Classical Hollywood Cinema and Christopher Nolan’s "Memento"

Term Paper , 2011 , 7 Pages , Grade: 1,0

Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works

This paper shows that Memento does mostly not fit in with Classical Hollywood Cinema (CHC). It will
give a definition of the characteristics and aims of CHC to provide background information. Then, CHC
is compared to Memento in the second part of the paper. It is going to show to which degree the film
Memento can be seen as CHC, where the similarities and differences are and therefore give a solution of
the film’s category.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• Introduction: Memento and the Classical Hollywood Cinema
• Classical Hollywood Cinema
  • The characteristics
  • The aim
• Memento - A Classical Hollywood Cinema film?
  • Similarities and differences
  • Memento - A Neo-Noir film
• Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This paper examines the film Memento and its relationship to Classical Hollywood Cinema (CHC). It aims to define the characteristics and aims of CHC and then analyze how Memento aligns with or deviates from these conventions. The paper explores the film's categorization and whether it can be considered a CHC film, highlighting key similarities and differences.

• The characteristics of Classical Hollywood Cinema
• The aims of Classical Hollywood Cinema
• The similarities between Memento and Classical Hollywood Cinema
• The differences between Memento and Classical Hollywood Cinema
• The categorization of Memento as a Neo-Noir film

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

• Introduction: Memento and Classical Hollywood Cinema: This chapter introduces the paper's focus on analyzing Memento in relation to Classical Hollywood Cinema (CHC). It outlines the paper's structure and its objective to determine whether Memento aligns with CHC conventions.
• Classical Hollywood Cinema: This chapter defines the characteristics and aims of Classical Hollywood Cinema (CHC). It discusses key elements such as individual characters as causal agents, cause-and-effect chains, unrestricted narration, continuity editing, and narrative closure. The chapter also explains the entertainment-driven purpose of CHC.
• Memento - A Classical Hollywood Cinema film?: This chapter explores the similarities and differences between Memento and Classical Hollywood Cinema (CHC). It analyzes how Memento aligns with some CHC conventions, such as the focus on individual characters and cause-and-effect chains. However, the chapter also highlights key deviations, including the non-chronological narrative, restricted narration, and lack of narrative closure.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

Classical Hollywood Cinema, Memento, Neo-Noir, film genre, characteristics, aims, similarities, differences, narrative structure, restricted narration, continuity editing, narrative closure, entertainment, fatalistic, nihilistic, femme fatale.

• College: Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
• Grade: 1,0
• Author: Jonas Lucas (Author)
• Publication Year: 2011
• Pages: 7
• Catalog Number: V171431
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640908295
• ISBN (Book): 9783640908417
• Language: English
• Tags: classical, hollywood, cinema, christopher, nolan’s, memento