the night saying “Temba with arms wide”.

Picard is still unable to understand exactly what that phrase means, but with more context, in this instant the Tamarian is performing a physical act to demonstrate his actions, which allows Picard to realize that he means no harm. I think we can see how important body language is here and how it is effective in connecting the bridge between Picard and the Tamarian when the spoken language is not possible right away (this will allow actions to be connected to words, which will help when trying to understand a language). Also, Picard can use past experience to help him come to conclusions about the Tamarian’s stance towards him and whether it is good or bad. In war, if someone is offering you help instead of attacking you, that is a sign that they probably don’t want to be your enemy. Social queues within culture gain meaning, and can be used to make future decisions. 

Throughout the episode, the Tamarian holds up the two knife like weapon in the air towards Captain Picard, at one point he even throws one at the Captain. Picard sees these particular actions as “aggressive” movements and throws the weapon back at the Tamarian saying “I don’t want to fight you”. Picard fears for what may happen if they begin to engage in battle, possibly starting a war between the two species. In this scenario Picard is using a cognitive frame that is geared for foreign conflict. As I mentioned earlier, he is using past experience to make decisions, but each scenario is unique and the full story had not been revealed yet due to the language barrier. The next day they are on the planet together, they both hear a noise of an animal of some sort that is closing in on them (22:03). Picard sees how the Tamarian goes on the offensive towards where the noise is coming from and realizes the creature is upon them. Frame shifting occurs here, because new information has now been provided to Captain Picard, which changes the context of his situation. Picard deducts that the enemy is actually this creature, and that the reason the Tamarian kept trying to give him the knife was so that they could fight it together. Also, when the Tamarian kept raising the weapons in the air the day before he was trying to rally Picard to join his fight. The introduction of the creature is what Picard needed to piece together why the Tamarian wanted to meet with him in the first place. 

In the film Arrival, we see similar themes of cognitive dissonance between the humans at the Heptapods. Here, their conceptual/linguistic system is not through metaphors of spoken language, but symbol writing. The different designs within the circles that the Heptapods create represent different objects or ideas, that the human may have written words for. Louise is able to piece together their language by the mirrored action of the Heptapods.

She sees that they use symbols so she decides to adopt their method of written communication and uses a white board. Louise and Ian introduce themselves at the wall and take off their gear so the aliens can see them. Louise points to the aliens and says “you, who are you?” and they give their names with the circle symbols (47:45). Throughout the film she continues this visual type of communication, as we see later on she ha the phrase “Ian walking” on the white board, while having Ian walk in front of them. They respond with their own symbol showing how they are internalizing what they are seeing. Again we see the physical body playing an important role in communication, as Ian is being used to demonstrate an action, not to mention the Heptapods use their physical body to create the symbols on the wall. 

Another scene I found to be interesting was when the Heptapod write a symbol that says “offer weapon”(1:06:58), or what the human interpret it to mean. The problem here is that as discussed in the lecture, “meaning is not static, but dynamically changing…it is embedded in social interactions, physical environments, and bodily experiences”. Louise even points out that “they are using a word they don’t fully understand. We don’t know if they know the difference between a weapon and a tool, our language like our culture is messy and sometimes one can be both”. A word can be misconstrued if there isn’t a clear definition, or if there are a couple of different ways to express the same thing. Also, the humans have no previous knowledge of what life and culture is like for the Heptapods, which may leave them with gaps in understanding how the Heptapods are processing information.

In this week’s film Possessor and Futurama episode “I Second that Emotion”, we can see how empathy is an aspect of cognitive science, and plays a role within the relationship between body and mind. In one of the scenes from Futurama, Leela is at the bar crying about missing Nibbler, but we also see Bender at home on the couch with Fry crying as well (10:19). The cross-cutting technique is used here to show that these two events are happening at the same time, and that both Leela and Bender are experiencing the same emotion.  The emotion is “traveling” from Leela to Bender through empathy, just as the camera has switched from Leela to Bender. Theory of Mind is explored in this scene, as earlier in the episode Bender receives a special empathy chip in his head that is in tune with Leela’s emotions. He is able to recognize that he is crying because he is feeling the sadness that Leela feels. When Fry questions if Bender misses Nibbler, Bender replies saying “Hell no. Its Leela’s stupid feelings”.

