![]() ![]() Unlike in most films in this genre, this amnesic character retains his identity, has little retrograde amnesia, and shows several of the severe everyday real-life memory difficulties associated with the disorder. Apparently inspired partly by the neuropsychological studies of the famous patient HM (who developed severe memory injury after neurosurgery to control his epileptic seizures) and the temporal lobe amnesic syndrome, the movie portrays the difficulties faced by Leonard (the main character), who develops a severe anterograde amnesia after an attack in which his wife is killed. The movie Memento (2000) also deserves a special remark. In this movie, you can see clearly that the writers and director have clearly done their research into the condition and there is good depiction of this syndrome. In Se Quien Eres (2000) a psychiatrist treats a patient with Korsakoff’s syndrome. In this pool of misconceptions about amnesia, three films are an exception that need to be mentioned here. Loss of memory in people after a certain age These distinctions, which in a medical setting are critical in terms of prognosis and treatment, are often blurred at the movies, to enhance the spectacular. The most commonly agreed features of amnesic syndromes include normal intelligence and attention span, with severe and permanent difficulties in taking in new information. True dissociative amnesia (when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information) are rare, but people with such conditions are able to learn new information and perform everyday tasks. ![]() In the real world, most profound amnesic syndromes have a clear neurological or psychiatric basis. Although post-traumatic amnesia is common in survivors of road crashes and assaults in the real world, the profound loss of identity and knowledge repeatedly portrayed at the movies is unrealistic and comic sometimes. Road traffic crashes and assault are the most common causes for amnesia in movie characters. These factors are overlooked at the movies in favor of the much more dramatic head injury. The most profound amnesic syndromes usually develop as a result of neurosurgery, brain infection, or a stroke. Dementia often includes memory loss, but it also involves other significant cognitive problems that lead to a decline in the ability to carry out daily activities. Impaired ability to recall past events and previously familiar information ( retrograde amnesia)Īmnesia isn’t the same as dementia.Impaired ability to learn new information following the onset of amnesia ( anterograde amnesia).In almost all these movies, there is a profound misconceptions and misrepresentations of this syndrome that need to be addressed.Īs defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, amnesia is a loss of memory due usually to brain injury, shock, fatigue, repression, or illness.Īs succinctly explained by the Mayo Clinic, the two main features of amnesia are: ![]() The most memorable movies where AMNESIA played a big role are: Memento (2000), Total recall (1990), The Bourne series (2002-2016), 50 first dates (2004), The Island (2005), Desperately seeking Susan (1985), Amnesiac (2014) and the list can go on and on and on. It seems that in Hollywood AMNESIA is a favorite topic for screenwriters because it brings about an easiness in the plot where the writers can turn people and events around and make the movie more interesting. ![]()
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