Retrospective Memory - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

The absence of retrospective memory creates an amnesia that has frequently been a key element in plot lines in television, film and novels. Some examples are:

Remember Me, a novel by Sophie Kinsella, in which amnesia is caused by trauma.
The Bourne Identity, a novel by Robert Ludlum and a film adaptation, in which amnesia is caused by trauma.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a film by Michel Gondry, in which amnesia is caused by a company who are hired to erase painful memories.

Memory is frequently the subject of many wise quotations. The following are some examples relating to retrospective memory (or lack thereof):

Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.-Oscar Wilde
Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.-Sholem Asch

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