This past week we watched Christopher Nolan’s film, Memento in class. This film is based on the concept of an individual’s memory and how memories can be formulated, shaped, and distorted. This is similar to what I mentioned in my previous journal entry about humans having “selective memory.” The main character in Memento, Leonard, is not able to create new memories since his “incident”, which was when his wife was murdered and his head was slammed against a wall. At the end of the movie, Leonard says that at times he chooses to lie to himself because it easier to do that than to face the reality of his actions. Other characters in the film, such as Natalie and Teddy, take advantage of Leonard’s condition and manipulate him into doing what they want. Through this process, Leonard becomes a murderer, but he chooses to lie to himself and say that he is only avenging the assault and murder of his wife.
Memento is an extremely difficult film to follow because Christopher Nolan does not present the events in a chronological order. I believe that Nolan is able to hide plot-holes in the film because the viewers are so preoccupied with trying to understand what is going on, that they fail to recognize the reality of certain events occurring. For example, Leonard’s head is slammed against a wall, which causes him to not be able to remember anything more than 10-15 minutes into the past. Even though he cannot remember anything from the accident, he is able to remember the limitations of his memory condition and also that he is on a manhunt for the man that murdered his wife. Memory is a dangerous thing. If we are unable to remember anything that has happened to us, then it is difficult to trust those around us because we would have no prior knowledge of who they are or what their relationship to us is.