Research Paper Presentation

      I.                 For the final research paper, I chose the film Memento. The film was about a man named Leonard, (played by Guy Pearce) who is living with a form of amnesia that prevents him from making or keeping any short-term memories. Throughout the whole film he is desperately trying to find a man he calls “John G,” who he believes raped and murdered his wife, and also caused his “condition.”
       II.               Mementos Link to Classic Film Noir
                    1.     Voice Over Narration-  We are hearing the film through Leonard’s point of view, although due to his condition, it is hard to believe everything he says. Leonard doesn’t trust others, but he is not a reliable character either. The voice over narration makes the audience feel as though they are in Leonard’s mind, giving us a very close look at what his daily experiences are like.
                    2.     Conclusion of Film- The conclusion of the movie is actually seen at the beginning of the film, as in Double Indemnity. What that does is prevent the audience from expecting a happy ending or a different outcome. It also makes the audience more intrigued as to what events caused the outcome of the film.

 Other links to Classic Film Noir:

                          -Numerous flashbacks: which show what happened to Leonard and his wife, which is the motivation behind Leonard’s senseless murders throughout the movie.
                          -Alienation: Leonard is always obsessing about locating and murdering “John G,” and allows his life to be consumed with that. Also the motel where he stays at shows the lonely type of existence that he lives ever since losing his wife. His life revolves around that so he alienates himself from society unless it has something to do with “John G.”
                          -Venetian Blinds: In the black and white scenes, which show Leonard discussing the Sammy Jankis story, we can see venetian blinds in the background. This links to Double Indemnity where we hear about the venetian blinds in the Nirdlinger’s home. Also depending on the way the viewer interprets the movie, the black and white scenes can be seen as a type of confession on Leonard’s part as to what he did to his wife, meaning he may have fabricated the Sammy Jankis story for his own way of coping. That connects back to Double Indemnity when we see Walter recording his confession.

       III.             Mementos Link to Neo Noir

                         1.     Colored Scenes- Cinema had advanced with newer technology and instead of black and white, they began to incorporate color.
                         2.     Anxieties of the Times- The growth of mental illness in 90s America was a topic that began to be used within Neo Noir films. There was a lot of mistrust when it came to the government and other institutions, but now it had been taken further, the protagonist could no longer trust himself, a great example being Leonard in Memento.

 Other links to Neo Noir:

-The parallel story in Memento about Sammy Jankis and his wife supposedly trying to commit insurance fraud, which again links Memento to Double Indemnity and Walter and Phyllis’s insurance scam.

                          Quotes

In the article, “Christopher Nolans Memento-Analysis of the Narrative Structure of a Noirish revenge film,” Dr. Robert Hurd states, “… Black and white sequences offer a very objective view of Leonard’s character. The audience watches the protagonist in his hotel room from a third person or security camera point of view. The color scenes on the other hand are very subjective and from Leonard’s point of view. The camera is always kind of over his shoulder or right behind him in these scenes and there are many close ups of the main character. The audience is shown details that only Lenny can see. Through this way of filming the protagonist, a very close relationship between the viewers and Lenny is constructed.”

This quote goes well with the film and its connection to noir. It mentions the black and white sequences, along with the colored sequences as well as the camera angles and views. The colored scenes make it almost feel as though you are in Leonard’s shoes, experiencing the effects of the loss of short term memory. The black and white scenes provide an outsider view of the situation. At times the audience takes on the role of the detective trying to piece together the clues that Leonard discovers. The alternating black and white scenes with colored scenes make the movie complex since one moves in forward order while the other goes backwards.

In Eric Szyszka’s article, “Brain Damage: Neo Noir and the Nineties,” he states, “While it can be terrifying to realize you were just suffocated in a web of lies, it is far worse to realize you were actually the one lying to yourself. Noir protagonists are usually single men emotionally burdened with betrayals or losses suffered somewhere in the past, often psychologically flawed or wounded and sometimes fatally incapacitated. In Memento we are presented with Leonard Shelby who is a composite of the standard private investigator of film noir fame, a regular Sam Spade or Mike Hammer, but crossbred with someone like completely flawed insurance salesman Walter Neff from Billy Wilder’s 1944 masterpiece Double Indemnity. What is the result of this mixture? A brain damaged insurance investigator.”

