The case of Memento: a Nietzschean memory in postmodern cinema

Abstract

The following article will analyze the relationship between the Nietzsche's philosophy of history and the role given to memory in postmodern cinema, paying particular attention to the movie Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000). To do this I will rely mainly on the second of Nietzsche’s Untimely Meditations, On the Use and Abuse of History for Life, also calling upon other texts such as On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense. Under this framework I will analyze the relationship of Lenny, the protagonist of the film, with his past, partially reminded and constantly restructured in a concious way by the character himself to face his present life in the only way he can become a survivor in his unfortunate situation.