A study into how far Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, can be defined as postmodern according to the ideas of Strinati, Baudrillard and Lyotard

2. PRODUCTION
DETAILS
• RELEASE DATE: MARCH 16, 2001
• GENRE: THRILLER
• PRODUCTION BUDGET: $9 MILLION
• GENRE DISCUSSION: MEMORY LOSS/AMNESIA,
MINDBENDER, NEO-NOIR (POST-NOIR)
• MPAA RATED R (UNDER 17 REQUIRES
ACCOMPANYING PARENT OR ADULT GUARDIAN)

3. PRODUCTION
DETAILS
• DIRECTED BY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (DIRECTOR
OF INTERSTELLAR AND INCEPTION)
• DISTRIBUTED BY NEWMARKET FILMS - ALSO
DISTRIBUTORS OF ‘DONNIE DARKO’ AND ‘THE
PASSION OF CHRIST’
• PRODUCED BY SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT
(PRODUCERS OF THE TWILIGHT SERIES) AND
TEAM TODD (PRODUCER OF ALICE IN
WONDERLAND )

4. FINANCIAL
SUCCESS
Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic $25,544,867
+ Foreign $14,178,229
= Worldwide $39,723,096
Domestic Summary
Opening Weekend -
11 Theatres, #27 rank
$235,488
Widest Release 531 Theatres
Domestic Summary
Budget $9 MILLION

5. CRITICAL RECEPTION
• MEMENTO WAS MET WITH CRITICAL ACCLAIM:
• 92% RATING ON ROTTEN TOMATOES
• JAMES BERARDINELLI 4/4, #1 ON HIS YEAR-END TOP TEN LIST, #63 ON HIS ALL-TIME TOP 100
FILMS. "ENDLESSLY FASCINATING, WONDERFULLY OPEN-ENDED MOTION PICTURE [THAT] WILL
BE REMEMBERED BY MANY WHO SEE IT AS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR".
• BERARDINELLI: "WHAT REALLY DISTINGUISHES THIS FILM IS ITS BRILLIANT, INNOVATIVE
STRUCTURE", GUY PEARCE GIVES AN "ASTOUNDING...TIGHT, AND THOROUGHLY CONVINCING
PERFORMANCE". IN 2009, BERARDINELLI CHOSE MEMENTO AS HIS #3 BEST MOVIE OF THE
DECADE.
• WILLIAM ARNOLD OF THE SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER : A "DELICIOUS ONE-TIME TREAT", AND
EMPHASIZES THAT DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER NOLAN "NOT ONLY MAKES MEMENTO WORK AS A
NON-LINEAR PUZZLE FILM, BUT AS A TENSE, ATMOSPHERIC THRILLER".
• ROB BLACKWELDER: "NOLAN HAS A CRACKERJACK COMMAND OVER THE INTRICACIES OF THIS
STORY. HE MAKES EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT OF THE FILM A CLUE TO THE LARGER PICTURE...AS THE
STORY EDGES BACK TOWARD THE ORIGINS OF [LEONARD'S] QUEST".

6. CRITICAL RECEPTION
• NOT ALL CRITICS WEREIMPRESSEDWITH THE FILM'S STRUCTURE:
• MARJORIE BAUMGARTENWROTE,"IN FORWARD PROGRESSION,THE NARRATIVE WOULD GARNERLITTLE
INTEREST,THUS MAKING THE REVERSESTORYTELLINGA FILMMAKER'S CONCEIT.“
• SEAN BURNSOF THE PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY COMMENTEDTHAT "FOR ALL ITS FORMAL WIZARDRY, MEMENTOIS
ULTIMATELY AN ICE-COLD FEAT OF INTELLECTUAL GAMESMANSHIP.ONCE THE VISCERAL THRILL OF THE PUZZLE
STRUCTURE BEGINSTO WEAR OFF, THERE'S NOTHINGLEFT TO HANG ONTO. THE FILM ITSELFFADES LIKE ONE OF
LEONARD'S TEMPORARY MEMORIES.“
• WHILE ROGER EBERT GAVE THE FILM A FAVORABLE THREE OUT OF FOUR STARS,HE DID NOT THINK IT
WARRANTED MULTIPLE VIEWINGS.AFTER WATCHING MEMENTOTWICE,HE CONCLUDEDTHAT "GREATER
UNDERSTANDINGHELPED ON THE PLOT LEVEL, BUT DIDN'T ENRICH THE VIEWINGEXPERIENCE.CONFUSIONIS THE
STATE WE ARE INTENDEDTO BE IN.“
• JONATHAN ROSENBAUM DISLIKEDTHE FILM, AND COMMENTEDIN HIS REVIEW OF ETERNALSUNSHINEOFTHE
SPOTLESSMINDTHAT MEMENTOIS A "GIMMICKY AND UNPOETIC COUNTERFEIT"OF ALAIN RESNAIS'S1968
FILM JE T'AIME, JE T'AIME.[58]
• IN 2005, THE WRITERSGUILD OF AMERICA RANKED THE SCREENPLAY #100 ON ITS LIST OF 101 GREATEST
SCREENPLAYSEVER WRITTEN.

