DO I LIE TO MYSELF TO BE HAPPY? BUDDHIST AND PLATONIC THEMES IN THE FILM, MEMENTO

1. DO I LIE TO MYSELF TO BE HAPPY? BUDDHIST AND PLATONIC THEMES IN THE FILM, MEMENTO NATHAN ARROYO DANIEL DE GUZMAN KIDES DEL ROSARIO NIKKA PENUS JEREMIAH SAN PEDRO

2. MEMENTO

3. What to you are the central themes in Plato’s allegory of the cave? KIDES DEL ROSARIO The central themes in Plato’s allegory of the cave are how we as humans perceive reality  from what is basically an illusion. That what we think is true may not even be true its just our minds telling us it is because we have no other way of thinking what is true. We probably do this to assure ourselves and not believe things we don’t want to believe, for example denial, we think what we think is true because we don’t want to think otherwise.

4. What to you are the central themes in Plato’s allegory of the cave? NIKKA PENUS The central themes in Plato’s allegory of the cave are the way we see things. Specifically, on how we see things as a reality. Sometimes we believe on the things we knew to be real to make us satisfied and happy. Most of the time, we do not want to hear the truth because this will make us feel ignorant. People are scared about the truth, as we should be, it is so uncertain.

5. What to you are the central themes in Plato’s allegory of the cave? JEREMIAH SAN PEDRO The allegory of the cave is about how people see reality. Sometimes, we rely on illusions rather than truth to comfort ourselves from the reality. It is also about the role of philosophers in our society to enlighten those who need enlightenment. Like in the cave, there was a man who sent outside to understand what really is the shadows that was in the wall.

6. How does the mind separate false reality from true reality? KIDES DEL ROSARIO Have you ever watched the movie Inception? That movie is one way of explaining the answer to this question because in the movie Leonardo Di Caprio tested inception with his wife. It came to a point where the wife believed she wasn’t really living her life so she killed herself to wake up from the dream. In the movie his kids were the key to making him believe that he was living in reality and not a dream. I think people set standards for themselves to differentiate what is real from what is not.

7. How does the mind separate false reality from true reality? KIDES DEL ROSARIO Like when we dream, of course we dream about things that go beyond our standards and we wake up and see that it really isn’t there. We fantasize about things we can’t have and we come back into our lives we see that those things we fantasized aren’t really there. The mind see’s things and may perceive them to be real, like ghost, but we aren’t sure that they are there, but when the mind sees it, it believes its true, but when the mind doesn’t see it, then it isn’t true.

8. How does the mind separate false reality from true reality? DANIEL DE GUZMAN Before knowing how the mind separates both false and true reality, we first must know the difference between the two. Well duh one between two is real the other is not. Well before actually adding the “false” and “true” to describe reality. Reality is defined as the world or state of things as they actually exist. Then adding false to reality somewhat confuses the meaning. False reality is the world or state of things as they actually exist but is false?

9. How does the mind separate false reality from true reality? DANIEL DE GUZMAN So meaning that false reality is the reality in which the mind may think it to be true as reality can be but then is very much not according with the truth or the facts. As for true reality, well true reality is the state in which everything actually exists. After knowing the two, the mind has a way of separating the two. The mind separates false reality from true reality by distinguishing what is truly real. As in what actually exists.

10. How does the mind separate false reality from true reality? DANIEL DE GUZMAN Examples are dreams, memories, hopes, ideas, illusions, feelings and such. The mind is so complex that it gives us these things that may seem so real yet it is not. In dreams, some come true and most don’t. Though dreams just seem so real, they just do but then you wake up to reality. This is where the mind comes in and separates the false and the truth. Same goes with the rest. The illusion of something that could be possibly be real though knowing it will never happen is when reality hits.

11. The movie closes with Lenny saying, “We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.” Lenny’s “mirrors” were his memory devices. What sort of “mirrors” do people with normal memories rely on to remind themselves who they are? KIDES DEL ROSARIO In the movie Lenny has these tattoos all over his body to help him each day when he wakes up he looks at the mirror and see’s these tattoos to help him remember what happened to him and what his intentions are.

13. KIDES DEL ROSARIO This basically describes who he has become and each day he looks into the mirror is a reminder of that. The sort of “mirrors” people with normal memories rely on would be our family and close friends. These people that we’ve been with for so long will always bring us back home to our true selves. They are a constant reminder of who we are and how we were raised, family and friends will always be there till the end and for me they are reminders of who I am as a person because without them I probably wouldn’t be me.

14. The movie closes with Lenny saying, “We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.” Lenny’s “mirrors” were his memory devices. What sort of “mirrors” do people with normal memories rely on to remind themselves who they are? NIKKA PENUS The “mirrors” of those people with normal memories are the people who are close to him like his families and friends. This is basically how these people around us see what kind of person we were before and we are right now. They are those people we share most of our time and they are the people we make our memories with.

15. The movie closes with Lenny saying, “We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.” Lenny’s “mirrors” were his memory devices. What sort of “mirrors” do people with normal memories rely on to remind themselves who they are? JEREMIAH SAN PEDRO Another “mirror” is our attitude. It shows how we deal with other people. It serves as a reminder on what we have learned as grow up. It also helps in molding our personality and makes us show other people how we grew as a person inspired with certain values that makes us unique from other people.

16. When Lenny jots down Teddy’s license number, he asks: “Do I lie to myself to be happy? In your case, Teddy... yes, I will.” What does that say about truth? DANIEL DE GUZMAN We always accept lies to be happy. Who doesn’t. From a lyric I remember “It’s okay not to be okay” So in a way... “Real eyes realize the real lies”. No one likes to be sad. Saying that “It is better if you don’t know.” Means that it will hurt you more if you found out. But that is how truth works. The truth really hurts.

17. When Lenny jots down Teddy’s license number, he asks: “Do I lie to myself to be happy? In your case, Teddy... yes, I will.” What does that say about truth? JEREMIAH SAN PEDRO We tend to accept lies in order to make ourselves comfortable with what life has to offer us. Sometimes, these illusions makes us more stronger by how we deal with life.

18. Discuss how Lenny’s actions follow closely either some of the 4 Noble Truths or all of them. NATHAN ARROYO