Inspiration in Movies: Mulling over Total Recall (UPDATED!)

Happy 1st Sunday of the month! Sunday is one of those days where I love to relax and put to silence the problems brought by the last couple of days, so I want to conclude this week with a mix of movie talk and inspiration. That said, let's begin:

I watched Total Recall last night. No, not the 1990s version with Dennis Quaid but the one released last year. Out of curiosity, which one is better? Personally, I have an affinity for the originals. However, I am an utter slobber-mouth for special effects--but I digress. So I was watching the movie and I could not help but revel at how the movie, though purely science fiction, astonishingly connected to my life. Maybe you were able to connect as well.

If you have seen the movie (or the advertisements), you have a basic understanding of how the story goes. If you haven't and do not want me to spoil the movie, then skip over to the next paragraph (if you can). This is not an essay, so I'll forgo the long summary and give a one sentence description. Guy lives life, guy finds out his life is a lie, guy goes against government and guy wins. Clear-cut, right?

I tend not to pay too much attention to the plot because every action flick follows a similar formula. If the protagonist is a male, he experiences some sort of external/internal conflict, undergoes a series of tedious and extraordinary trials (because that's the Hollywood way) and somehow rises to the occasion, while connecting with some sort of love interest. There is almost always a love interest in male action flicks.

To me, what really makes a movie stand out (outside of the acting) is how the protagonist overcomes these trials. In T.R, the protagonist, Carl Hauser, leaves a series of hints to help his alter ego, Doug Quaid, find his way. At this time, the alter ego had established some sort of life for himself that he believed to be a reflection of him. That got me wondering. As an immigrant turned U.S citizen, I came to America at a very young age. Then I left to experience the wonders of cultures in other countries throughout Europe and Africa. Regardless of the place, I heard stories of how America was a land of wonders and opportunity, which made me always want to come back. A decade later, I took my first steps on U.S soil as I entered the boarding docks of Bush Intercontinental Airport. Once I left the airplane, I had unconsciously decided to become American. I would eat like an American. I would act like an American. I would talk like an American. But I had not realized that I could only be SO American. I took on the various ideals of a melting pot culture--ideals that personified the right of a person to live the life he or she chooses.

As history had it, I became a Roman. But at what cost? Flash forward eight years. At this time, I was in college pursuing a career in engineering and I had become somewhat discontent with my life. I maintained my cheery facade, smiling at people as I walked down the roads of Houston. However, I had become wary of people in general. I had established a level of "personal space", making sure that I had distance between me and whoever I was talking to. Every time I tried to break that space, I would become horribly uncomfortable. It got to a point where I could not get too close to my family members. The idea of it still vexes me.

Maybe you're thinking, "hey that's quite normal. That's just you being cautious." Well in my culture, before I converted to the American ideal, I had been taught to remain close to my family. When I mean "family", I do not just mean the immediate family (brothers, sisters, mom and dad). I also mean aunties, uncles, and cousins of as many generations and my parents could date. So this was a major tipping point for me. I had to choose between this facade or my family. Eventually, I chose the latter.

Now, here is where Total Recall and I connected. Hauser  planted clues in the form of friends, trinkets and music. These items subsequently brought Quaid closer to finding himself. I personally do not have close enough friends that can juggle my memory due to the fact that I moved a lot as a child and had little time to secure a relationship that could withstand the test of time. Overseas communication is very costly, you know. But I had a litany of odd habits, that I had placed in the form of poems, musical pieces and stories. Up to this day, I can read a poem I wrote when I was eight and somehow feel the same way I did when I wrote it. After reading the poem, if I was conflicted in a matter, I would somehow come to a resolution that would leave me remarkably satisfied. So I continued to, slowly but surely, reconnect with the once-foreign me. Now I have attained enough of my former self to reestablish connections with my family and find some level of peace.

That being said, I want to impart a little inspiration to those who want it. For those of you who don't, read it all the same, nod your head like you care (or chuckle a little) and continue with whatever you were doing before you found this article. I have seen many of my cousins leave their native countries to come to America. When they get here, they try to assimilate with the culture and forget the teachings of their native land. Understand that America was made by immigrants. These immigrants did not assimilate with the Native Americans (not all of them). They maintained their culture and to some degree, forced their culture on the original denizens. Now hang on a minute! I am not saying you should try and shove your culture into other people's throats because you will start a war. However, embrace your right to a better education and a better life and respect that which brought you to this point. The law of the land will always be the law of the land, regardless of what you might want it to be. However one thing is for certain: new people and new experiences tend to come and go, replaced by better people and better experiences. But after replacing something so many times, just like a variable to a long and tedious math problem, you will get lost and look for some anchor or place of reference. Let family, tradition and upbringing be that anchor. Never forget that you might be in Rome, but a Roman did not raise you. A Spartan did.

Phew! Okay, inspirational moment over. Now it's time for me to address you guys with a question. Assuming you were placed in a similar scenario as Carl Hauser, how would you go about regaining your memories? What items would you use?

Updated:
Here is the trailer to the movie, courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Please show your appreciation to them by liking the trailer here.

TOTAL RECALL - Official Trailer - In Theaters August 3rd