Christopher Nolan, one of the most celebrated films directors and producers, has attempted to depict a wide range of social and cultural aspects of modern society in his films. From moral responsibility to justice and personal identity, the director’s themes attempt to capture some of the social issues facing individuals, families and the society in general, yet few narratives, writers, psychologists or other professions attempt to describe within their work.
Though developed through fiction and exaggeration, these themes largely reflect some of the actual problems that exist in the current society and affect the future. One of the most important themes in Nolan’s films is the state of mind, as depicted through memory, personal identity, and reasoning. In both ‘Memento’ and ‘Inception,’ for example, Nolan has addressed the theme of the state of mind and memory.
While the two films describe different individuals with different roles, the nature, state, and role of human memory are significant themes. Arguably, the two films tend to address a number of social problems from a neurological point of view, with the theme of memory depicted in different ways but playing different but important roles in society.
As the title suggests, Christopher Nolan’s film “Memento” revolves around the human state of memory. Leonard Shelby has lost his ability to remember. He walks into his bathroom and finds his diabetic wife being raped. A confrontation begins between the assailant and Leonard, which eventually ends with the death of the unknown assailant.
However, Leonard obtains brain injuries while his wife subsequently succumbs. Nevertheless, Leonard’s focus is to find the killer and avenge his wife’s assault and death. He focuses on reminding himself about the incident using a police file and taking pictures and notes. To keep his memory intact, he develops tattoos in his body.
The director reveals the role and state of human memory as a major theme. The story begins by portraying a hand holding a photograph of a female body lying on a floor. However, the hand holding the photo shakes continuously, making the image blurred before fading away. There is a short conversation between Leonard, who is holding the photograph, and Burt, an attendant at a motel. Burt tells Leonard, “you have a good idea of what you want to do next, but you have no idea of what you did…” (Nolan 115).
Thus, Leonard’s memory is depicted in a compromised state, overriding other themes. The audience views the events from Leonard’s state of mind. Other characters are also depicted in relation to Leonard’s mind. The director attempts to make the audience evaluate Leonard’s state of mind based on the events that take place when the mind is absent. This style of films is similar to scientific research, which attempts to test a phenomenon by removing the causal factor and observing the results.
Nolan also attempts to describe the state of a failed memory system. It seems clear that Leonard has a failed memory, which is prone to error, manipulation, and terrible results. It seems that Nolan wanted to show how a failure in the human memory system could produce terrible results. For instance, the film shows Leonard murdering two individuals he believes to be John G; the person believed to be the wife’s killer.
In particular, his mind fails to retrieve the events during the incident. It appears that memory fails the individual terribly. He only remembers brief events, but his mind slips away when it comes to the point of the incident. He seems to be good at remembering those events that took place before the event.
It is also evident that Nolan’s theme of memory attempts to describe how human minds tend to develop new habits, even when they are affected. From a psychiatrist and neurological point of view, it is clear that Leonard’s mind is growing, increasing its ability to keep short memories. For example, he remembers to use Polaroid when in need of enhancing his memory.
In summary, Nolan uses the film to describe the theme of memory and its roles in human decisions, life, and actions. For instance, he attempts to address a number of questions related to the working of human memory. For example, does the human memory organize experience through schema? Does it function through images? Does the human mind has innate ideas, or is it initially empty (Tabula Lassa)?
From the film, it is evident that Nolan answers these questions by showing that human minds do not have inborn content or structures, but encodes information from the environment, keeping it in the form of images. According to the film, the human mind, depicted by Leonard’s memory, has a huge capacity for collecting images and relating them to events. Memory is based on the correlation of events and their images. Thinking is based on this factor.
The theme in this film correlates with the theoretical ideas of Hume (143) and Locke (251). According to these theorists, ideas and impressions are stored in the form of images. The process of thinking involves the correlation of a current event and the images in mind, which forms remembrance.
On the other hand, Nolan’s film “Inception” attempts to portray the same theme of memory but a different perspective (Johnson and Irwin 67). The director wanted to show the role of the human mind in the state of ‘sub-consciousness”, where most mental interactions take place. In this film, Nolan seems to pose a number of questions such as “who are we?’ what is the mind? And what are dreams and their roles in life?’ (Johnson and Irwin 67).
To address these questions, it is worth developing a brief analysis of the film. The film is based on the scientific idea of planting an idea in a person’s subconscious mind to extract information. The act is a form of corporate espionage and targets individuals with corporate secrets. Saito and Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Arthur (Gordon-Levitt) are the main perpetrators of the espionage.
They want to dissolve an energy conglomerate by planting an idea of dissolution in Robert Fischer (Murphy), a young heir to the company after the looming death of his father Maurice Fischer (Postlethwaite). They use a shared dream strategy known as “dream with a dream” to implant the idea into Fischer’s mind after his father’s death in Sydney.
However, Fischer has a well-trained subconscious projection, which attacks and injures Saito. In the end, both Saito and Fischer are killed ‘in the land of Limbo,’ a dreamland developed through unconsciousness (Johnson and Irwin 67). It is impossible to tell whether Cobb, on arriving back to the US, is in a dream or wakeful state.
In this film, Nolan uses complicated states of the human mind to develop the theme of memory. Contrary to the state of mind used to depict Leonard’s memory in ‘Memento,’ the director has used the idea of “sharing dreams and dream spaces.” In this way, Nolan suggests that sharing a dream space can allow one to access the mind of another person and instill an idea, which the target will eventually execute.
While the state of mind developed by Leonard in ‘Memento’ is a common condition affecting millions of people in the world, the idea of sharing dreams in ‘Inception’ seems to be science fiction. In this film, the audience is made to perceive things and events from the subconscious states of mind in Saito, Fischer, Cobb, and other individuals.
However, it is also worth noting that Nolan uses both films to describe the theme of memory manipulation and information theft. For instance, Leonard’s state of mind in ‘Memento’ allows his memory to be manipulated by drug dealers, making him kill individuals that these dealers want to eliminate. Similarly, Saito and Cobb want to manipulate the memory of their targets, including Fischer, by implanting foreign ideas in their minds. Here, Nolan wanted to show how the human mind is manipulated in sub-consciousness.
Moreover, it is worth noting that Nolan wanted to show that the human mind has some recovery tactics or retaliation protocols that are either inborn or acquired. For instance, even though Tedd, John G, and other drug dealers are able to manipulate Leonard’s mind in “Memento,” the victim’s memory grows and recovers with time, eventually leading to the death of the individuals associated with the wife’s death.
On the other hand, Nolan’s depiction of memory recovery is shown through Fischer. He has a well-trained projector attack, which causes Saito’s death. This is a form of memory recovery or defense against manipulation, which Nolan wanted to portray.
In conclusion, two films portray the theme of human memory and its role in human lives. While the director has used Leonard’s memory state to describe the actual state of mind common in people after injuries, his idea that manipulation of such people is interesting. In addition, the use of fiction to describe the role of memory and memory manipulation in ‘Inception’ is a surprising idea but shows how corporate secrets are important assets in the corporate world.
Works Cited
Hume, D. A treatise of human nature. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2009. Print.
Inception. Dir. Christopher N. London and New York: Warner Bros Pictures, 2010. DVD.
Johnson, D. K. and William I. Inception and Philosophy: Because It’s Never Just a Dream. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Print
Locke, J. An essay concerning human understanding. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 2004. Print.
Memento. D. Christopher Nolan. New York: Summit Entertainment, 2000. DVD.