Comparing Two Thriller Opening Sequences - Inception, Memento!!!

Conventions used in Memento opening -
The opening has a crime being that, the main character of the film has just commited a murder but then forgotten that he has. This gives the audience an idea of what the film will be about. (his memory problems) This opening makes the audience question why the main character murdered the person and also why one of the supporting characters lied to him. (they said that they didn't know them when they did.) The protagonist is dis-empowered being that he has a memory problem and so other characters can take advantage of him. This also means that the antagonist can exploit this.


Conventions used in Inception opening -
There is a crime at the core of the narrative being that the protagonist and his friend are trying to steal (exract) information from another character. The opening makes the audience ask questions such as, 'how are they in a dream?' or 'how are they going to steal information from a person whilst in a dream?' There are extaordinary events happening in an ordinary situation. I.e. having a dream is normal but being able to go into and control a dream is extraordinary. The protagonist has a flaw, which dis-empowers him, of not being able to control his own sub-conscience from entering the dream and so it sabotages the situation when the protagonist is trying to steal the information.


Comparing the two sequences similarities and differences -
Both of the films start with a crime being commited. This is ery common in thriller films. But both of the crimes are different. in Inception the character is only stealing something, which helps to set up the plot of why he needs to be able to and can enter dreams. Ane in Memento the protagonist commits murder, which makes the audience question why he has done it. So the crimes at the beggining of both of the films make the audience ask questions, which will help to maintain the audiences attention on the film. Both of the protagonists have a flaw which dis-empowers them. In Inception the protagonist can't stop his own mind from sabotaging him. and in Memento the protagonist can't keep his memories and forgets things very easily. This is a similarity between the two films because both of the protagonists are fighting with their minds to try and finish their jobs. Both of the protagonists have a flaw which the antagonist can exploit. In Memento there is a complex narrative structure but in Inception there isn't. The introduction to Memento uses effects such as black and white in the introduction to show this.