In the lecture it mentioned that Theory of Mind is “understanding that other people’s perspectives and thoughts are different from one’s own”, which is demonstrated by Bender admitting that the emotions he is feeling are not his own, and he is able to differentiate between the two. But, further into the scene, Bender feels the emotion of jealousy and starts going off on Fry saying things that Leela is feeling while she is in the bar. The lines between the two merge in that moment, showing how the body is necessary for the context of a situation and the emotions that are being felt in them. 

I found it interesting that Bender is a robot, and in lacking a human body he seems to be the only one in the group who is not empathetic towards Leela’s situation. This episode highlighted how important empathy is in relationships and social settings. Connecting with others on deeper levels involves being emotionally mature and in tune to your environment. In a scene earlier in the episode, right after Bender has the empathy chip placed inside of him, the Professor is flipping through the different frequencies in the room (9:13). He experiences everyone’s emotions in a short span of time before finally getting to Leela, and even when he is experiencing her emotions for an extended period of time, there still is an emotional disconnect. He is fighting and complaining about the connection to Leela that he now shares. Although empathy is being shown as something that can be “placed” into someone’s brain, I think it requires the person themselves to want it themselves, as it is something that cannot be forced. His robotic body was not a factor experiencing empathy, but the chip placed inside his head was the main focal point. I think that maybe the show was trying to comment on how the mind and body actually work together when it comes to empathy. 

In the film Possessor, assassin Taysa Vos jumps into the bodies of others in order to complete her assignments. In preparation of entering someone else’s body, Vos studies their behavior and vocal patterns in order to get into character. During one scene we see Vos watching footage of Colin Nate (the man she will be going into), and his girlfriend Ava (22:38). Vos repeats the words and phrases that Colin says, using different inflections to try and match his speech pattern. She takes notes of how he reacts in conversation as well as body language. She is trying to become Colin before even entering his body. This could be related back to simulation theory and how Vos is trying to get inside the headspace of Colin, so that she will be ready for different scenarios and interactions that may occur. If she can get an idea of what he is feeling and thinking about, it will be easier for her to replicate it in his body. It’s not just about going into their body as yourself, but changing yourself to fit their body. I think that’s where it becomes foggy for our main character as she slowly loses herself while being trapped inside of Colin’s body, while he fights for dominance over his mind. The empathy and emotion she is feeling can no longer be distinguished as her own because it is merging with the host. 

The two scenes that really demonstrated the fragility of empathy were when Vos is being interviewed by Girder after coming out of someone’s mind. We see Vos examining some of her old belongings and identifying the significance of each one (8:38). In the beginning scene, Vos seems more aware and present while talking about the history of the specific items. She shows a sort of an emotional attachment to them, whereas in the ending scene she is shown more cold and robotic while shuffling through the case. I think this was meant to show how the time spent away from her body actually affected the way she was able to process emotions, especially because her mind was in a body that was not her own. Vos was able to feel what her host was feeling as the mission went haywire, and was no longer in control of how she was processing the events around herself. In the end it was as though Vos didn’t have any emotions of her own because she became so entangled with other peoples over the course of time. 

In the three episodes we had to watch this week, the ideas relating to the body, mind, and soul are explored through the characters and plot. In the Futurama episode “The Day the Earth Stood Stupid”, the idea of the brain being its own entity was depicted throughout, demonstrating the different ideas relating to Cartesian Dualism  In one the beginning scenes (6:25), Leela is being chased by the brain spawn invading Earth. The brains did not speak, nor did they show any evidence of being able to communicate verbally (besides the Giant evil brain), they were still able to move around on their own accord without the need of a body. This ties in with the  “ghost in a machine” mentality when thinking about the consciousness/soul of a person, as we were seeing the ghost without the machine. In a scene later on in the episode (16:01), Fry and Leela find the big evil brain in the library. He says to them “ we have long since evolved beyond the need for asses”, showing how he is able to exist on his own and looks down upon the humans who are stuck in their physical bodies. This is similar to how Cartesian Dualism was described as the mind being separate from and elevated above the body, as we see the Brains tend to float above the humans in the episode. Fry is able to defeat the evil brain at the end of the episode by physically writing a new story and trapping the brain inside, which calls into question the limits of the so-called “ghost” or evil brain when it isn’t connected to a “machine”. 

