While watching Memento, I was immediately at unease when I looked at Leonard's life and how he handled himself, specifically in regards to how he would interpret the world every time he "woke up". He was entirely at the mercy of the system he created for himself, a system - though better than that of Jenkis - not free from manipulation.
I viewed the crossing off of the line on Natalie's photo (the one prompted by where Teddy originally tells Leonard not to trust her which then has him cross check Teddy's photo which then has him cross it out) as the most glaring evidence of manipulation. There are three forces at work here. Current Leonard's, who decides how to act and who to trust, Teddy, who to Leonard could be anyone, and previous Leonard, or what remnants we see of his existence scattered in his pictures and notes. A flaw in any one of these three systems can start a very poor decision to be made.
Current Leonard reminds me of a child. He is thrust into situations he doesn't understand how to handle, and has to use context clues and vague hints do understand how to proceed. In a way, he is "reborn" every time he wakes up and has to start making tough decisions again. Leonard just seems so prone to manipulation. In the way a child believes everything he or she reads, so does Leonard, as evidenced by him shooting Teddy.
I really like how you stated the complexities of having past and present Leonard. This is yet another connection to previously discussed topics in the semester. Just like Consuelo and Aura co-exist as the same person in different moments in time, parts of Leonard seep through to the present. His mind lives only in the past, but he exists in the present moment in a world that keeps moving forward. The identities of Consuelo/Aura and Leonard are tied to time, both clinging to the past while devising their own methods of how to live and cope in the present.
ReplyDelete