[Unstagram] The Desire to Be Remembered

In the astonishing film Mad Max: Fury Road, Nux (Nicholas Hoult), a reformed 'war boy,' desperately tells Immortan Joe's beloved wife, "Remember me!" just before he perishes alongside the enemy. Early in the movie, when a war boy throws himself at the enemy, he says, "Remember my courage," and other war boys respond, "We will remember." The promise of memory was their final encouragement, and they believed that being remembered by others lasts longer than life itself.

Of course, this is the creator's worldview. While villains' inner selves are often not well portrayed in films, in the real world, those consumed by events or relationships also have their own selves and long lives. The desire to be remembered by someone at the absolute moment of that self seems natural. The relationships ending with "Remember me" and "I will remember" in films are countless but usually focus on notable characters.

I cannot know for sure that people will remember me, but the vague expectation that someone will remember me can provide some strength to overcome the current hurdle.

However, in the latest Mad Max installment, Furiosa, the war boys’ "Remember me" and "I will remember" are abundant. The war boys meet their glorious ends by throwing themselves into bombs and infernos everywhere. In the end, all perish, and there are no war boys left to remember them, nor does the promise to remember remain?it vanishes into thin air. The expectation fulfilled its role only as an expectation.

Captain Vidal and Ophelia ['Pan's Labyrinth' Still Cut]

In the film Pan's Labyrinth, Captain Vidal, the stepfather who shot Ofelia, utters his dying wish: "Tell my son the day I died," but the villagers who avenge him say, "Your child will grow up not even knowing your name." From the perspective of life alone, this may seem meaningless, but if it was an expectation to live a continuous life through the remembrance of his son, it changes the meaning.

War Boy Nux (left) and Furiosa [Still cut from 'Mad Max: Fury Road']

People’s words were a punishment that trampled even that. There may be punishments beyond death for humans. Conversely, the expectation that even after I disappear, someone will remember and honor me is a hope that there is something beyond the end, and it can be a comfort to endure that final moment.

Unlike tigers, humans leave behind not only their names but also photographs after death. As a trigger for memory, photographs are milestones of time and relationships. Taking photos is both a desire to show oneself now and an expectation to be remembered in the future.