Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the story of two lovers who come to know each other in different ways. Their futile and fragile relationship is explored through a non-linear story in which they both try to erase each other from their memories but fail to truly erase the feelings they share for each other. The film follows their relationship as it progresses through time showing snippets of their multiple relationships with each other, jumping between the past and present as Joel's memories of Clementine are erased. Throughout the film, Clementine's hair color changes, expressing the different phases of her and Joel's relationship. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Symbolism of Clementine's Constantly Changing Hair Color The film begins with Clementine's hair being blue, showing the beginning of their relationship and where they first meet in Montauk. This initial first hair color plays an important role in how Gondry begins to unravel the non-linear way their relationship is portrayed. As the film progresses, the viewer slowly discovers that the first time Joel and Clementine meet is instead at the end of the film, when they meet after having their memories removed. This is done by having Gondry add other little things like the dent on Joel's car that he noticed at the beginning of the film - which is revealed to have been made by Clementine when they fall and remove each other - and brought up again later his memories are removed (when the cycle returns) and the context of the dent is revealed. This is done to help the viewer better understand the non-linear narrative that Gondry carefully weaves throughout the story, sowing little seeds of foreshadowing for the viewer to discover and understand as the move progresses. After the introduction of the film, the main part of it is Joel reliving his memories of him with Clementine as their relationship breaks down. When Joel and Clementine's relationship is in the final stages of breaking up and their major relationship conflicts occur, Clementine's hair turns orange. This harsh color is shown during the film's major conflicts which mostly involve events happening outside of Joel's memories; for example, when they fall and when Clementine starts seeing Patrick Wertz her hair is orange. This is demonstrated by the transition from Clementine's first hair color, blue, when her relationship with Joel is fresh and happy, to her orange hair, with the digression of her partnership with Joel and the beginning with Patrick. The reason this is done is to further utilize the differences in her hair color to help with the changing relationship she and Joel share. Finally, during major complications and in the final parts of the film, Clementine's hair changes from a more vibrant red color to a green color. This vibrant red is prevalent during the main complication, when Joel and Clementine try to escape her dreams and her memories are erased, while the other subplots escalate towards the climax of each of their stories. This red hair shows the rekindling of their relationship where they both realize their true love for each other and its boundless nature between Joel's mind and reality. This color red is used to perpetuate the final moments of their relationship's struggle and its eventual end, the way they return to Joel's childhood memories to try to escape the erosion.