On Repeat, March 2 Blog

Reading Summary

In this podcast, they discuss the notion of repetition and how it affects people in different ways. They begin the podcast by playing a skit performed by Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Shaal and in the skit we hear Braunohler singing an obnoxious and rather irritating song as Shaal danced around in a horse costume. The comedians explained that the audience was confused at first and did not laugh until they repeated the dance five more times. The audience then continued laughing but then the laughter slowly died out as they continued to sing. Then, nine to eleven times later, the audience began to laugh once more. The audience assumed that this skit would be funny and would eventually change or transition into something else. They were wrong, however, and the skit continued and the audience did not find it funny anymore. The second portion of the podcast discusses a rather sad story of a woman named Christine Campbell and her mother, Mary Sue. One day, Christine got a call from her mother expressing her concerns about the date and seeing things that were not physically there. Christine then called the paramedics because she instantly thought her mother had a stroke but we later find out that the doctors diagnosed her with transient global amnesia. This type of amnesia is a memory loss that is inconsistent and can leave Mary Sue up to twenty four hours without creating new memories. What was really interesting was that within those twenty four hours, Christine would have the same conversation with her mother which always started with Mary Sue asking what the date was. Christine would respond with the appropriate date and Mary Sue responded with “I missed my birthday!” and always said “darn!” in the same expression every time. This was a constant cycle, a broken record that Christine had to endure with her mother for the twenty hour span. The notion of repetition here is evident in that Mary Sue’s brain is constantly starting over and forgetting a conversation that had lasted two minutes prior. 

Outside Example

This unfortunate story instantly reminded me of the famous movie, 50 First Dates, that starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. In this movie, Drew Barrymore’s character, Lucy, was in a terrible car accident that caused her to have severe memory loss. Adam Sandler’s character, Henry, is in love with Lucy but eventually finds out that she forgets him every day. Lucy’s short-term memory only lasts a day and as soon as she falls asleep, her brain “reboots” back to the day the amnesia began. As a result, Lucy’s father and brother repeat the day Lucy lost her memory so that Lucy never has to endure the pain of finding out what happened to her. The father and brother have copies of the old newspaper, make her the same breakfast every morning, and celebrate her dad’s birthday all on the same day that the accident occurred. The idea of repetition is evident here as Henry and Lucy’s family help give Lucy a happy life by having the same events occur everyday. 

Reading Connection

The podcast’s purpose was to discuss the notion of repetition and how much control we initially have over our actions. Mary Sue had to repeat the same dialogue within twenty four hours because she is constantly forgetting the day and her location. This is similar to the movie 50 First Dates because Lucy has short-term memory loss and forgets everything that happened the day before. These two examples highlight the importance of how our brain is so powerful and how we still have so much to learn from it. Overall, the idea that our brains are such an impactful part of our bodies and lives in that it controls and reminds us of things that have happened in the past and that we are the only ones who have control over our own thoughts.