May 20
The Frida Cinema Santa Ana, CA
TicketsDr. Sandra Langeslag, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri – St. Louis
moderated byAtalia Lopez
Frida Cinema Board Member
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind— How do we form memories—and can we truly forget what hurts us most?
Program Description
Dr. Sandra Langeslag takes a fascinating dive into the science of memory and heartbreak with her presentation “The Neuroscience Behind Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
How do we form memories—and can we truly forget what hurts us most? Dr. Langeslag, a cognitive neuroscientist who studies the psychology of love and emotion regulation, will explore what brain science reveals about how we store and recall emotional experiences. She’ll also discuss real-world approaches to easing painful memories, share research-based strategies for coping with romantic breakups, and offer insights into how the film’s unconventional storytelling mirrors the nonlinear nature of memory itself.
Film Synopsis
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a procedure to have each other erased from their memories. But it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with.
Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has had their tumultuous relationship erased from her mind. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to get the same treatment. But as his memories of Clementine begin to fade, Joel suddenly realizes how much he still loves her. From acclaimed writer Charlie Kaufman and visionary director Michel Gondry, this comical and poignant look at breakups, breakdowns, and breakthroughs won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
About the Speaker
Dr. Sandra Langeslag, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She received her PhD in Biological and Cognitive Psychology from the Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands. She is the director of the Neurocognition of Emotion and Motivation Lab, where she studies the interaction between cognition + emotion, and cognition + romantic love. Examples of her research topics are emotional memory and love regulation. Dr. Sandra Langeslag teaches courses on learning and memory, emotions and the brain, and statistics. Learn more.
Atalia Lopez is an Australian transplant, Letterboxd devotee, and Frida Cinema board member. She teaches classes on the intersection of film, literature, and the urban environment at Chapman University, and is proudly responsible for exposing hundreds of students to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Atalia completed her undergraduate studies in literature at Chapman University and holds a master’s degree from the University of Oxford. You may also know her as the host of The Frida’s monthly Film Trivia Nights, where she invented the celebrated “fourth round stretch.”