A Psychological Viewpoint on Memento - 846 Words

Memento is an American psychological thriller adapted from a short story, Memento Mori written by James Nolan. The story displays the life of Leonard Shelby. Shelby has anterograde Amnesia brought about by an injury to his head. He suffered this injury while confronting two people who attacked his wife at their home in the middle of the night. Leonard kills one of the attackers during the attack, although the second one escapes. Due to the injury and resultant amnesia, the last thing Leonard remembers is his wife dying. He is unable to remember new information after that day. The movie shows how he devotes his life to finding and killing the second attacker. The movie uses a unique presentation style where the director starts with a†¦show more content†¦This focus seemed to motivate him to carry on, and gave him a purpose to live. Problem Shelby, suffers from a rare form of amnesia which makes him incapable of creating new memories. Any bit of information he learns since his injury must be recorded or will be quickly forgotten. Due to his memory problem, he would often find himself lost at places. He’d ask himself questions like â€Å"Why am I here?† or â€Å"What was I doing?† He often made errors in judgment if the information or clues available to him were incomplete. He was also slightly paranoid; he didn’t trust new people and avoided new situations. This is why he had no social life and only a couple of people he could trust. Since his condition prevents him from creating new memories Leonard uses a clever system of Notes, Polaroid photos, and Tattoos to record clues which may lead him to finding the man who killed his wife. Every morning he would wake up and the body tattoos will remind him of what happened and what his mission is. He will use post it notes, polaroid pictures to rec onstruct what he was doing and what he needs to do today. He followed some simple rules – focus on the objective and take short notes and picture of relevant clues after key events. But the fact that Shelby was aware of his condition made life even more challenging. Since he was AWARE of his condition he forced himself to live a very structured routine; every morning he’d wake up study and observe his bodyShow MoreRelatedThe Convention of a Thriller Film Essay1737 Words   |  7 Pagescomprised of three main parts: order and normality, then something happens where disorder occurs and finally equilibrium is restored, usually by a hero. Thrillers can be divided into countless categories, i.e., action thrillers, psychological thrillers, millitary thrillers, spy thrillers, and the list goes on. Its easier to recognise a thriller than to describe it. There are some general characteristics that most have. They usually include a plot that concerns life or deathRead More Combining Thrilling and Killing:Use of Violence in Psychological Thrillers2779 Words   |  12 PagesCombining Thrilling and Killing:Use of Violence in Psychological Thrillers As we speak, there is a man holding a gun to the back of your head. The cold muzzle stings the tender skin of your scalp and blood trickles to the floor from where the handcuffs have cut into your wrists. Your heart, sensing death approaching, struggles in vain to slip through its cage of ribs and run screaming into the night, much like how the scream just behind your eyes makes your vision blur and muscles twitchRead MoreFamily Harmony1979 Words   |  8 Pagesand regulations have some difference. Husband and wife both may credit love, friendship, Hospitality, Adjustment, Sacrifice, more help and mutual understanding in this account. These are the investments. Presenting various surprise gifts, mementos are F.D in this account. In every investment and F.D, the credit will multiply and balance will be very high. In any time, anyone may debit any small amount by way of using hard words, Criticism, acquiescing, quarrelling, act out of way ofRead More The Relationship of Photographs, History, and Memory Essay5378 Words   |  22 Pagesinevitably every photograph is a certificate of presence (1981, 87), and photographs anticipate the decisive moment of convergence, when the past meets reality. For Susan Sontag (1973, 15) such a convergence is a reminder that all photographs are memento mori, and she adds that to take a photograph is to participate in another persons mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Under these circumstances the practice of photography becomes an intensely personal experience that exposes photographer and