Grasping onto Reality

            After getting the basic premise of Memento within the first few minutes of watching the movie , my first thought was…”oh so its like the “highly revered” romantic comedy 50 First Dates!” Same general idea, right? Short term memory loss, can’t remember anything past a day or so. Obviously I was wrong, because unlike 50 First Dates, Memento is constantly manipulating the viewer by telling a story non-linearly, yet also non randomly. Instead of a silly romantic plot, Memento’s plot hints to the viewer a pattern in the order and repetition of clips, as well as the use of color verse black and white. Leonard, the main character, finds himself battling to hold onto truth and facts, which are constantly slipping away. After just a few minutes, it became very clear that we are watching Memento to tie together many of the themes of this semester.

            One area of the movie that I found especially intriguing is Leonard’s need to revenge even when he knows he will not be able to remember. Even after he kills John G, he cannot remember to feel the satisfaction and solace that such revenge brings to his life. Leonard’s drive for revenge does not come from a selfish personal desire, but rather it takes root in his feeling of obligation to his murdered wife. His longing for revenge even with his memory loss shows that Leonard is not one to believe in the concept of ignorant bliss. Leonard has the opportunity the take the easy way out. He can believe his wife “is only gone in the bathroom for a short time” for the remainder of his life. He can choose to forget the rape and murder, and although he will never be with his wife, he will also never see her as being gone forever. Instead, he chooses to burden himself with the truth when he reads on his chest that “John G raped and murdered your wife”. Just by looking in the mirror, Leonard destroys the potentially innocent life he has the opportunity to portray. Each important fact in Leonard’s life  is tattooed, showing his desire for the permanence of this choice to be conscious of reality

            I am looking forward to seeing how this dilemma concludes itself. Since we already know that John G has been murdered, I am very curious to see how Leonard moves on and if he finds another reason to keep himself aware of reality.  With John G killed, there is no need for Leonard to remain in the world of truth. His injury will very easily let him slip into the world of ignorance, however I don’t know if Leonard will let himself fall out of reality.