7. PLOT SUMMARY
Memento tells the story of a widower protagonist
seeking revenge after his wife was raped and brutally
murdered. Due to his ‘condition’, anterograde
amnesia, he is incapable of forming new memories
since the moment this happened to his wife. This
creates a great deal of issues for him when he is
trying to uncover new information everyday about
who the killer is, and so he resorts to tattooing key
facts to his body and photographing important people
and places in order to keep them in his head.

8. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
• Memento’s narrative structure is non-linear and features multiple plot
layers. Two types of scene are presented to the audience throughout: one
set in colour, the other monochromatic and high in contrast. These two
types of scene represent either objective or subjective truth for the
protagonist. For example, when the scene is black and white and the
character in the motel room, the audience is only given objective facts
about the character’s state, such as his location, “so where are you? You're
in some motel room. You just - you just wake up and you're in - in a motel
room. There's the key. It feels like maybe it's just the first time you've been
there, but perhaps you've been there for a week, three months. It's - it's
kind of hard to say. I don't - I don't know. It's just an anonymous room.” .
Effectively the audience is in the position of an outsider during these
scenes, not experiencing things from his point of view, but instead the
objective facts as they literally are.

9. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
• Alternatively, when the scenes are in colour, we as an audience follow
Leonard’s story alongside him. We feel as though we are in his mind,
interpreting things as he does. This represents the subjective, or relative,
truths.
• Choosing this narrative structure creates a sense of confusion and
disorientation for the audience. This narrative retardation is important as
it emulates the same lack of understanding that the protagonist
experiences due to his amnesia, effectively putting the audience directly
in his position and frame of mind allowing for greater engagement with the
text.
• It is clear why many critics have labelled the film mind-bending and
have at times challenged the validity of such an unconventional narrative
format.

10. NARRATIVE
STRUCTURE
In the embedded video, Director
Christopher Nolan explains the
complex and unique narrative
structure of Memento.
The film explores bridging the gap
between objective (absolute) and
subjective (relative) knowledge.
As an audience we feel a similar
confusion due to the lack of
information to the main character
with anterograde amnesia.

11. NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
TO THE RIGHT IS A DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE FILM’S COMPLEX
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE, WITH THE INITIALLY SEEMINGLY UNRELATED
COLOUR AND BLACK AND WHITE SCENES RUNNING CONSECUTIVELY.

12. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
Through the editing and mise en scene, using colour
manipulation to separate the full colour scenes from those
in high contrast black and white, the producers created a
clear distinction between elements and timings of the
narrative. This has also helped to distinguish the objective
and subjective truths, an internal battle felt by the
protagonist.

13. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
The film fits clearly into the thriller genre through its
featuring of plot twists, such as the scene in which we
discover that the suspected killer is actually a potentially
corrupt police officer. Also through featuring menacing
women, such as in the scene embedded in which the female
is taking advantage out of the protagonist’s condition for
personal gain. High contrast strong directional lighting is
iconic of the thriller genre for creating suspense and drama,
exciting the audience and putting them on the edge of their
seats. Finally, through exploring themes such as violence,
mental illness and also a sense of confusion over time and
reality, this movie has a clear link to other films in the thriller
genre.

14. MEDIA CONCEPTS– IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• WHY IT IS POSTMODERN ACCORDING TO MEDIA CONCEPTS:
• IDEOLOGY: The police are typically represented in the media as a strong, reliable force which is strictly governed
and not usually corrupt. However the corruption of the police officer in the film is suggested through the idea that
he is using the protagonist’s condition to his own advantage, using him to find and kill drug related criminals
through convincing him that they are responsible for his wife’s murder and rape. For this reason, Memento is
postmodern as it challenges the stereotypical ideology surrounding the nature of the police force.
• NARRATIVE: The narrative structure of Memento is postmodern due to its non-linear nature and its ambiguity over
time and place. Narratives are typically linear with a distinct beginning, middle and end. However, this narrative
takes a story with a beginning, middle and end and effectively tells it backwards. For this reason Memento is
postmodern in its use of media concepts.

