A philosophical review of Total Recall: varieties of skepticism

Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is uneasy. Things are not right in the world. Sure, he has a nice place to live, a decent job in construction, and a beautiful wife (Sharon Stone) -- but he has a feeling he is missing out on something, that there is something false about his life, and that his destiny is elsewhere, maybe on Mars. He watches the news, reports of terrorist attacks, and reassurances of the government that everything is under control. He dreams of walking the red soil with a woman who is not his wife. Then, he hears about the company Rekall and their promise to deliver memories on demand, and takes advantage of their "special agent" package that will give him true to life memories of having been a secret agent on Mars, attached to a woman just like the one in his dreams. The hijinks that ensue, when he apparently finds out that he really IS a secret agent from Mars, whose memories had been erased, are lots of fun. What elevates the film above similar features like Running Man is that the action (which can get pretty violent) and adventure is tied to philosophical questions about the nature of memory and knowledge, and on the power of skepticism.

You don't need to imagine high-tech corporations capable of implanting memories to realize that memory is a dubious source of knowledge. We remember selectively at best, and psychological experiments have shown that memories can be altered and manipulated. One of the basic questions the film poses is whether Quaid should trust his memory and instincts or his reason. He needs to consider which is more likely: that he is a secret agent whose memories have been erased to make him seem like a lowly construction worker or whether the memory implant he actually remembers having chosen and that would make him remember to have been a secret agent with a sleazy brunette girlfriend has simply kicked in and is malfunctioning. Reason favors the simplest explanation; but Quaid of course goes with his gut. Does he choose correctly?

The plot of the film, then centers around the basic philosophical question how can we know what we think we know. It poses this question by means of a bizarre but entertaining science fiction scenario (drawn loosely from a story by Phillip K. Dick). That the question is not merely academic for Paul Verhoeven, however, is suggested by how similar the news reports from Mars are to those that we hear (and were hearing even in 1990 when the film was released) from the middle East. On Verhoeven's Mars, a group of rebels is fighting the governmental controls of society that are intended to secure its access to "Tribinium ore" -- a tremendous source of energy. Because these rebels lack governmentally sanctioned legitimacy, their struggles to save their planet and way of life are labelled "terrorism." The parallels are obvious. The most significant brand of skepticism raised by this film is not the academic form that asks "how can I know whether I am not dreaming" but the very healthy and necessary political skepticism that asks "how far can we trust the media to present the facts about our world in an unbiased way?"' While Quaid may well be mistaken in his belief that he is really a secret agent, he is certainly right to be troubled about the distortions regarding the Middle East (um, Mars, that is) that are presented by the popular media. As with most of the best of his films (Starship Troopers, Robocop, Black Book), Paul Verhoeven presents a powerful critique of contemporary society under the guise of a lightweight entertaining popcorn flick. Definitely one to watch, both fun and enlightening.

Total Recall - Mini Review

When a man goes for virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real, or does he?

Great Sci-fi, Best Movie

When Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzennegger) an average construction worker takes a virtual vacation, memories of Mars flood back. Forcing him to travel to the Red Planet to discover his past. Quaid has to help the Resistance to free Mars from the oppressive corporation. One of Arnie's BEST movie's, plenty of violence and great FX. Great with Pizza.