In Netflix’s Altered Carbon, Kovac’s introduction to the world has him grappling with his past self and the new body that he now inhabits. In the scene (11:59) where he and the other people who received new sleeves are receiving an orientation on their new bodies, it gives us insight on how the characters view the mind and the body. The society built in this tv show expresses the importance of a mind/soul over a body. It seems that the physical bodies are not valued as a person’s consciousness is stored within a what they call a stack, located within a person’s spine.

The lady tells Kovac and the rest of the people that “inside is pure human mind, coded and stored as DHF: Digital Human Freight. Your Consciousness can be downloaded into any stack, in any sleeve. You can even needle cast in minutes to sleeve anywhere in the Settled Worlds. A sleeve is replaceable, but if your stack is destroyed, you die. There is no coming back from real death”. Death seems to only become a reality when the stack is involved, whereas the physical body, or sleeve, is replaceable. Similar to the Futurama episode, there is a distinction made between the body and the mind. The fact that people’s consciousness are not restricted to one sleeve, or in this case a singular lifetime, shows that the mind is able to function and continue on once its current body has run its course. In this scene, the show uses high technology graphics to demonstrate the complexity and mechanics behind the stacks that are placed within the bodies. This parallels the idea of Cybernetics, and how the stack, or mind, is the software and the sleeve is the hardware. Also, just as a computer stores information, the stack stores the memories of a person’s past life as well as the traits that make up their identity. 

In the Star Trek episode, they seemed to take a different approach on how the mind and body are connected, and explore how the body plays a bigger part than some may expect. When Sargon enters Kirk’s body for the first time to demonstrate his abilities (11:57), he notes the physical sensations that he experiences being back in the human form. He can feel the air in his lungs and his heart pumping, and explains that he misses experiencing those things. This is an example of Embodied cognition, as his consciousness and soul seemed incomplete when he was trapped inside the receptacle. This is seen again later on when Henoch is taunting Thalassa about placing her consciousness inside of a robot while she is currently inside of a human body (31:24). He tells her “In two days, you will have hands of your own again Thalassa. Mechanically efficient and quite human-looking. Android robot hands, of course. Hands without feeling. Enjoy the taste of life while you can”. The idea of Embodied cognition is being reinforced by Henoch, as he doesn’t view his existence as full without a live body to experience life through. In the lecture it was discussed that “ a body is not something you have; it is something you are”, and without that body your soul may not be completely whole. Later on Sargon states that  “We need your bodies so that we may live again”, leading us to think that living involves interacting physically with other life, and not just existing as a consciousness. From this episode, cognition is represented as extended as well, especially with the relationship between Sargon and Thalassa, who are husband and wife. Their consciousnesses remained together for many years, but they weren’t able to really connect until they were inside other people’s bodies and could physically touch each other again. 

Hi everyone, 

My name is Sarah Murphy (she/her) and I will be a senior this year at Stony Brook University. I’m majoring in English and minoring in Film and Screen Studies. I’m thinking about doing a masters program for English after I graduate, but I also want to take some time off to do some creative writing. My dream would be to one day write a fiction novel, or maybe a screenplay. 

Over the summer I love to spend time with my dog Luna. She loves to go swimming so I will always take her to the beach to cool off on a hot day. My family is really into sailing so I’m out on our boat most days, but my favorite part is just to sit out there and read. My friends and I love to get dinner together and eat in the park in Northport Harbor while watching the sunset on the weekends too. 

Some of my favorite TV shows include Grey’s Anatomy, Peaky Blinders, Gilmore Girls, and The Umbrella Academy. I love Marvel and Harry Potter too! I think one of my all time favorite movies has to be Dead Poets Society or Good Will Hunting. This past year I’ve really gotten into Broadway shows, and I’m going to try and see Moulin Rouge before the summer ends so crossing my fingers. 

I took EGL 303 (Fanfiction) last summer with Professor Hautsch, so when I saw she was teaching another course I wanted to sign up. In the Fall of 2021 I took an introduction to film class (EGL 220) with Simone Brioni, and I think that helped me grow my interest in film even more. I really want to delve deeper into the different aspects of film and TV, so this class seemed like the perfect fit.