Amnesia in Pop Culture

Intriguing (Fake) Amnesiacs Getty Images Anna Anderson claimed that she was Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Anna Anderson: Claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, daughter of the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, until her death. The Russian royal family was killed during the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918, but Anderson told people that she was Anastasia and that amnesia had erased her memories of royal life. Ciprian Skeid: Also known as Mr. Nobody, Skeid went to a Toronto hospital looking injured with no identification, claiming amnesia in 1999. With a convincing British accent, he tried to obtain a Canadian passport, which was denied. In 2007, GQ magazine investigated his story and revealed his true identity and home (Timisoara, Romania). Doug Bruce: Subject of the 2005 documentary film "Unknown White Male," in which Bruce shows up at a Coney Island police station with total retrograde amnesia. Aside from the recent death of his mother and a small tumor on his pituitary glands, his condition lacks any sort of neurological precedent. Due to that and the rarity of total retrograde amnesia, skeptics think that Bruce may be faking.

Hollywood loves leading characters with amnesia. Since the days of silent film, attractive stars have hit their head, fallen unconscious and woken up with no memory of their life or identity. Later -- usually after discovering a newfound appreciation for life -- they're hit on the head again and the amnesia is cured. It's an entertaining scenario, but nearly impossible. Although some scripts are more realistic than others, comedies, thrillers and action movies have used amnesia as a plot device. The following recent popular films provide a sampling of Hollywood's love affair with memory loss:

• "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
• "Mulholland Dr."
• "Memento"
• "Vanilla Sky"
• The Bourne Trilogy

Aside from film, the amnesia theme constantly pops up in popular culture. Sudden cases of amnesia are classic soap opera fodder. On the more intellectual end of the cultural spectrum, authors including Charles Dickens (in "A Tale of Two Cities") have worked amnesia into their novels. Even rock band Radiohead called their 2001 album "Amnesiac." Book critic for Time magazine, Lev Grossman, describes Americans' cultural obsession with amnesia as a "national tradition" [source: Grossman]. He says the concept of the American dream is based on a metaphorical amnesia in which people leave behind their former lives to achieve success.

Maybe it's the mystery of amnesia that makes it appealing to watch and read about. Memory is our only personal record of the past and of who we are as individuals. In this way, it links our pasts to our futures. But while erasing your history may seem appealing, true cases of amnesia prove that starting over in the brain is a delicate, complicated process. To read more about mind and memory, check out the links on the next page.