A long time ago, I discovered I was lactose intolerant. However, I was sure that this diagnosis could not be true. So I continued to drink milk and eat ice cream and cheese. Naturally, I continued to get sick. However, I always made up various excuses for why I was getting sick. I refused to believe that I was lactose intolerant. One day I realized I could not deny it any longer. Even though I truly believed I wasn’t lactose intolerance, the reality of the situation was that I was lactose intolerant. It is often said that we only believe what we want to believe. We choose to see and hear only certain ideas and opinions, while blocking out all other ideas that are unfavorable to us. Memento explores the ramifications of this wishful thinking by illustrating the devastating effects on a man who literally lives his life only believing what he wants to believe.
Leonard, the main character, has short-term amnesia. Therefore, he keeps a physical record of every “fact” he wants to remember. Unfortunately, he wanted to believe that Teddy, an undercover cop, was lying, so he recorded Teddy to be a liar. As a result of believing that Teddy was a liar, Leonard based many of his decisions upon this knowledge, which led Leonard in a downward spiraling path leading to the death of Teddy. This murder of Teddy occurred because Leonard actually fooled himself into believing Teddy was a liar.
Our minds are so powerful that, sometimes, when we tell ourselves to believe in things that aren’t true, we actually start believing them. While Leonard is an extreme example of this phenomenon, he effectively demonstrates how easily our brains can accept falsehoods as truths. The bad consequences occur when we begin acting upon this false notion of truth, like when I continued to consume dairy, which was detrimental to my health. As this movie demonstrates, the ability of the mind to fool itself is quite powerful.
While I certainly believe in the power of the mind in making these decisions, I would argue that Leonard doesn't accept falsehoods but merely believes that he will perpetuate their falsity in order to live with a purpose. Leonard makes the conscious choice to live with his actions and has no choice to accept this falsehood. Instead of the mind actually fooling itself, I feel like this is much more of a conscious decision to make a choice no matter the consequences.
ReplyDeleteWhereas you could easily forget and manipulate memories to act in your favor, it's by far, much harder to have your mind convince your body that you can have dairy. Yet, could you slowly train your body to tolerate dairy?
ReplyDeleteFor example, your dominant writing hand can be forced to change. It used to be that lefties were abnormalities. Many were forced to believe that there was a "right way" and to change what felt natural to them. Another example would be eating disorders, with the mind overpowering what your bodily needs.