Total ReCall team 4

Toal Recall 1990 directed by Paul Verhoeven

Be ready for the read of your life...

Link to the movie: https://www.putlockers.me/movie/total-recall-1804.html

Information about the movie

Total Recall, 1990, Directed by Paul Verhoeven, Screenplay by Ronald Shusett, Dan O’Bannon and Gary Goldman, lead roles played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox, 113 minutes. 

“Total Recall (1990 Film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Recall_(1990_film).

General review of the film

Total Recall is a film set in the future starting off with a man named Douglas Quaid waking up from a dream  in which he dies along with the “girl of his dreams” on Mars. When he wakes up, his wife Lori reassures him that there is nothing significant about the dream especially since he has never even been to Mars. Quaid finds out about this company called Rekall that can implant false memories in someone's brain that are indistinguishable from real memories, Quaid, constantly thinking about Mars, decides to pay Rekall a visit to buy a memory of a mission on Mars as a spy. After the memory implant goes very wrong, memories that he interprets to be repressed somehow, are revealed to him, he remembers that he is a secret agent.  

On his way home from Rekall, Doug gets attacked by the coworker that told him about Rekall, his coworker tells him that he should've never gone there.  When Doug gets home he finds out from his wife that she isn’t even his wife at all, and she also tries to attack him. After he gets away from her and leaves the apartment, he sees men who are rushing their apartment building. He makes his way out and encounters a man with a briefcase.  After opening it, he finds a video of himself explaining why he can remember everything all of a sudden and what he needs to do to survive.

Quaid then makes his way to Mars as the video instructed him and is also trying to find a women named Melina.  Once on Mars, Quaid is met once again with the men that ran to his apartment building who are trying to capture him and is forced to fight for his life.  He eventually finds himself in a hotel room where a man working for Cohaagen along with his supposed wife Lori try to convince him that he is actually dreaming, that is real body is still at Rekall and he will die if he doesn’t take a pill to wake up. Quaid, still unsure if it is a lie or not, manages to escape.  He meets up with Melina and Kuato, the leader of the resistance against Cohaagen, a wealthy dictator type who is unofficial dictating over Mars. Quaid is finally cornered along with Kuato and the resistance, where Kuato is killed by Cohaagen and his men.

Quaid and Melina are taken by Cohaagen and his men and he finds out that everything he thought he remembered was actually planted by Cohaagen in the first place in order to kill Kuato.  He then manages to escape and fight off the rest of Cohaagen’s men and activates the reactor which allows Mars to have a breathable atmosphere and stop Cohaagen’s monopoly on breathable air.  Quaid in the end, wonders if this was all a part of a dream after all.

Film techniques

Several film techniques are used to enhance the viewer's appreciation of the film, For example:

A prop that was showed off early on, but only used much later is the hologram creator.  Quaid used it when going to the reactor to confuse many of Cohaagen’s men.

Another prop that has much significance in this movie is the briefcase that Quaid receives early on in the movie, this prop is important as it is what directed him to go to Mars and basically directed the plot of the movie.

An example of diegetic sounds used can be the sound of the jackhammer when Doug is working on the construction site, along with all the dialogue throughout the film.  These sounds help keep us grounded in what seems to be reality.

For non-diegetic sounds, a big one is all the gun sounds along with all the explosions as well, these sounds are added in to captive the attention of the viewer.

Moreover we have the lighting:

Examples of high-key lighting, when Doug wakes up at the beginning of the movie, he’s in a bright room with his wife, creating the setting of a good and “pure” place.  It’s the same thing when Doug enters Rekall, everything is really bright creating that same sense of a good place (although we soon learn it isn’t). For low-key lighting, when Doug gets back from Rekall, his apartment is now much darker, although it is later in the day, it creates the atmosphere for what’s to come.  Furthermore, Cohaagen’s office/lair is dark, red and overall has gloomy lighting, embodying the evil atmosphere.

We also have the Editing:

There are many scenes in which crosscutting takes place especially in action scenes such as when Quaid is running from Cohaagens men throughout the film, the scenes are cutting back and forth between them creating that high intensity action.  An example for a long take in the movie is at the end when Quaid is holding Melina looking across Mars’s new atmosphere where he contemplates whether or not this was all a dream. This effect gives us time to stop and think of what might really be reality without having to keep our focus solely on the scene itself.

And at last, there's the framing:

Scenes where close ups occur, take place to create dramatic effect, such as when Kuato’s mutant self is dying and he tells Quaid that he needs to activate the reactor. Next example of close up is after Lori and Edgemar try and convince Quaid that he is dreaming this reality and needs to take a pill to wake up.  After defeating Edgemar, his men and Lori, Lori pleads for her life saying that he couldn’t kill his wife, and then Dough shoots her in the head anyway. Close up scenes like these make the film feel as though it’s slowing down from all the action scenes.