This quote is very good at explaining an anxiety of the time, being a sense of truth and identity. There was so much new information coming from different sources such as the internet, that it was hard to identify the truth. The connection between that and Memento, is Leonard’s search for the truth while having to deal with his condition and not knowing who he could or couldn’t trust. The other characters surrounding him in the movie, Natalie the femme fatal and Teddy the corrupt cop, manipulate Leonard throughout the film, making him think they wanted to help him in his search for the truth, all the meanwhile deceiving him. That means not only does Leonard have to be cautious with the information provided by others, but his own as well.  So how is Leonard to find the truth when he has no real reliable sources? He is pretty much hopeless, like most ambiguous protagonists.

Annotated Bibliography

    

In Eric Szyszka's analysis Neo Noir Thesis, there is plenty of information available in regards to the movie Memento along with a few other Neo Noir flicks. Throughout the analysis he does provide his opinions but most of the information he provides is based on prior knowledge stating facts. It is very well written and quite interesting for film noir lovers and Neo noir enthusiasts as well. In the article you can find a great deal of insight about Neo noir qualities within the movie Memento. It is a very good article and dissects the movies noirish qualities and explains their meaning and purpose.

               In the book Memento andFollowing, by Christopher Nolan,we can get very good information about the movie Memento. It's the screenplay for the movie so it's pretty much a play by play action of the whole movie. Incase you miss anything within the movie, it would be a very good idea to check this book out and have the chance to more clearly interpret the movies dialogue. Within the book there is also an interview with Nolan about Memento which is also very interesting. In the case if wanting to use quotes directly from the movie, this would be a very good source to utilize.

In his article, "Christopher Nolans Memento-Analysis of the narrative structure of a nourish revenge film," Dr. Robert Hund makes lots of interesting comments about the movies different qualities. Within this article he analyzes the narrative structure of the movie; which really helps the audience of Memento better decipher what is going on in the movie. He also discusses the plot within a summary and gives the reader more detail on his understandings from the film. Hund also examines the significance and importance of the black and white scenes as well as the colored scenes. Dr. Hund also addresses the opening scene in the movie and its importance and also the conclusion of the movie. I think this is a very interesting and helpful article.

John Galts article, "A Cognitive Analysis of the Movie Memento-- A Lesson in Cognitive Psychology" is very intriguing and gives the reader a closer and more analytical look at Leonard's condition. It actually explains how cognitive psychology can be used to evaluate the sequence of events in the film. He also discusses whether or not Leonard uses his condition to his advantage. Pretty much saying that it could be that Leonard is trying to justify his actions. It tells the reader that Leonard killed his wife and was trying to cover this up by using the Sammy Jankis story and one of the tattoos. I actually got to hear a bit of a different interpretation of events from the movie which was also quite interesting.

In Elizabeth Woodruffs article, "Memento--An Analysis of the Presented Amnesia," she discusses the "condition" that the protagonist in Memento has, being Leonard. It appears that she believes that his "condition" is not 100% depicted accurately when it comes to his behaviors. She discusses the effects that an injury such as Leonard's has on a person and explains how that goes hand in hand with the actions of the protagonist/ detective Leonard. Woodruff explains that due to the injury and aftermath, we the audience cannot fully rely on Leonard's recollection of accounts. It has a lot to do with the diagnosis of Leonard and is very interesting and useful. It explains the injuries that could cause one to suffer from Anterograde amnesia like Leonard, whom suffered from traumatic brain injury (tbi). Woodruff explains why she believes that in reality, Leonard wouldn't be able to take care of himself as the movie makes it seem. She says that it's an unconvincing panorama of the movie. In the movie Leonard says he doesn't have amnesia but according to this article, the author says his anterograde memory loss is in fact amnesia. All in all the article is very informative about the movie and the diagnosis.