Alternate theory on "Total Recall" 1990

replicaprops

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RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
There is this debate on "Was it real or a Dream" I know, it's dumb, and there are statements out there from the director that it was intentional that you can think either and be correct.

I was watching it again the other day and during the implant scene where the techs show Quaid the images on the monitor, we see the reactor and Melina. Which tells us they are about to implant those memories into Quaid and therefore everything moving forward is a dream. Then, in the next scene the Tech tells the boss that they had not even implanted the ego trip program yet so his reaction was a result of being previously memory capped. This makes the view conclude it's all real from that point on. That is the intentional misleading evidence to fuel the "Was it real" debate.

What if it is much simpler. Obviously, the business model of Recall is to copy the memories of a real person who did these amazing things, then sell those memories to customers. So where did they get the "Blue sky on Mars" ego trip memories? Obviously, they got it from Hauser. Being that things "Rarely F' Up" in the implantation procedure, it would take a rare event, such as attempting to implant a memory in a person who originally supplied those memories. So maybe, the reason Quaid had such a reaction, was because the "Blue sky on Mars" Ego trip was actually his own memories leading up to the point where he had is memory capped, and the story we see on screen is real from that point forward.

Just my theory, but thought I'd share.
 
Could be. :thumbsup

As you pointed out that is what is so great about that film, so many possibilities
 
Isn't that a paradox?

I'm confused

If I read this correctly, the theory goes like this.

Hauser gets his memory wiped as part of his undercover mission to become Quaid. The memories get into Rekall's hands (possibly because they did the memory wipe themselves), and Rekall uses them as part of its "Secret Agent" ego trip.

Quaid is stationed with Lori (Sharon Stone) as his "wife," and lives in his construction job for a while, until he gets an itch to go to Mars, and visits a local Rekall facility. While there, he's told "We have a great package for you! Try the Secret Agent," and they attempt to re-implant Quaid/Hauser's own memories, which causes the process to go awry, and after which everything in the film is real.


The other possibility, of course, is that as soon as we cut away to the sequence of the Rekall salesman in the other room talking to the potential customer, that's where the ego trip starts, and everything after that is a false memory.


At the end of the day, there's no way to know, and while it's fun to think about, I ultimately don't think it matters to the enjoyment of the film.
 
Still doesn't work becuswe he would have to had memories that were not created until after Rekall tried to re-implant them
 
What I was saying is, the blue sky on mars story, was what played out before Hauser had his memory capped. What happens to Quaid is not the blue sky on mars storyline as it was copied from Hauser. Quaids ultimate outcome was a totally new experience.
 
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