Momento - Theories of Personality PDF

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Analysis essay on the movie Momento...

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Tiffany Volz Momento Theories of Personality October 11th, 2017 Momento

Momento, a film by Christopher Nolan, was an accurate representation of how anterograde amnesia can affect an individual and how hard it is to deal with on a daily basis. Anterograde Amnesia is questioned throughout the movie because the movie shows, Leonard, the main character having the symptoms for the condition, although there are reasons to believe he could have been faking it. Teddy, his only consistent “friend” throughout the movie, tells Lenny that he already found the man he was looking to kill, over a year ago. Subconsciously, Lenny forgets things easily so he cannot remember ever killing a man but every chance he gets he looks for John G., the man that raped and murdered his wife. Living with anterograde amnesia is hard on yourself as well as others. The film depicted the condition well and throughout the entire movie you could see the constant struggle Leonard went through in the movie. I have learned that an illness can be a hoax and can be something learned if someone really put their mind to it. This film had me question the integrity of anterograde amnesia because it was portrayed as if Lenny could have been lying about his amnesia and if Sammy was not real. Sammy was someone that Leonard knew and who also had the condition and Leonard tried to help in the past, Sammy’s wife was obsessed with getting the old Sammy back because she knew him before he had the amnesia. She tested him to the point where he gave her too much insulin and killed her. He was then placed in a home and at that point didn’t even realize his wife was dead. The point of the character Sammy, was that he was not actually faking his condition. Although in the end of the movie, Teddy, Lenny’s only friend told him that Lenny’s

Tiffany Volz Momento Theories of Personality October 11th, 2017 wife was the one with diabetes, making it seem like Sammy was made up this entire time. The most persuasive parts of the movie were when Leonard would tattoo himself. He would tattoo facts on himself because tattoos are permanent to him and he will be forced to see them everyday. He had one tattoo that said “ John G. murdered and killed my wife”, it is very symbolic in the movie that he had that written on him because his wife was the only clear memory they showed in the movie and it was his mission to find this man and kill him. In reality though, it turns out he found the man over a year ago and killed him already. So after he already found John G. he was still killing harmless men and still forgetting about it. He posted facts on himself and clues as to who this man is and would work on it daily. This part of the movie was very interesting. There was drama depicted throughout the film by Leonard and Natalie. Natalie was a woman who he was helping out and was a casual lover for him. He could never remember her but she was very manipulative throughout the movie. There was a scene where she took advantage of Leonard's disability and made him so mad to the point where he hit her. She told him his wife was a whore and that is why he had his condition. He hit her and quickly forgot and she left and came back inside and he asked her what happened and she made it seem like her ex boyfriend was beating her. She pitied him and took advantage of his condition. The factual parts of the movie were Leonards clear signs of Anterograde amnesia as well as all the facts that he lived by. The last thing he remembers is a man crushing his head into the mirror because he was trying to save his wife. He lives by facts because without a memory, they are the only thing he can trust within himself. This is an important factor in the movie. The ending was also shocking because it was a cliffhanger. Lenny figured out another fact and kept

Tiffany Volz Momento Theories of Personality October 11th, 2017 on searching for John G. even after finding out that he already found and killed him over a year ago. He felt as though once he found and killed the man he would feel relieved or “fixed” but that was not the case at all because it was always his mission. The mental illness in the film does create a stigma for Lenny because he is always seen as annoying and people get fed up with constantly having to tell him who they are and how they know him. He is easily manipulated and can’t rely on others for anything because he will never know if they are being honest with him. He will never have new memories or be able to create a fulfilling life based off of how he is currently living. Mental illnesses will always be stigmatized and doubted because they are controversial. Some may think that people can fake a mental illness if they really wanted to as long as they follow the signs and symptoms. That is why it is possible Lenny could have been lying about the mental illness and just has become a horrible person based on his wife’s murder. Some of the film techniques that are used in the movie are lighting, such as when there are flashbacks of Lenny on the phone talking about Sammy. During these scenes, the director made them black and white to represent that Lenny doesn’t remember these scenes but as people watching the movie, you can tell it is a flashback. It’s almost like it represents a grey area in the movie because it may or may not have been actually happening, Sammy could have been made up in Lenny’s mind to justify his condition. Another thing that was noticeable was that Lenny would talk to himself in his mind. The movie would play his thoughts but he would not be talking, I believe this was to show that he did not trust anyone with his thoughts or he did not even trust himself. He never knew where he was when he would wake up so he would question himself, “where am I”, “how did I get here”.

Tiffany Volz Momento Theories of Personality October 11th, 2017 The movie was well directed and had very specific accuracies for anterograde amnesia. The main character played a well role and there were also good supporting characters. The way they showed Leonards memories helped viewers understand more and more how he got to where he was in his life. It was a sad movie because it showed his condition and how it affects him as well as the people around him. Leonard had no one, there was no family of his in the movie, he was on his own, which would make his condition even harder for him. He had certain people in his life but he did not have a strong support system or anyone to rely on which could have edged onto his condition. Overall the movie was very interesting and I would recommend it to any psychology major....