Unfortunately I was unable to attend class last week. I did however, go and find this film online and watch it in order to stay up to date with the class. At first I did not realize that the film had started at the end with what would traditionally be the beginning in most movies. In this case I was lost. But I than noticed how the film progressed toward what was the beginning and "ended". The use of reverse chronology was very creative and I very much enjoyed that because it kept my mind guessing on what had happened in order to come to that specific scenario.
Lenny, who was for the most part the main character of the film, was very disturbed I believe. What I got out of from the film was he had schizophrenia or some type of mental illness. Something in his mind was missing in order for him to not realize that he had written all of these notes. I noticed how he would do something, and than completely forget he had done it just moments later. This film was meant to be a mystery and not really have a closer. It is left wide open for your mind to still question certain things even after the movie has ended.
I would also like to add the I very much so enjoy these blogs. I would have never used a blog before this class, and now I can't get enough. I find them to be extremely helpful when I do not understand something.
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In the film Leonard's condition is described and explained. He does not have schizophrenia or some type of mental illness. He suffers from anterograde amnesia (the term is mentioned at least once and described several times) as a result of a blow to the head suffered during a home robbery. This has left him with a damaged short term memory---he cannot remember for more than 10 minutes to a half an hour at a time. Thus, his memory "resets" often in the middle of experiences. Thus, he relies on his notes, photos and tattoos as a kind of "exterior" memory to help him be able to function in a continuous way (he does seem to know he wrote them to some degree).
ReplyDeleteKnowing this, the structure of the film may make more sense than just a "trick." It puts the audience in a similar position to Leonard: although we are able, presumably, to connect the pieces he can not.
The ending is a source of interest because of the way it handles CLOSURE. It is NOT LEFT WIDE OPEN---certainly there are some things we can establish about Leonard's identity and life, and there are others we perhaps cannot. The degree of closure in the film is debatable, a point we will return to in the class after next.
How do you explain the "memory" at the end of this wife being alive while he is tattooed? Does every Teddy tells him the whole truth?
A good use of the blogs when you miss class is to read through ALL of them...including the logs of your classmates. Much of your confusion here would be cleared up immensely.
I suggest another viewing of the film and also don't forget to read Jonathan Nolan's short story "Memento Mori."
for some reason i cant seem to figure out how to post my own blog. I have to post a comment under someone else's post. so can someone please help me figure it out!!
ReplyDeleteI do love these blogs because i feel it gives some of us a voice, that wouldnt necessarily speak up in class.
When you sign in are you taken to a page that says "dashboard" and shows you a screen much like an email screen? If not, you may have not set you account up correctly. I'll send you a new invitation (if I can) and try to follow the instructions again. If that doesn't work, I can run you through it during my office hours sometime this week. Let me know.
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