Political Satire in Memento

This past weekend I watched Christopher Nolan's Memento. Through two separate storylines (with one moving forward in time and the other moving backwards) Memento depicts the struggles of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator plagued with short-term memory loss as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife. A mystery-thriller, Memento is by no means a traditional satire. Memento subtly comments on several political issues currently facing the United States. Namely, Memento addresses the topical issues of health-care and gun control.

About halfway through the forward moving storyline of Memento, Leonard recalls experiences he had as an insurance investigator working on the "Sammy Jankis" case. After a car accident, Sammy Jankis was affected by short-term memory loss. In order to cover the expensive costs of Sammy's treatment, Sammy's wife filed an insurance claim with Leonard's company. Eventually, Leonard was called in to assess the validity of Sammy's claim. After conducting numerous tests on Sammy, Leonard determined that Sammy's condition was psychological not physical. Sammy's claim was then turned down on the grounds that he wasn't covered for mental illness.

Leonard acknowledges throughout the course of Memento that Sammy's wife was crippled by the costs of supporting Sammy and appealing the decision of the insurance company. Still, Leonard, who received a promotion after closing the Jankis case, maintains his innocence, claiming that he "never said Sammy was faking. Just that his problem was mental, not physical." Leonard serves as an apologist for insurance companies.

The Sammy Jankis story line is a prime example of satire. In order to compel governmental reform, abuses made by insurance agencies are spotlighted. Leonard's approval of insurance companies, who regularly turn a blind eye to human suffering, represents a form of intense sarcasm. In fact, the producers, writers, and director of Memento vehemently disagree with Leonard's opinions. Put another way, Memento laughs at insurance agencies, not with them.

Along the backward moving storyline of Memento, Leonard is tricked into pursuing a man by the name of Dodd. After brutally interrogating Dodd, Leonard comes to realize that Dodd is not his wife's killer. To keep Dodd from going to the police, Leonard threatens Dodd with a gun he happened to find in the hotel room he was staying at. When he discovers the gun in his room, Leonard remarks, "A gun? Why would I have a gun? It must be his. I don't think they'd let someone like me carry a gun. Fucking hope not." These lines of dialogue pointedly criticize the United States government for maintaining the rights of mentally ill individuals to bear arms. The scene makes use of dramatic irony - the audience knows that the gun belongs to Leonard - in demonstrating that certain individuals should be prevented from obtaining a gun. The scene serves as a call to action for reasonable gun control reform.