Final Post #2) Memento

Spoiler Alert: This post contains spoilers for the movie Memento. If you haven't seen it, you should do so before reading this. Seriously, I recommend it.

Memento, directed by Christopher Nolan, is a psycological thriller in which a man named Leonard seeks revenge on the man who raped and murdered his wife. The only problem is, he was knocked unconscious during his wife's attack can no longer form new memories. Thus, he leaves himself notes and tattoos his body with hints about the murder. For instance, he has John G. raped and murdered my wife tattooed backwards across his chest so that he can see it in the mirror.

The movie is in reverse chronological order. You're probably thinking, "What's the point of watching the rest of the movie if you see the end at the beginning." Trust me, it's worth it. At the beginning of the movie, the audience sees Leonard shoot a man named Teddy, who's real name was John Gamble. Then when we get towards the end of the movie (which actually happened first), John reveals himself as a police officer. He was the officer assigned to the case of his wife's murder and when the cops didn't find the guy, he felt that he should help Leonard do it. He tells Leonard that he helped him kill the murderer a long time ago, but Leonard didn't remember. Since then, John has been helping him find random guys with the name John and last initial G. As if that wasn't bad enough, John proceeds to tell Lenny that he was the one to kill his wife. His wife survived the attack, and she hated to see Leonard the way that he was, not being able to remember what happened thirty minutes ago. In a desperate attempt to get him to remember, she told him it was time for her insulin shot (his wife was diabetic). She waited a few minutes, then told him it was time for her shot again. She repeated this several times until she overdosed on insulin.

That being said, do you believe that Leonard is responsible for his actions? John Locke believed that identity was not found in substance but in sameness of consciousnesses (in lament terms, memory). He thought that a person's identity was solely based on an individuals experiences. According to Aristotle, blame for a certain action should only be given if the person has willingly performed a wrong action. Leonard did not want to kill his wife; he had no idea that he gave her multiple shots of insulin. Also, Teddy (or John) knowingly lead Leonard to kill the innocent men whom Leonard believed murdered his wife. Thus, following the philosophy of Locke and Aristotle, Leonard would not be morally responsible for his wrongful deeds.

IF YOU'RE INTRIGUED, GO WATCH IT! Its on Netflix instant stream!