Investigation: Smoke and Mirrors

“We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are.”

Time for a good ol’ investigation.

This time, Mr. Christopher Nolan’s Memento. I like films. I like watching them and I like thinking about them and I like talking about them. And apparently I like writing about them. Especially theoretically!

So, Memento. If you haven’t seen it, this will make little to no sense. If you have seen it, this may still make little to no sense. I won’t summarize the film here as there are many synopses online available for your reading pleasure. Instead, I want to look at Memento specifically in relation to some previous posts (on Lacan and the like) in order to explore this concept we call ‘identity’. Specifically, let’s poke around at how memory informs this notion of ‘self’ we all seem to value so much. One of my first lil’ diddies looked briefly at Lacanian ideas and Aphex Twin but here I am going to go a bit deeper in order to see if I can continue to work this crazy stuff out!

Let’s begin with Leonard as a starting point. A.K.A. Lenny. This is him:

Leonard has short term memory loss and therefore remembers things through notes, pictures, tattoos and ‘conditioning’. Leonard tells us continuously throughout the film that his problem means a loss of memory, not a loss of identity. He consistently and adamantly expresses that just because he has lost his memory, does not mean he does not know who he is.

Is that right Leonard? Well then, to what extent does memory inform our understanding of self and identity? Huh? Huh? Inevitably, this leads me to think about Lacan’s psychic orders, specifically the imaginary where we create the “ego ideal”, or ideal self, based on our desire to experience the real. (For more on this read here!)

In conceptualizing the imaginary, Lacan references what he has called “the mirror stage”, which is a stage of development experienced by young children wherein a child begins to recognize that their own body is separate from the world and from their caregiver, thus leading to a feeling of anxiety and a sense of loss. In order to deal with this anxiety and compensate for this loss, the child desires to make-up the lacking part of him or herself in hopes of filling the void. This is done through the creation of fantasy images of the self, or what Lacan terms the “ego ideal”, which is continuously perpetuated by anyone that we set up as a ‘mirror’ for ourselves. In other words, we seek out those who reflect the ideal image of ourselves and how we desire to be ‘seen’. In Memento, Leonard demonstrates this concept of the imaginary through the meticulous and complex ‘mirrors’ he has set up in order to develop and maintain a sense of self that ultimately reinforces his desire: to avenge the (supposed) rape and murder of his wife.

Leonard’s ‘mirrors’ come in several forms. Through ‘conditioning’ and a complex editing of ‘reality’, Leonard has meticulously manipulated the ‘mirrors’ around him in order to reflect back the necessary ‘facts’, stories and self-image needed for him to continue living. The ‘mirrors’ create an “ego ideal” that give Leonard purpose and something in which he can believe. Throughout the film,  Leonard himself acknowledges this idea stating that he has to believe that there is a world outside of his own mind:

“The world doesn’t disappear when you close your eyes, does it? My actions still have     meaning, even if I can’t remember them. My wife deserves vengeance, and it doesn’t make any difference whether I know about it.”

Ok, so what? Again, who cares? And why should we?

I’ll tell you why! Because this film raises an important question about the ‘self’. That question is:

Are the ‘mirrors’ created by Leonard much different from the ‘mirrors’ created by anyone else? In addition, how does memory act as a ‘mirror’ that reflects the selective elements one chooses to ‘see’ in an understanding of the ideal self?

I have often thought about how memory informs my own understanding of myself. Due to my love of film (and escapism), I often remember things in a somewhat cinematic fashion. I like to think of my memories as recordings of what actually happened, something that can be rewound and fast-forwarded. Using this same analogy, however, this means that these same memories can also be edited, superimposed, deleted and taped over. These memories are virtual and are always seen through the lens of the present. They are continuously becoming. It is within this analogy that I realize that memories are yet another ‘mirror’ created in the imaginary, ultimately adding to the perception of an “ideal I” or “ego ideal”.

For me, Memento shows this concept ingeniously, implicating the viewer themselves to question how memory and identity are continuously influencing one another. This idea is epitomized in what I think is one of the best lines of the film where Leonard is discussing a new ‘fact’ with the caller on the telephone: “Oh shit that’s true. It fits!”

As Leonard states: “You don’t want the truth, you make up your own truth”.