Memory Disorder - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Characters with memory disorders have helped to move literature and media along by allowing for either suspense to be created through retrograde or traumatic amnesia as seen in Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound. It can also provide comic relief if one introduces a character who has short-term memory impairments.

Some examples from movies and television shows that often depict characters suffering from memory disorders include:

• Denny Crane, a character from the television show Boston Legal shows cognitive impairment that could be indicative to Alzheimer’s disease.
• Dr. Philip Brainard a character in the movie The Absent-Minded Professor displays mild memory impairment.
• The character Dory from the movie Finding Nemo shows severe short term memory loss.
• The celebrity and actor Michael J. Fox has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
• The character Savant (comics), a member of the DC Comics superhero team the Birds of Prey (comics), exhibits both photographic and non-linear memory as a result of what is only described as "a chemical imbalance".
• Iris Murdoch- British writer and philosopher who developed Alzheimer's disease and portrayed by Kate Winslet in the film Iris in 2001
• The Notebook (2004), the film based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks(1996) a character, Allie Hamilton played by Rachel McAdams that developed Alzheimer's disease.