Pick a piece if work in which body modification plays a big part. Explain how body modification is used in the work and what it is used to represent.
The piece of work I have chosen is the film ‘Memento’ (2000). MAY BE SPOILERS!
A ‘memento’ is a reminder of the past; a keepsake; or something which causes some to remember. The film ‘Memento’ is about Leonard Shelby, who suffers from anterograde amnesia, which means he cannot create new memories, and his search for his wife’s killer and the man who took is short term memory. In this essay I will be looking at how body modification is used in ‘Memento’, what it represent and how it may be considered ‘bad’.
The body modifications used in ‘Memento’ are tattoos. Tattoos are a form of body modification which are invasive, as they involve inserting ink under the skin, and permanent. What is Leonard’s reason for having tattoos? In his own words – “If you have a piece of information which is vital; writing it on your body instead of paper can be the answer. It's just a permanent way of keeping a note.” (Leonard Shelby – ‘Memento’ 2000). Leonard uses his tattoos as a way to keep hold of very important information; if he did not have them he would be lost.
Leonard has 26 tattoos in total. I think there are some tattoos which are more important than others and that play the biggest part in the film. Firstly the ‘remember Sammy Jankis’ tattoo. Sammy was a man that Leonard encountered before he was attacked, Sammy had anterograde amnesia. By remembering Sammy, Leonard is able to remember that he now has the same condition and is able to understand that condition better. In the story that Leonard tells us about Sammy, Sammy became a victim to his condition, a vegetable, but Leonard has been able to escape this fate through his photographs, tattoos and notes.
The second important tattoos are the series of ‘facts’ – ‘The Facts:’ tattoos. There are 6 facts which are what Leonard considers important information to identify the person who raped and murdered his wife. Theses include that the person was male, white, their name is John or James, their last name begins with ‘G’, they are a drug dealer and their cars license number. It is through these facts that Leonard is able to track down the person and eventually kill them. Another tattoo which links with these is the ‘JOHN. G RAPED AND MURDERED MY WIFE’ and ‘find him and kill him’ tattoos. These give Leonard and instant reminder of what happened to his wife and what he plans to do about it. This is ultimately what Leonard see’s as his purpose.
However, although Leonard’s tattoos cannot be considered bad in themselves, there is one tattoo in particular of which the content may be considered bad. ‘Fact 6: car license number SG1371U’. This final clue is ‘bad’ because it is a lie. After having an argument with Teddy in which Teddy tells Leonard that he already gotten his revenge a year ago, that Sammy Jankis wasn’t real, that his wife survived the attack, but could not cope with Leonards condition and that her death was at Leonards hands because she tested him to see if he was faking it, which resulted in her receiving an overdose of insulin, delivered by Leonard; Leonard decides he will take his revenge on Teddy (who’s real name is John Edward Gammell) so he write a note to himself to get a new tattoo (Fact 6) knowing full well that in a few minutes he will forget about the whole thing, see the note and go after his newly discovered target. So Leonard kills Teddy. However this could be considered a good thing, as that number plate is unique to Teddy. If Leonard goes in search of his ‘John. G’ again it will always come back to the same man, and as Leonard documents his life with photographs, he will realise he has already killed Teddy, and hopefully have closure.
In conclusion, Leonard’s tattoos are used to remind him of what his purpose is and they represent his ‘new’ memories. In terms of whether they are bad or not, I would say not, as even the ones which could be considered ‘bad’ may actually produce a good outcome.
References
Memento, 2000. Film. Directed by Christoper NOLAN. USA: Newmarket Capital Group
Bibliograhy
‘Memento Mori’ by Joseph Nolan
‘Body modification’ edited by Mike Featherstone
‘In the flesh: the cultural politics of body modification’ edited by Victoria Pitts
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