SSC Film Studies

Laura Mulvey analyses the imbalance of power and authority that men and woman have; she talks about how woman are there just for how men see them, how they see themselves and how other women see them.  With the film ‘memento’ this view of women can be hugely challenged; with the two of the woman characters Natalie, who is violent and abusive throughout the film and seems to be very much in control in the situations that she gets her self into; the other female character being the tattoo artist, who very much so has a manly appearance and goes against the theory of women being there just for their appearance, as she plays a typical male role. This challenges Laura Mulvey of the male gaze, as these two women aren’t being sexualised in any way.

“fetishizing the woman deflects attention from female ‘lack’ and changes her from a dangerous figure into a reassuring object of flawless beauty”

(Feminist film theory; Anneke Smelik, page 492)

This quote suggests that woman are either there to take away some of the mans manly hood and authority that he portrays in the film, or they are simply just there for their appearance therefore denying them of any ‘human agency, relegating them to status of objects’ and nothing else.

Natalie goes against the believing that women are an object of flawless beauty as throughout the film, she is constantly dressed in dark clothes and there is isn’t any emphasises upon her body or her looks; as she is always seen with frizzy hair and bruises.  A scene that supports this is when Lenny and Natalie are in bed with one another typically women are seen with little clothes on trying to attract as much male attention as possible. However, here Natalie is yet again pictures in dark clothing.

A scene that challenges this quote is were Natalie manipulates Lenny; by continuously referring to him as a ‘retard’ and calling his wife a ‘whore.’ This scene is very unusual, as woman don’t try to take away the male characters authority by belittling them. Once Natalie disregards Lenny genetics saying that his wife gave him a ‘disease’ that actually resulted in his condition, he instantly results in violence in order to some how get some of his authority and power back. When Natalie leaves and the re enters the house, she shows her self to be a weak and typical female character that relies on a man to help and protect her; giving the audience the impression of her now being a passive character. However with Lenny’s condition she continuity not only manipulates Lenny but also the audience as she can easily switch the roles in which she portrays