Universal themes

1- Firstly, this film is constantly confusing the viewer with what really is reality and what is just dreams.  At the beginning we are led to believe that Doug’s memories were wiped and he’s a secret agent, after spending his time fighting to survive, we eventually find out that Quaid is actually one of Cohaagen’s men who’s had his memories changed twice (he first thinks he’s a normal person working as a construction worker, then thinks he’s a secret agent).  At the end of the movie Doug mentions the fact that he might still be dreaming at Rekall, and it ends there, leading us only to guess if he was or wasn’t dreaming the whole time.

2- Another theme in this movie pertains to conscience and morals, what is good versus what is wrong.  Quaid from the start seems like a good guy and as a whole is just trying to do good and survive. That’s until he finds out he was friends with Cohaagen and was unknowingly helping him the whole time leading him to Kuato who he thought was in reality his friend.  When Doug’s mind is going to be reversed back to what his “real life” was, he could’ve just gave in and accepted that that's who he really was, but his willpower for good was so strong that he didn’t care what reality he was shown, he knew in his heart he had to do the right thing.  That’s why he breaks out of the chains and eventually makes his way to the rector and free’s all of Mars from Cohaagen rule.

3- The last theme from this film has to do with the power struggle that the population of Mars has to face against Cohaagen who has an exploiting and tyrannical rule over Mars.  Throughout human history, countless amounts of people have had to face the cruelty of single ruler dictatorships. In order to take him down, Quaid knows that he can’t just take him out, and he knows that it won’t be easy to accomplish his mission, but like with anything many small actions add up.  All the work that Quaid did from leaving earth with his memory back, to meeting up with the resistance once again, is what led up to him being able to defeat Cohaagen and free Mars of his rule.

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Comments on the quality of the film

Although it may have aged in some obvious ways, Total Recall remains a somewhat deep movie in terms of the concepts that arise from the storyline. How do we know what is real and that we’re not simply living in a fictitious dream world created by some company? Throughout the movie, you’re never quite sure whether Quaid is really his old self or if he is living the life as an undercover spy trying to set free the people on Mars from Cohaagen’s oppressive regime. This confusion could be both a strength and a weakness to the movie. On one hand, to the viewer that enjoys open endings, this would be rather enjoyable as they’re left to speculate which world Quaid is living in. Conversely, some may find it too confusing and ultimately a distraction from the rest of the storyline.

One thing that Total Recall delivers on is its humour. The movie pokes fun at the sci-fi genre and doesn’t take itself all too seriously. Whether it be the one-liners delivered in a thick Austrian accent by Arnold or the absurd fight scenes in which Quaid is able to fight off five or six men at once, there’s never the impression that Total Recall is a dark or serious movie. Once scene in particular was oddly comical in which Kuato (the leader of the rebellion who forms part of a mutant’s belly) delivers his words of wisdom to Quaid. It might’ve been the combination of the use of a puppet in the shape of an odd-looking baby and the all-too serious acting of Arnold, but overall that scene stood out as being ridiculous.

One issue of the movie was its pace. The beginning of the movie is rather slow yet still easy to follow. As the story progresses and Quaid ends up on Mars, the story seems to accelerate and it becomes all too difficult to follow along and understand exactly what’s going on. New characters such as Edgemar are introduced half-way through the film and only seem to further the confusion. That being said, this may have been a deliberate move by the director to add complexity to the themes of the story.

Overall, Total Recall remains a:

-The concepts behind the film were interesting; the privatization of essential resources by individuals/, the deeper storyline (what is reality and how do we know we’re in the real world?).

-One-liners; comedy side of the film/campiness, if you don’t like those types of movies, it would be a weakness.

-If the viewer likes action/silly movies then they should probably watch Total Recall.

-Weakness; story was sometimes hard to follow, overall the pace of the movie was quite fast (example: the first half of the story where Quaid is still on Earth, action scenes every other scene vs on Mars, slower pace and more dialogue).

Rating

Connections to key concepts of the course material and the movie

1) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the study of existence such as "what is".  It is possible to "upload" experiences into the brains of people. This allowed people to have memories of adventures, vacations, and more for which they did not actually experience. For example, Quaid used to work for Cohaagen and had a “surgery” in order to complete a mission for him, but in the process, he was a whole different person, and it turned out that he brought this person’s plan down to pieces. Which brings the question of metaphysics. What is actually real? If we’re capable of implanting anything in our memories, is it what you’re seeing all made up from a computer and then transferred in your head, or is it actually reality? Can you distinguish reality and those made up memories? Quaid, at the end, was even wondering if he was still dreaming. At this point, he couldn’t know what was real or not. Same thing goes for his emotions. Was he living a lie or the actual present?

