You are what your memory tells you. For centuries and millennia, the history of philosophy and art has been using and emphasizing the importance of memory. Winners would use a similar method to their advantage. Religious winners would erase past religious holidays and establish new ones; warlords would destroy monuments and symbols of their predecessors until someone would destroy their monuments as well; and, as was the case in Slovenia for the past decades - the authorities would try to eliminate the monuments of past struggles and achievements, to erase and alter our collective memory.
The film similarly tackles memory. Blade Runner (1982, dir. Ridley Scott) warned us that all our memories could be just a lie, an illusion, an electronic implant in our replicant robot framework where robots dream they are human. Memento (2000, dir Christopher Nolan) warned us how dangerous memory loss is and how anyone who loses or is in the process of losing memory can be manipulated by anyone, especially by people with malicious intentions. They are metaphors for human history: we don't
know who we are if we can't rely on our memory. Without it, we are merely puppets in the hands of manipulative people.
Wake Me continues the tradition of pointing out the importance of memory using a micro-story of an individual. However, it gives us a broader understanding, a warning to the community, the nation or even the continent: a warning against the many dark hidden parts of our memory, many of which would be more convenient to forget. Without memory and the awareness of who we used to be and what we have done, we cannot tackle the future. We will continue to repeat old mistakes, which will lead us to horrifying realizations of who we were but will also help us decide what and who we want to be. By memory, we can recall our past, define our present, and help us step into the future.
The instrument for remembering the past is crucial in creating a (better) future. Wake me up from the past in order to move towards the future.
Dr. Marko Milosavljevic, professor of jurnalism and social sciences
