Your assignment did get through to the Tips list on Mail Archive.
Having looked at it, let me make a few points.
(1) As the Wikipedia entry for the movie "Memento" states,
there are "special editions" of the movie and among the
special features are (a) Christopher Nolan's commentary
track which provides additional information about the scenes
and characters, and (b) the ability to show the film in linear
chronological order, in contrast to the backward nonlinear
presentation used in the theatrical release. The U.S. special
edition DVD is in a holder that looks like a hospital file
folder. I would suggest that anyone who uses movies in
their courses, they always listen to the director's commentary
track if one is provided because the director will reveal
points that will surprise most viewers because what the
viewer can infer from a scene can/will be different from
what the director intended. The Wikipedia entry for the
movie is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_(film)
(2) Central to the film is the role of Leonard as an
"unreliable narrator", that is, if though this character
may provide most of the important information in
the movie, the character is written to provide misinformation
and misdirection. In some movies or stories/novels or
other works of fiction, it is unclear what the "truth" is
because even the unreliable may no longer know what
actually happened and what is imagined. See the
Wikipedia entry for more on the use of unreliable
narrator; note that at the end of the entry, the graphic
novel "Batman: The Killing Joke" which has the Joker
recount his life story end with the Joker admitting he
doesn't know which parts of what he has said is true. See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreliable_narrator
(3) The point about Lenny being an unreliable narrator
is important because in the movie the distinction is made
that anterograde amnesia can be caused either because
of physical damage to certain brain areas or have a
psychogenic (i.e., it is only a psychological state, comparable
to the Freudian notion of repression). In story, the insurance
company will pay if the amnesia is physical but not if it is
"psychological" -- the point being that "if it is all in your mind"
it is not real; an extension Cartesian dualism that continue
to be used (especially by insurance company because they
pay out more for "real" medical conditions and less for
"psychological" conditions). Most of the movie leads the
viewer to think that physical damage is the reason why
Lenny has anterograde amnesia but by the end it is apparent
that Lenny's condition is psychogenic, casting doubt on
anything that he has said.
(4) Being able to see the movie in its original backwards
mode and in it's forward mode helps to make clear that
the backwards mode is far more cognitive demanding,
especially when events occur that contradict the narrative
up to that point (it is like processing a "garden path sentence"
where the interpretation of the sentient has to be discarded
and a new one developed when the last word in the sentence
reveals that "invited interpretation" of the sentence is wrong).
In the forward mode, events are less surprising, more accurate
interpretations can be made, and so on. Quoting the Wiki
entry on negative critical response to the movie:
|However, not all critics were impressed with the film's structure.
|Marjorie Baumgarten wrote, "In forward progression, the narrative
|would garner little interest, thus making the reverse storytelling
|a filmmaker's conceit."[55] Sean Burns of the Philadelphia Weekly
|commented that "For all its formal wizardry, Memento is
|ultimately an ice-cold feat of intellectual gamesmanship. Once
|the visceral thrill of the puzzle structure begins to wear off, there's
|nothing left to hang onto. The film itself fades like one of
|Leonard's temporary memories."[56] While Roger Ebert gave
|the film a favorable three out of four stars, he did not think it
|warranted multiple viewings. After watching Memento twice,
|he concluded that "Greater understanding helped on the plot level,
|but didn't enrich the viewing experience. Confusion is the state
|we are intended to be in."[57] Jonathan Rosenbaum disliked
|the film, and commented in his review of Eternal Sunshine of the
|Spotless Mind that Memento is a "gimmicky and unpoetic
|counterfeit" of Alain Resnais's 1968 film Je t'aime, je t'aime.[58]
Roger Ebert's comment that the film does not hold up after two
or so viewings is important because Nolan wanted the viewer to
experience the kind of confusion Lenny might be experiencing
because of his condition. But once one has a better idea of what
is going on, the confusion disappears (unless one doesn't pay
attention) and the story itself become less interesting, especially
in comparison with other noir style films.
(5) Perhaps the most important point to make about the movie
is if one treats it uncritically and simply as entertainment, one
might be fooled into thinking it is an exceptional film but as soon
as one realizes what tricks are used, how the view is being
manipulated (and can only be manipulated once because once
one knows what is going on, they no longer can be manipulated;
what that old saying: "Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice,
won't get fooled again" ;-)., and what the real storyline is, the
movie loses much of its power. As a comparison, action adventure
films that have lots of special effects will often impress a naive
viewer with effects and hide the underling weak storyline (e.g.,
any Transformer movie). For a comparison of two films that deal
with the same topic, compare the movie "Armageddon" and
"Sudden Impact" -- the first movie is a special effects lovefest
while the latter is human relationships, coming to resolutions
of personal conflicts, and the acceptance of one's future (or
one's inability to accept it). Needless to say, "Armageddon",
a classic "Hollywood Movie" (not a positive label) made tons
or money while "Sudden Impact" (not to be confused with
Clint Eastwood's movie in the Dirty Harry series) has probably
still hasn't made back its cost, primarily because of it focus
on human relationships which most people find boring compared
to spectacular explosions and scenes of mass destruction.
As with many works of "art", one has to have a good knowledge
base and critical skills to interpret it properly -- but if one is just
interested in being entertained, such cognitive processing is
unnecessary, only bring your ability to emotionally respond to
scenes crafter to elicit those responses (scenes that make one
go "WOW"). "Memento" is a decent movie but it is not a great
movie. YMMV.
-Mike Palij
New York University
m...@nyu.edu
On Fri, 30 Sep 2016 17:06:06 -0700, Joan Warmbold Boggs wrote:
Bridgette asked on the PsychTeacher listserv about reflection
questions to give to students for use when viewing certain films,
one being Memento. I often have difficulty getting messages on
that listserv so thought I would simply respond via TIPS.
I love the film Memento and use it when time allows. I have
developed a worksheet with questions that I'll attach assuming
such is allowed. The film is particularly instructive as there are
examples of behaviors of the protagonist, Leonard, that are not
realistic for a person with anterograde amnesia as well as those
that are reasonably representative of someone with this type of
memory issue. Enjoy.
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