The Movie Memento Tattoos

Memento is a movie about a man named Lenny who has a disorder that prevents him from creating new memories. The only thing he truly remembers is that two men raped and murdered his wife. He killed one but now he must track down and kill the other. His disorder makes this very difficult but he has a system that helps him do it. The most important asset are his many tattoos. One of the tattoos that he has says “John G. raped and murdered my wife” and is written backward across his chest so that it can be read from a mirror. This tattoo is very important to the story because it reminds him of his only goal in life. The tattoo is written upon his chest and said vocally many times throughout the movie. The words upon his chest are the only thing he knows
for certain and because of this nothing else matters to him.
He must find and kill John G. and nothing else will be remembered or matter. This tattoo represents many different aspects of Lenny’s life with his wife and the life that he remembers nothing of that he currently has. The tattoo reminds Lenny of the single tragedy that took everything from him and now the only thing he has left is revenge. It also reminds him of his grief and the violence that he must do to make things right. Lenny believes that if he can find and kill John G. then he will be able to remember and he can start his new life from that point. This tattoo also reminds him of the only relationship that he can now trust. Without memories, he does not know anything about anyone. But Lenny and his wife’s relationship was true and he can trust it no matter what. The fact that the phrase is tattooed is also important. A tattoo cannot be easily removed and will most likely always be a part of you once it is placed on your skin. This is what the memory of his wife is like to Lenny. As every other memory fades the memories of his
wife and what was done to her will never fade from Lenny. He had the tattoo placed on him backward so that he could always read it and never forget what was taken from him and what he knows he must do to right the wrong. Truth and lies are a common theme in Memento and the only facts the audience are left with come from a liar. This makes beliefs just as potent as truths for Lenny. When every memory fades away Lenny has no idea of any truths. The tattoos could be lies or truths but it does not matter for Lenny as he has no other choice than to believe them and keep pursuing John G. to make his life have a purpose. The film continues to repeat this phrase over and over because this is the only thing that Lenny can ever remember. Each time Lenny wakes up or starts a new memory phase he knows nothing except that John G. raped and murdered his wife and she must be avenged at any cost.