Textual analysis

Memento - textual analysis practice

Although memento contains many of your stereotypical representations of woman it is clear that that it also challenges many of these representations. Challenging the idea that woman are passive rather than active like the male. The main female character, Natalie is the perfect example and is used as a facilitator to challenge this traditional ideology.  As stated

"Representation of 'The more perfect, more complete, more powerful ideal ego' of the ail hero stands in stark opposition to the distorted image of the passive and powerless female character. "

               (Laura Mulvey, 1989, p.20, Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema)

The scene in particular when we see Natalie manipulate Lennard is a perfect example of how this film challenges the view of Mulvey's. 'Powerless' Mulvey states. Natalie? This scene turns that view completely on it's head showing Natalie to be the complete opposite as she manipulates and takes control of the entire situation and here we then see Natalie as the villain rather than a victim. She clearly holds topic management in this case which again is not stereotypical traditionally for a female to have and also as Lennard is the vulnerable character in this case due to his short term memory condition again shows how typical gender characteristics are challenged.

This film also demonstrates the stereotypical conventions of what a woman is meant to be. Seeing them as the weaker, vulnerable gender; sensitive and with feeling unlike the strong alpha male who often takes control of situation and dominates the screen

"The spectator is actively made to identify with the male rather than the female character in the film" (Laura Mulvey, 1989, p.20, Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema)

This reinforces this ideology of how the woman is represented as the weaker sex and the complete opposite to a man. Female characters represent the fear of castration but also symbolise a lack of manhood. 

"The sign 'woman' can be analysed as a structure, a code or a convention. it represents the ideological meaning that 'woman' has for men. in relation to herself, she means nothing, Woman are negatively represented as 'not-man'." 

(Claire Johnston, 1991, pg.25)

The scene when Natalie enters hysterical having being beat up by 'Dobb' illustrates this as she is overly emotional, something which men aren't considered to be, portraying her as 'Not man'. The fact she is going to Lennard for help signifies how she aware of her female hopelessness as she has gone to a man for help who are often seen as the protectors. It also emphasises the view of female inferior as despite Lennard's disability he is still strong enough to protect her.

Through the many arguments that develop in Laura Mulvey's Male gaze theory, one thing that i agree with is the fact that woman are represented in a way that reminds the male subject of the "lack of penis". This argument in itself may be why woman are often represented as disintegrated and luxated and whilst the analysis of females is i often concerned of the appearance of woman, many believe this deracination extends to woman's voices.


"The female voice is restricted to the realm of the body. This amounts to keeping it outside discourse. The female voice can hardly reach a signifying position in language, meaning or power and is hence all too easily reduced to screams, babble or silence in dominant cinema."

(Anneke Smelik, Pg.496, The Cinema Book)

looking back at the previous scenes, the first one we see Natalie beaten and apprehensive (which is part of her ploy to manipulate Leonard). Her voice is raised and the cadence of her speech increase so that the words become nothing but a "Babble" and later reduced to a raspy whisper. The scene that closely follows, when then see Natalie scream again as she ridicules Leonard which is one of the ways a woman exerts authority by raising or changing her voice. Further more where Smelik alleged that the woman is "Restricted to the realm of her body" and in the first scene discussion revolves around her being beaten physically and in the scene that follows Natalie's opposition ally used violent language which connotes sexual intercourse, calling Leonard's wife things such as a 'Cunt' and 'Whore' all negative words. All of these components contribute to Smelik's theory and reinforces what she says that the voice can be used to displace woman in film