Memento

When it comes to watching movies I'm usually really behind--on this one about 8 years! I just saw the very non-linear Memento, and highly recommend it. I wanted to watch it ever since I read James K.A. Smith's Who's Afraid of Postmodernism. Smith featured the movie in one of the chapters, using it to interact with Derrida and deconstructionism.

The main character in the film, Leonard, has to interpret his world solely through texts, since he has no short-term memory. He writes notes on scraps of paper, on polaroids he has taken, and even tattoos important facts on his body--and he doesn't trust anyone or anything outside of these sources. Memento is an embodiment of Derrida's famous declaration that there is nothing outside the text.

Comments

[jvpastor]

That movie is in my top five for sure. It blew my mind the first time I watched it and it was pre me knowing anything about Derrida.