Further:

“You mention in a comment on your Momento post: “He wouldn’t stand much chance of accurately labelling his pics if he needed to pick them up 24 hours later.” This reminds me of signs for one hour processing…. if it was possible to have analog prints done even more qiuckly I have visions of Leonard running round like Benny Hill!

And, as you also mention, the use of digital technologies by Leonard instead of Polaroid would provide for differing – and interesting – possibilities. Here I think it gets back to the Polaroid-as-object, and the fact that a manipulated Polaroid reveals its manipulation/s in ways that the digital need not do: such alterations could be covered up – imagine Teddy – or Natalie – getting hold of Leonard’s digital data..

And he would need a ready supply of batteries!”

So I wonder, is Memento the ultimate ‘Polaroid’ film?

Best, Sean.

I’ve been wondering about the Polaroids in Memento – it’s obvious why Lenny uses them rather than less immediate forms of photography: he wants to connect the image to its subject straight away, before he gets chance to forget what it was. He wouldn’t stand much chance of accurately labelling his pics if he needed to pick them up 24 hours later. But why does he feel that it has a special presence and authenticity? Are there other films where Polaroids are granted this special status?

I was pondering the other day how digital technologies are going to mess around with generic conventions in movies. Memento wouldn’t be the same if Teddy called via Skype, or if Lenny had a digital camera, or could video everything he did and play it back (actually, that could be an interesting premise…). That’s as far as my pondering got, prompted by something one of my students wrote in an essay (anonymous exam papers, so I can’t thank/credit anyone, unfortunately), but it felt like one of those ideas that was going to tug at my sleeve for a while.

Best, Sean.