John Seamon Decem1 Memory Processes and Memory Films Setting the Scene Our memory is a collection of systems that serve different functions but work together in a unified fashion. I offer my sincerest appreciation to each of the following: the many Wesleyan students who responded enthusiastically to my memory and film course and convinced me that movies could enhance education my colleague and friend, Charles Sanislow, who tirelessly read chapter drafts and made each one better by sprinkling encouragement with his astute criticism my editor, Philip Laughlin, who, when I submitted an initial inquiry, asked for the entire manuscript and proceeded to make me an MIT Press author the people at MIT Press, including Christopher Eyer, Judith Feldmann, Susan Clark, and Molly Seamans, who turned my manuscript into a book and finally, Wesleyan University, for providing a wonderfully supportive environment for over forty years and giving me the freedom to keep reinventing my courses and myself. This book has my name on the cover, but others helped me to shape it.
But as my students experienced in viewing Memento, examining these films with an educated eye sheds new light on memory function and its dysfunction, promoting a greater understanding of this fundamental aspect of mind. Over eight chapters, I sketch a “big picture” view of memory, covering its x Preface major phenomena in a nontechnical manner and illustrating them with a wide variety of films-including many movies that readers may have already seen. It is for anyone who loves watching movies and seeks a basic understanding of memory that is grounded in scientific knowledge. I wrote it for a general audience with no background in psychology. Their enthusiasm led me to develop a new course-Memory in the Movies-and, ultimately, to writing this book, both focusing on understanding memory through popular films. No longer was Memento seen as a bizarre revenge story, cleverly told in backward chronological order-now it became a vehicle for demonstrating their new understanding of memory. But my fears were quickly allayed when they responded enthusiastically to the exercise and said that they saw the film in a new light. I had no idea how these people would respond, especially because many of them had already seen the film.
LOOP HERO BOOK OF MEMORIES MOVIE
After describing different memory pathologies, I showed this movie to my students and asked them to write an essay detailing what Memento got right about memory and what it got wrong. Wondering whether popular films could enrich learning, I tried an experiment in my memory course at Wesleyan University. Contents Preface ix 1 Memory Processes and Memory Films 1 2 Movies and the Mind’s Workbench 19 3 Making Memories That Last 41 4 Recognizing the People We Know 71 5 Autobiographical Memories and Life Stories 95 6 When Troubling Memories Persist 119 7 Understanding the Reality of Amnesia 149 8 Senior Moments, Forgetfulness, and Dementia 179 Epilogue: Memory in Hollywood and Real Life 215 Notes 223 Index 255 Preface The origin of this book can be traced to the release of the film Memento in 2000. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seamon, John G., 1943– Memory and movies : what films can teach us about memory / John Seamon. Printed and bound in the United States of America. This book was set in Stone Sans and Stone Serif by the MIT Press. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. Memory and Movies Memory and Movies What Films Can Teach Us about Memory John Seamon The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2015 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. Table of contents : Contents Preface 1 Memory Processes and Memory Films 2 Movies and the Mind’s Workbench 3 Making Memories That Last 4 Recognizing the People We Know 5 Autobiographical Memories and Life Stories 6 When Troubling Memories Persist 7 Understanding the Reality of Amnesia 8 Senior Moments, Forgetfulness, and Dementia Epilogue: Memory in Hollywood and Real Life Notes Index Citation preview
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