Rewiring Love: Genre Hybridisation Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Isabel Hay, University of Bristol, Film and Theatre BA, Year 2
Film Genre, summative essay, awarded 72/100 first class.

Ryall (1975, cited in Neale, 2000, p. 10) defines genre as ‘patterns/forms/styles/structures which transcend individual films, and which supervise both their construction by the filmmaker, and their reading by an audience.’ Neale (1980, pp. 48-50) builds on this idea, elaborating on the fluid nature of genres. He suggests that genres are ‘instances of repetition and difference’ and that ‘difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre’, arguing that repetition alone would not attract an audience. These repetitions are genre conventions, which Bordwell and Thompson (2010, p. 333) identify as themes, plot elements, iconography, and cinematic techniques.

Later, Neale (200, p. 3) contends that ‘conventional definitions of genre are often narrow and restrictive’ and ‘prone to overgeneralization.’ He asserts that genres are in constant flux and ‘frequently hybridize and overlap,’ thereby blurring the boundaries between traditional categories. Deleyto (2012, p. 221) likens genre function to chaos theory, describing them as ‘characterised by unpredictability’ and impossible to ‘control in the long run.’ This unpredictability arises from the constant evolution of genres, as their conventions are ‘constantly altered’ (p. 227). Films often blend conventions from multiple genres, creating unique combinations that are ‘not only textually but also historically and culturally specific’ (p. 227). These hybrid genres serve as ‘meeting points in which various genres come into contact with one another, vie for dominance, and are transformed’ (p. 228). In 1996, Altman (cited in Neale, 2000, p. 24) observed that while some films ‘simply borrow devices from established genres, others foreground their generic characteristics to the point where the genre concept itself plays a major role in the film.’ This highlights how genres can combine to explore new ideologies and reposition traditional conventions within the contemporary media landscape. For instance, Deleyto suggests that ‘melodrama forges an alliance with the new genre in order to adapt its traditional meanings to contemporary culture’ (pp. 230–231). This perspective views genre as integral to shaping ideologies, themes and narrative within the text rather than being a superficial feature. Genre is both a framework for production, and a means to engage audiences with sociocultural and emotional topics. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), directed by Michel Gondry, is a prime example of genre hybridity, blending science fiction and romance. Before exploring the relationship between these two genres, it is important to define and contextualise them individually.

Hodgens (1959, cited in Neale, 2000, p. 92) defines science fiction as films that ‘involve extrapolated or fictitious science, or fictitious use of scientific possibilities.’ Science fiction also functions as a site for ideological inquiry. According to Johnston (2013, p. 7) science fiction is notable for engaging with ‘cultural debates’ such as those surrounding the future, technological invention, time travel, or physical and mental mutation (p. 1). Similarly, Schatz (1983, p. 86) highlights that science fiction often portrays contested spaces where humans clash with alien or technological forces, mirroring real-world fears about humanity’s place in an increasingly mechanised and technologically connected world. Telotte (1995, cited in Neale, 2000, p. 97) observes how, while 1980s trends were ‘toward showing the human as ever more artificial,’ 1990s science fiction trends have shifted ‘toward rendering the artificial as ever more human.’ This growing convergence between the artificial and the human reflects societal anxieties about the intrusion of technological science into humanity. Johnston (2013, p. 1) also emphasises that science fiction is a flexible genre prone to hybridity. Classic science fiction hybrids have combined action adventure (Blade Runner, 1992, Jurassic Park, 1993), horror (Frankenstein, 1910, Alien, 1979) and more recently, romance (Her, 2013, About Time, 2013, Passengers, 2016).

Ramsdell (2012, pp. 5-6) defined romance as ‘the development and satisfactory resolution of the love relationship between two main characters, written in such a way as to provide the reader with some degree of vicarious emotional participation in the courtship process.’ At its core, the genre conveys a ‘the power of love’ (p. 3). Ramsdell suggests that the key appeal of romance lies in its predictability, emotional engagement, and reassurance that everything will work out for the best. In the new millennium, the genre began to explore new directions (p. 15). Whereas romance was once ‘the most optimistic and hopeful of all fiction genres,’ reaffirming the ‘triumph of true love against all odds’ (p. 23), modern trends have shifted away from this ideal. Instead, contemporary romances often focus on the realities of love and the challenges it entails, sometimes featuring unconventional endings where the couple does not end up together. Examples include Mia and Seb separating to pursue their careers in La La Land (2016), Tom realising the woman he loves has married another man in (500) Days of Summer (2009), and the unravelling of Dean and Cindy’s marriage in Blue Valentine (2010). These narratives highlight how modern films have begun to strip away the idealised view of romance, presenting a more flawed portrayal of love. The romance has begun to be unromanticised, as evident in Eternal Sunshine.