2) This movie also connects to the nature of consciousness which is the quality or state of being able to perceive or be aware if an external object or something within oneself. For example, Quaid after a surgery, he didn’t remember anything, he wasn’t conscious about any events before his brain was washed. He wasn’t conscious about before and couldn’t even reflect on it. Will we be able to "upload" memories one day? Would these memories be the same as memories acquired the old-fashioned way? If these memories are implanted, to what extent will we be conscious of it? Will we even be conscious of all the possibilities that can have happened before it? And those memories implanted, till what extent will we be conscious of them since they’ve never truly happened, they were just put there by someone. Just like Quaid, who thought he was chosen to save Mars; however, he was actually used as a bait for the complete opposite thing. 

Self-awareness is also directly linked to the consciousness, since being self-aware is being able to think about your own train of thought, being able to introspect or reflect. However, the morphing of Quaid’s perception towards what he believes to be his own subjective reality is based on what others are telling him. This creates a feeling of deep distrust in his own perception of reality and forces him to question whether or not he is truly as self-aware as he would like to believe. Which brings the question of consciousness towards his behaviour, since all of it is formed through other’s perception and not by his own true consciousness.

3) This movie can also bring the conversation of ethics. For example, Cohaagen has the monopole of all the business side happening on Mars. He’s making a huge profit out of everyone, since he owns everything livable there. The thing is, he knows that there is a reactor that can produce air on Mars, thus could free people from constantly having to be restrained. But because it would be bad for business, he choose to keep it a secret and hide it from everyone. Which brings the question of what is good for individuals? Who decides what is good and what is not good for people? Who decides what kind of life people have to live? This man chose by himself to hide it from people, thus forcing them to live the way he wants, since he owns everything, and the “army” is on his side. The notion of freedom in this movie relies entirely on this man’s decisions. How is this fair to anyone to have one person decide the outcome of all the others without them having a say? 

Secondly, this principle of ethics brings into consideration the subject of personhood. Clearly, there is a form of hierarchy established by the humans on Mars that places the mutants underneath them. The idea of “personhood”, or being legally defined as a person, is not applied to the mutants. In fact, it’s possible to establish parallels between slaves and what are considered mutants on Mars. They live under harsh conditions with no possibility of escaping their social class established and maintained by Cohaagen and his agents. In that respect, Cohaagen feels no empathy when ordering Richter to murder everyone in a bar in the pursuit of Doug and Melina. Furthermore, the colonial governor barely makes any efforts to alleviate the conditions in which the mutants live. Why would one person dictate who should be seen as someone to be respected or not? 

Questions based on the film

1. When watching “Total Recall”, did you think Quaid was in the simulation or everything that was happening was actually real?
2. Would you pay to implant fake memories of doing something that never actually happened? Like a fabulous vacation that you could never afford in real life?
3. If you could implant false memories, what memory would you implant in your mind?

Web-links for sites that elaborate on the film’s themes or content

1) https://www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/485/980

This article elaborates about how the issues with undocumented immigrants and those issues might not be formed by them, but by the society’s perception. Also, how these people are “officially” designated as aliens by the dominant powers and those same dominant forces are the true dangers of dehumanizing other human beings. It tries to bring realization to the readers the reason as why we devote this much time, efforts and resources for their removal when they’re “crying” for help and just trying to have a better life for them or their family. It links to the movie because the dehumanization of the Martians by the dominant forces on Mars who had all of the social power. We can observe almost identical cases in both the movie and this article. 

2) https://staff.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/sciam.htm

This article talks about how a psychologist accessed the mind of a vulnerable child and implanted false memory of her many abortions of fetuses through the rape of her father. She came to believe in all of those sanity??? and actually sued her dad for it until a medical examination was made and showed this girl was still a virgin at age 22. This links to the movie because it was at a point where this girl couldn’t differentiate what was real or not since false memories were implant?? Just like Quaid, where he also finds himself confused as of what is real or what isn’t after his operation. They both bring up metaphysical questions.

WORKS CITED MAKE SURE IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Creating False Memories, staff.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/sciam.htm.

“The 'Alien Other': A Culture of Dehumanizing Immigrants in the United States.” Social Work & Society, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/485/980.

“Home.” PutLocker, www.putlockers.me/movie/total-recall-1804.html.