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The Final Cut. is a fantastic movie. If you can get to see it, you really should. In the world of the movie, there are these implants that parents can purchase for their children. From birth to death, the implant records everything that the person sees or hears. When the person dies, an editor goes through the person’s life to distil everything down to the essence of the person. Family and friends then gather to watch these as sort of a memorial.

With that as a premise, the movie is able to explore a lot of really interesting ideas. How are our memories of an event different from the actual event? How can memories of an event shape who we are? What are the implications for society in a world where every single moment is being recorded and could be viewed at some later date?

I found it all very thought provoking because I’ve noticed in myself a tendency to experience an event very differently when I’m there with a camera. Rather than being there in the moment, it’s almost as if I’m there in my memory — constructing how I’m going to remember it as it happens.

I would love to have augmented memory — sort of a life TiVo that would let me rewind a couple minutes, hours, years whatever. That’s not what the implants in the movie are though. The people can’t access them. In most cases, they don’t even know they have them until they’re told sometime around their 21st birthday when they have to come to terms with the idea that all the things they did as kids will be viewed by somebody when they die. I would absolutely hate something like that. It’s really interesting to think about though.

If you like thinking about stuff like that, then i would highly recommend this movie.