Both films accurately portray amnesia. Regarding Memento:
Writing in the BMJ, Dr Sallie Baxendale of the National Society for Epilepsy, said: “Unlike most films in this genre, this amnesiac character retains his identity, has little retrograde amnesia [where memories of the period just prior to the injury are lost] and shows several of the severe everyday memory difficulties associated with the disorder.”
The same can be said for Finding Nemo:
Dr Baxendale said the animated blue tropical fish has problems learning and retaining information, recalling names and knowing where she is going or why.She said this was “an accurate portrayal of the considerable memory difficulties faced daily by people with profound amnesiac syndromes.”
She added: “The frustration of the other fish around her with constant repetition also accurately reflects the feelings of people who live with amnesiac patients.
“Although her condition is played for laughs during the film, poignant aspects of her memory loss are also portrayed, when she is alone, lost and profoundly confused.”
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{ 3 comments }
Memento was actually based on a real person who sustained damage to his hippocampus from epilepsy surgery. A tragic case, but it revealed a great deal about how the brain physiologically forms memories.
And they were both utterly absorbing.. See, movies can be educational and be good entertainment.
-ReaLspace
Damn . . . I forgot what I was going to write.
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