15. MEDIA CONCEPTS– IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• WHY IT IS NOT POSTMODERN ACCORDING TO MEDIA CONCEPTS:
• GENRE: As previously mentioned, Memento shares various narrative,
conceptual and thematic elements with other films in the thriller
genre. This includes, violence, themes such as crime and mental
illness, ‘mind-bending’ narrative structures and also the use of
menacing women - the movie even manages to fit in a chase scene.
For this reason, it is arguable that Memento is not post-modern as it
features the convention generic elements of thriller films.

16. STRINATI– IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• WHY IT IS POSTMODERN ACCORDING TO STRINATI:
• THE DECLINE OF META-NARRATIVES: The police are typically represented in the media as a strong, reliable force which is
strictly governed and not usually corrupt. However the corruption of the police officer in the film is suggested through
the idea that he is using the protagonist’s condition to his own advantage, using him to find and kill drug related
criminals through convincing him that they are responsible for his wife’s murder and rape. For this reason, Memento is
postmodern as it challenges the stereotypical ‘meta-narrative’ surrounding the nature of the police force.
• CONFUSION OVER TIME AND SPACE: The narrative structure of Memento is postmodern due to its non-linear nature and its
ambiguity over time and space which it creates for the audience. Narratives are typically linear with a distinct
beginning, middle and end. However, this narrative takes a story with a beginning, middle and end and effectively tells it
backwards. For this reason Memento is postmodern according to Strinati through creating confusion over space and
time.

17. STRINATI – IS
MEMENTO
POSTMODER
N?
Why it is not
postmodern
according to
Strinati:
There is no clear
emphasis on style at
the expense of
substance with
Memento. Nor is a
breakdown in the
distinction between
culture and society
clear in this film.
There is finally no
apparent reference to
high/popular culture.

18. BAUDRILLARD – IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• WHY IT IS POSTMODERN ACCORDING TO BAUDRILLARD:
• REJECTS ‘TRUTH’: The police are typically represented in the media as a strong, reliable force which is strictly governed
and not usually corrupt. However the corruption of the police officer in the film is suggested through the idea that he is
using the protagonist’s condition to his own advantage, using him to find and kill drug related criminals through
convincing him that they are responsible for his wife’s murder and rape. For this reason, Memento is postmodern as it
challenges the stereotypical shared ‘truth’ surrounding the nature of the police force.
• To some extent, this film is also compatible, and thus post-modern, according to the idea of hyperreality. This is because
it accepts the idea that society are unaware of the deeper reality, such as the idea of corrupt cops, or even the idea that
a great deal of our reality is merely subjective knowledge. There is very little we should accept as truth/reality.
Therefore the movie is postmodern in its belief that society is distracted by the hyperreal/by simulacrum and unaware,
or blind, to the underlying truths.

19. BAUDRILLARD – IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• WHY IT IS POSTMODERN ACCORDING TO BAUDRILLARD:
• With Baudrillard, it is difficult to identify how Memento might not be described as postmodern
as it fits in with both his key ideas of truth and the hyperreal.

20. LYOTARD – IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• GRAND NARRATIVES: The police are typically represented in the media as a strong, reliable force
which is strictly governed and not usually corrupt. However the corruption of the police officer
in the film is suggested through the idea that he is using the protagonist’s condition to his own
advantage, using him to find and kill drug related criminals through convincing him that they
are responsible for his wife’s murder and rape. For this reason, Memento is postmodern as it
challenges the stereotypical ideology surrounding the nature of the police force.

21. IS MEMENTO POSTMODERN?
• OVERALL, IT IS CLEAR THAT MEMENTO IS A POSTMODERN TEXT DUE TO ITS UNIQUE, NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE
STRUCTURE WHICH FORCES THE AUDIENCE TO QUESTION THE CONVENTION STRUCTURE OF A FILM IN ORDER
TO BEGIN TO ENGAGE WITH THE TEXT. THE CHOICE TO TELL THE STORY IN REVERSE, WITH SOME SCENES
ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY AND OTHERS NOT, THE AUDIENCE IS FORCED INTO THE MIND OF THE
PROTAGONIST WITH AMNESIA, TAKING NEW INFORMATION AS AND WHEN IT COMES, QUESTIONING IDEAS
ABOUT TRUTH AND REALITY AT THE SAME TIME.
• THE MOVIE DOES FEATURE SOME NON POSTMODERN ELEMENTS, SUCH AS ITS STRONG GENERIC CONVENTIONS,
BUT OVERALL IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH STRINATI, BAUDRILLARD AND LYOTARD’S
DEFINITIONS/UNDERSTANDINGS OF WHAT CONSTITUTES A POSTMODERN TEXT AS WELL AS CHALLENGING
TRADITIONAL IDEAS SURROUNDING MEDIA CONCEPTS.