A Photo Teacher |

Scene from Memento (2000)

Released in 2001, Memento is a critically-acclaimed psychological thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is the story of Leonard Shelby (played by Guy Pearce), a former insurance fraud investigator and his search for the man he believes raped and murdered his wife during a burglary. Unable to record new memories due to suffering amnesia from the head trauma he experienced during his wife’s attack, Shelby creates a system of Polaroid photographs, notes and tattoos all over his body to record his day-to-day activities and information about others. Memento was nominated for Academy of Awards in Original Screenplay and Editing, and was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It did receive 13 awards for Best Screenplay and 5 awards for Best Picture from various film critic associations and festivals.

As photography and its relationship to memory and perception are significant themes in Memento, what role and function does photography have for you as a private endeavor and within a public context?