Memento Theme of Memory and the Past

This isn't just any old Memento theme, this is the quintessential Memento theme.

Leonard's condition and the narrative structure of the movie are completely based around memory… or, more accurately, the lack thereof. The movie is sort of like Leonard's pictures, providing slices of story devoid of context, creating a world that exists only in the present.

Thinking about a Leonard with memory doesn't even make sense, because his whole self is centered on his condition. Leonard's memories of the past that he can remember are called into question, and Leonard's pseudo-memories like the pictures and notes he takes can be misleading.

1. If you could give Leonard one piece of information for him to maintain, what would it be? That he killed John G? What Teddy is up to? That he may, in fact, be Sammy Jankis?
2. It's easy to criticize Leonard for trusting people, even his own notes, but is he wrong in doing so? Is it possible for him to be productive if he constantly questions the legitimacy of all his information?
3. How does our perception of Leonard develop as the movie progresses (or regresses)? Compare this to how your perception of yourself has changed over the course of your life and what it would be like for this perception to be stuck in time even as your life moved forward.

Leonard is right; memory is useless. Eyewitnesses are unreliable and only the hard facts matter. We should never trust the things we see from our past in our mind's eye, because they're manipulated over time.

Facts can only be useful within a larger, more holistic accumulation of knowledge. Leonard's system of only facts is flawed because he has not context from which to evaluate and reevaluate his information.