‘Memento’, Memory, and Anterograde Amnesia
Memento is a film that follows Leonard Shelby, played by Guy Pearce, who was left with a brain injury after being attacked by a man who he believes raped and killed his wife, the last memory he has. This brain injury has given Shelby anterograde amnesia, which has severely impacted his ability to form new memories.
One flaw with the movie is that Leonard says he has “no short-term memory”, but, in fact, that is all he has now, in addition to what happened prior to his accident. With anterograde amnesia, a person cannot form new memories, and short-term memory is generally spared.
Rapidly these memories fade – Leonard would have a conversation with someone, get distracted, then forget what just occurred and reintroduce himself to the individual. Different characters we meet respond to this deficit in different ways, some testing him, and some helping him out.
What’s going on with his brain?
Damage to his brain in areas such as the hippocampus, which is involved in memory formation and consolidation, and areas connected to it in the medial temporal lobes.
Leonard is searching for the man who hurt him and his wife so he can kill him, finding clues along the way. The unique thing about this film is the way it is shown to viewers. The movie starts at the end and goes backwards in ten-minute segments, with the exception of segments in black and white that are going in order from Leonard’s past of being an insurance investigator. Viewers are able to see little clips of information, not sure what to make of the different characters or if Leonard is on the right track, which shoes how someone with anterograde amnesia may experience life.
To help him solve the mystery of who raped and murdered his wife, he makes many notes in the form of taking Polaroid pictures and writing notes on the backs (such as “Don’t believe his lies”), writing on post-it notes, and tattooing himself to guide him in his quest for revenge. For the most part, one watching the movie only has the notes that Leonard has made to help understand the characters Leonard meets (and meets again) to figure out their intentions.
This is a very interesting approach to a movie and gives the viewer insight for how difficult and confusing this disorder truly is. Luckily for Leonard, his procedural memories he has already formed are unaffected by anterograde amnesia. Procedural memory is a type of memory of how to do different skills and actions, such as driving a car. They are so ingrained that they are almost automatic.
Overall, this movie does a great job of showing what it is like to have anterograde amnesia, and is told in a way that makes you want to watch it again and again. The movie takes the viewer on a ride of mystery and suspense, not knowing if Leonard will get revenge or if his disorder will get the best of him.
Related articles
- CineSci6: Memento (pubsci.co.uk)
- The Gap Between Knowledge And Awareness (pinkbananaworld.com)
- A Decent Read on Testing for those who have suffered a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (braininjuryresourcecenter.wordpress.com)
- The Caretaker: An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (Review) (popmatters.com)
I recently watched this film and it was very interesting. I really liked how the movie was split into segments, almost like we as viewers were experienceing what Lenny was in the order he was experiencing. It would be extremely hard to forget evrything beyond a certain point of your life. For him, he was frozen in the most tramautic point of his life. What sad life to live. He will never feel justice or healing in reagrds to his wife’s death.
This is an interesting condition. Could you imagine how frustrating it must be to always be left in the now? Your past always an empty memory…wow. I could not imagine trying to cope with such an injury. Respectfully, I have some constructive suggestions on your blog. The first sentence seems a little awkward to read. I think it can be reworded in order to flow a little smoother. Also, under the heading “WHAT’S GOING ON WITH HIS BRAIN?” you have a sentence discussing the hippocampus, which is fine then you go right back into the movie discussion. I feel it would have been interesting if you went into more of the neurological or physiological aspects associated with anterograde-amnesia. I would have liked to have been more informed about the condition and not necessarily the movie.
Yeah, I agree, you do go a little too much in depth about the movie and less about the actual aspects of amnesia. It comes off as more of a movie review; do I really need to know that his wife was raped and killed to grasp the main theme of the movie and learn more about his condition? Not really.
Also, I did this same topic a few days before you. Just sayin.