Memento: A Reminder of Death

When I learned that our class would be spending two periods watching a movie called "Memento," I double-checked the spelling of the title. Was the word spelled like "momento" in spanish, or "memento," like the phrase I've learned about in Art History, "Memento Mori?" I quickly learned the movie title was spelled like the ladder, as in "Memento Mori." From what I have learned in Art History classes, the expression "memento mori" translates to something like "Remember that you will die." Developing with the growth of Christianity, the phrase was a symbolic reminder of the inevitability of death. In fact, early-Christian artists portrayed a skull in their works to portray this quickly growing and popularizing idea.  (I also just learned that you can add pictures to this blog post, so if you want to search for the skull in this early-Christian work, check it out).

In relating this idea to Momento, I can see that the inevitability of death is present both literally and figuratively. From the very beginning of the movie, we learn from a polaroid photo that someone was killed, and later understand that the man's name was "John G." who was shot and killed by Leonard. Thus, the audience immediately learns the ending at the very beginning. Here lies the theme of the inevitability of death; we know from the start that John G. dies, the question is just a matter of when. Another instance of where I noticed the theme of "memento mori" is a more abstract example. Even though viewers don't witness it, Leonard metaphorically dies when he loses his short-term memory. His anterograde amnesia limits him from developing new memories after the trauma was inflicted upon him, and therefore emotionally dies because he cannot really live life to the fullest. Leonard might be physically breathing, but he no longer has the ability to live on a deeper, emotional level. There is even a scene in the movie where Leonard's friend/helper Teddy alludes to this idea. Leonard recalls the incident when his wife was killed and his short-term memory was destroyed, saying, "He destroyed my ability to live," in which Teddy responds, "You're living now." Leonard then fires back: "Only for revenge."