The entire premise of “Memento” revolves around Leonard’s photographs and what’s written on them. Leonard takes pictures of certain people and makes assessments of them because he has anterograde amnesia. These pictures help him understand how he’s supposed to receive these people, given that he immediately forgets them. The movie seems to be titled perfectly. The photographs are taken as a reminder of who these people truly are to Leonard. However, his descriptions don’t match who these people actually are. For example, Natalie is not everything she is made out to be. On the back of Natalie’s photograph, Leonard describes her as someone who comforts and pities him. It comes to the forefront that Natalie actually despises Leonard and is solely using his illness for her own personal gain.
Memento mori is a Latin word that signifies a reflection on death. Even more specifically, it is a reminder of death. With all that being said, all of these photographs metaphorically represent the “death” of Leonard’s old self. These pictures are the only way he is able to function within society. After the accident, Leonard not only lost his wife, but also himself. The photographs are constant reminders to the audience that Leonard is nothing but a shell of his old self.
“Memento” tells us that photography acts as clues into someone’s life. All of the people in Leonard’s photographs play an important role to him throughout the movie’s progression. This truthfully reflects photography because people photograph those who are salient and define their own existence. “Memento” didn’t convert the way I think about photography. Nevertheless, it certainly did enhance my idea that photographs are the puzzle pieces to a person’s story. Once assembled, these pictures generate who that person represents in the context of their world.
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