Eternal Sunshine explores the tumultuous relationship between Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) and Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet). After a painful breakup, Joel discovers that Clementine has undergone a procedure offered by Lacuna Inc., a company specialising in erasing memories, to remove all recollection of their relationship. Heartbroken, Joel decides to undergo the same procedure. The film unfolds in reverse chronological order, as Joel relives their relationship while his memories are erased from the most to least recent. During the process, Joel realises he does not want to lose Clementine. Despite his resistance, the procedure is a success. However, after the two coincidentally meet the following day and Lacuna employee, Mary (Kirsten Dunst), releases recordings of all patients’ erased memories, Joel and Clementine relearn about their past and decide to try again.

Eternal Sunshine bridges the genres of romance and science fiction to create a tension between human-centred narratives and the intrusion of technology, allowing the film to explore philosophical questions at the intersection of the genres surrounding the role of memory and technology in shaping love and human identity. Yeung (2020, p. 16) argues that this tension is reliant on contemporary anxieties about technology-driven dehumanisation. Reports highlight real-world concerns about the impact of technology on relationships. While modern dating apps often leave users feeling more frustrated and pessimistic than hopeful and optimistic (Anderson, Vogels, and Turner, 2020), other studies raise concerns about technology, including smartphones and gaming devices, leading to a decline in both emotional and physical intimacy (Gomes, Vasconcelos-Raposo, and Teixeira, 2021; Vogels and Anderson, 2020). In the film, technology is portrayed as a dystopian force that threatens relationships and personal identity by erasing memories. This science fiction element directly impacts the romantic narrative by threatening to sever the emotional bonds between Joel and Clementine.

Fivush (2018, cited in Yeung, 2020, p. 20) highlights that autobiographical memory ‘defines who we are, how we came to be this way, and what we will become.’ However, Lacuna’s technological intervention turns memory – an inherent foundation to human identity – into a source of distress. By erasing these memories, the process begins to dismantle Joel’s sense of self. Cardullo (2007, p. 301) likens the film’s memory sequences to ‘traversing a kaleidoscopic nightmare,’ a depiction brought to life through heavily stylised editing. This not only illustrates Joel’s struggle to confront his memories but also the anguish of having them forcibly taken from him. Some critics believe that continuity editing rules are essential for clear narrative presentation (Bordwell and Thompson, 2008, p. 258). However, Eternal Sunshine subverts these conventions by employing discontinuous editing to generate new meanings and evoke emotional resonance. Cut ins of past, fond memories interrupt the shot of Joel running with Clemetine to escape memory erasure (00:55:00), a painful reminder of what he is losing. The pacing and rhythm alternates between fast-motion, compressing time, and slow-motion, expanding it, creating a jarring momentum that mirrors Joel’s distress and anxiety while disorienting the audience. As the couple run through the train station, figures within Joel’s memories are abruptly erased from the frame, a visual metaphor for the fragility of memory and a stark reminded of the technological interference.

A wide-angle lens tracks Joel’s face as he revisits the memory of his assessment at Lacuna (00:56:00). The audience are aligned with Joel’s subjectivity as the camera pans to the Lacuna employees, whose facial features warp and whose voices take on a mechanical distortion. This effect is intensified by a harsh spotlight centred on the screen, combined with low-key lighting, creating an unsettling and disorienting spatial atmosphere. Later, in a desperate effort to preserve Clementine, Joel hides her within a childhood memory (01:00:00). This sequence embraces surrealism as rain falls inside their house and a wall disappears to reveal Joel’s childhood home. The framing intentionally leaves offscreen space ambiguous, enhancing spatial discontinuity as Joel’s memories deteriorate and he moves through time and place.The discontinuous editing style not only reflects the decay of Joel’s memories but also the erosion of his identity as he loses them. Bordwell and Thompson (2008) argue that the relationship between story, plot, and screen duration is complex. In Eternal Sunshine, vast spans of Joel’s life are compressed into a brief screen duration, symbolising his memories diminishing. Joel desperately chases fading memories of Clementine, evoking a nightmarish sense of helplessness against technological interference. After the procedure, Joel wakes up (01:32:38). The room is subdued and cool in colour, quiet with no non-diegetic music, and the camera remains relatively static. His life, now devoid of memories of Clementine, feels stagnant, dull, and lifeless, highlighting the negative consequences of memory-erasure technology. In traditional romance narratives, love is often portrayed as a force that overcomes obstacles; here, however, technology itself is the obstacle, and love’s resilience becomes a quiet act of rebellion against deterministic forces of memory manipulation.

