Memento - What if we don’t remember ourselves?
#movie
#film
#memento
#christopher nolan
I watched Memento (the movie) few times. Okay, that’s a good movie. I know, you know and everyone knows. 😄 But I couldn’t catch what the movie wants to say until this time. But this time, I think I found the message (or I felt the message from myself)
Finally I felt something!
So I want to tell you my thoughts about what Memento (the movie) wants to say.
I think the movie wants to say “What if we don’t remember ourselves?”
We live. We think. So we exist. (Maybe you heard this kind of sentence)
Okay “We live”. That’s good. Simple. How about “We think”? Think what? Think from where? And “Who” think? That’s the main point I guess. “Who” think?
“We” Think. Yeah WE THINK. and I THINK. and YOU THINK.
Every people has different mind. Nobody has the same mind. That’s our signature and character. That’s unique.
Nobody can replace somebody.
That’s the important point. We exist, and we think. Or We exist, and we feel. We think and feel while we’re alive DIFFERENTLY.
And after we think or feel, we remember them. Memory is our footprint. Memory can define our life. Because we start to feel or think since we are out of our mother’s belly!
So as a result
- We think (or we feel)
- Our brain remember what we thought (or what we felt)
- That’s memory
- Memory is our life. Because we can think or feel from memory again.
- Memory is kind of a photo album of our brain.
But, our brain cannot remember the whole parts of our life. Because humans are animals of oblivion. But, we remember at least we can define ourselves from memories.
So let’s come back to Memento. The main character (Lenny or Lennard) is suffered from short-term memory loss. He can only remember until his wife’s death as a long-term memory. And when his wife’s was killed by the killer (or the criminal), he got short-term memory loss because of head injury when he was hit by the criminal.
So he now can only remember the life after his wife’s death as a short-term memory.
Which is why we got tattoo on his body and he started to take photos of other characters.
He tried to make a footprint of his thought and feeling, so he can catch what he did or who he met.
So what does Short-Term Memory Loss mean to Lenny?
I guess that means he (Lenny) cannot define himself after his wife’s death.
As a result, he can define himself half of his life. Nothing will be stacked on his memory. All memory after his wife’s death will be flown away.
What if we can’t or don’t remember what we did just like Lennard?
We will have no ego. We will have no life.
Will we be a free man? I mean a life without ego will give somebody freedom?
I don’t know. But Lenny is kind of hybrid. He has ego but only half of his life. (until his wife’s death)
That’s the interesting point. He will live his life forever, but in a same situations.
He will always follow the killer of his wife.