Memento

Memento is a captivating and beautifully written movie that incorporates the subject of amnesia and short term memory loss. The audience is enabled to view Leonard’s world through pieces of information he has gathered on post it notes, polaroid shots he takes of people and places, and tattoos on his body. Although the movie grasps many of the concepts of anterograde amnesia, some parts have been exaggerated and are unrealistic.

The main character in the movie is an ex-insurance investigator, Leonard, who is suffering from anterograde amnesia. His condition is the result of a home invasion in which he was hit in the head in an attempt to save his wife from the intruders. The movie introduces the events in an atypical fashion by showing the ending first and moving backwards. Throughout the movie, Leonard repeatedly mentions the story of Sammy Jenkins. However, it later becomes clear that Sammy’s story is really Leonard’s story with a twist. Leonard mentions that “Sammy” was not organized and did not have a set system of writing down his memories before forgetting them. If an individual rehearses information then it can ideally stay in short term memory indefinitely. Instances of rehearsal are viewed several times throughout the movie where Leonard will repeat something until he can find a pen to write it down. However, if rehearsal is prohibited, then information in short term memory can only last for 15-30 seconds. Furthermore, information loss from short-term memory is thought to be due to interference. An example of this is seen in the movie when Leonard is repeating information to himself until he can find a pen but a sound interferes with his train of thought and he forgets everything. Moreover, Leonard believes he can surv...

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... John G, knowing at the time that he was only lying to himself to make himself feel happy. Therefore, without any limitations on our memories we can allow ourselves to believe anything. Furthermore, our memories are indeed interpretations in every sense. Not only do we have the opportunity to distort information during the encoding phase but also our memories are laced with the context and emotion in which the memory is taking place. Therefore, every memory that we have is our interpretation of that context. If two individuals experienced the same event, their memories of it would differ greatly.

All in all, the movie Memento is beautifully written and grasps the hardships of someone suffering from anterograde amnesia. Although the movie is exaggerated anda product of Hollywood, it does incorporate a few instances where anterograde amnesia is portrayed accurately.