The science fiction motif of time manipulation plays a pivotal role in Eternal Sunshine, reframing the romance through fragmented chronology. Elsaesser and Hagener (2009, p. 149) describe this structure as a Möbius strip, challenging the ‘linear logic of classical cinema’. The reverse chronology encourages the audience to reconstruct the emotional trajectory of Joel and Clementine’s relationship, focusing on its hopeful beginnings rather than its bitter end. This cyclical narrative structure frames Joel and Clementine’s coincidental reunion, which begins and ends the film, as significant, symbolising the enduring strength of their bond despite the erasure procedure. Their reconnection reflects a romantic idealism of fate, as though an invisible string pulls them back together. Wollen (1998, cited in MacDowell, 2013, p. 114) argues that ‘the world itself is an untidy place, full of loose ends, but the artifact can tie all these loose ends together’. However, Eternal Sunshine rejects this romantic ideal of the happily ever after and offers an ambiguous, open ending. In narratives, open endings can suggest a dissatisfaction with existing ideologies and an attempt to demystify them (Avchyan, 2012, p. 40, Preis, 1990, pp. 19-20). In the case of Eternal Sunshine, unrealistic and idealised ideologies of romance are resisted, and a more genuine representation of love is represented. The couple demonstrates an awareness of this when, after watching the tapes of their failed relationship (01:42:22), they repeat “okay” to one another as a quiet, uncertain resolve to try again. MacDowell (p. 125) suggests that their ‘decision to begin this relationship again is made resolutely in knowledge of the fact that they may very well repeat their past mistakes, and thus with a corresponding awareness of the essential fragility of romantic love.’

This fragility is shown through the motif of ice and snow. In the scene at the beginning of the couples second relationship, Clementine takes Joel onto a frozen lake to stargaze (00:14:13). When Joel nervously asks, “What if it breaks?” Clementine reassures him, “It’s not gonna crack or break.”  This dialogue highlights the characters’ contrasting personalities; with Joel’s introspective, anxious outlook and Clementine’s vivacious, impulsive energy, they embody the opposites-attract trope often seen in romance. Yet, their differences ultimately lead to friction. A bird’s-eye shot of the couple lying on the ice gives the audience a privileged perspective of a crack in the ice running across the centre of the frame, which Joel and Clementine cannot see as they look up at the sky. Within the scene, the crack could symbolise Joel’s anxious feelings about emotional connection, but as part of the larger narrative it foreshadows their relationship fracturing. Despite this, their physical closeness in the two shot conveys mutual trust and shared vulnerability. In the final shot (01:43:44), Joel and Clementine run into the distance, framed by a bleak expanse of white snow. The shot fades, which MacDowell (p. 126) suggests offers ‘a sense of ephemerality rather than finality’, reinforces by the snow which by nature is destined to melt. The shot provides no context to determine whether it depicts a memory, a dream, or a moment in the future, leaving the audience without a definitive conclusion about the outcome of their relationship. Eternal Sunshine conveys the idea that love can still be valuable and powerful, even if transient and imperfect. 

Both the use of romance and science fiction is contemporarily unconventional, reaffirming Neale’s believe that difference is integral to genre development. Eternal Sunshine portrays romance as flawed and modern technologies as damaging. ‘At the core of all science fiction is the provocative question, “What if …?” Science fiction represents stories and situations that tap our brightest hopes and darkest fears about what might, one day, turn out to be true’ (American Film Institute, 2008, cited in Johnston, 2013). This is the essence of Eternal Sunshine. What if we are entering a time where technology infringes on genuine human connection? What if love is not as perfect as it appears? What if it breaks? There is a profound irony in the fact that the very science intended to erase the essence of their identity, their memories, is a product of human creation. Yeung (2020, p. 17) critiques this through a posthuman lens, suggesting that it serves as a warning against the pursuit of a ‘posthuman utopia,’ which is described as a ‘blissful transcendence’ that eliminates the emotional pain and suffering inherent in human experiences. However, this irony also serves as a poignant analogy for humanity’s self-destructive tendencies in the modern world. By using the relationship between romance and science fiction, this film suggests that the solution lies not in attempting to control or perfect the human experience through scientific or other means, but in learning to embrace life’s imperfections and complexities. Mary’s final decision to send the erased files back to patients underscores the film’s critique of technological overreach and reaffirms the value of authentic, albeit painful, human experiences. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind highlights the timeless romantic desire for connection, while critiquing the infringing aspects of technology. Ultimately, the film suggests that while technology may shape us, it cannot fully erase the enduring power of love, no matter what flawed form it manifests in.

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