As you are reading make sure you understand the elements of Neo- Noir Films and the definition of a femme fetale. There are a few typos, but it gets to the point of explaining Memento's narrative structure.
Also below is an interesting interpretation of the mementos in Memento. from Hartzog.org, a professor who has linked several very interesting pages about the movie, including the script and original story- "Memento Mori". Read and annotate it for extra credit by the end of mid winter break.
Another technique Nolan uses to keep the b &w story visually engaging is the use of mementos. Mementos are a key idea in the film because mementos--objects, notes, photographs, almost anything--are concrete means of remembering important events, people, things, etc. from the past. So it's appropriate that Leonard uses many different kinds of mementos as ways of trying to cope with his short-term memory loss. Mementos are a means of preserving at least a few short term memories.
The most important mementos in the b & w segments are the tattoos. Using tattoos as mementos is a brilliant stroke for two reasons. First a tattoo is permanent. It isn't easily destroyed or misplaced like photos or written notes. But more importantly tattoos are visually fascinating. The current cultural rage for tattoos is a testimony to the tattoo's power to arrest attention.
His tats visually dramatize Leonard's condition. The bewildering array of tattooed messages, which we know mean something to Leonard, communicate to us the opposite: a chaos of fragmentary and cryptic messages that make no sense. By means of the tattoos, we can see engraved on his body the radical disorientation of his condition.
In the scenes in the motel room, one of the key means of keeping the audience engaged is the focus on Leonard's tattoos as he's speaking. We also see him in the process of making his own tats with needle and a ball point pen.
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