8. Amnesia That Also Happens To Change A Characters Personality
Or Retrograde Amnesia if were going to going to go down the clinical route. Granted the loss of part or all of your memories will have a debilitating effect. If you have an accident and forget who or what you are, sure youre going to make some decisions you may not have considered before. That being said, the chances are, you wont have a complete personality wipe in the process. Take the Bourne films. Just because he cant remember his old life, that doesnt make Matt Damons Jason Bourne any less cunning or deadly. Those honed skills are still there, even if he cant remember how he got them. But in The Long Kiss Goodnight, Samantha Caine (Geena Davies) was a top secret agent with lethal skills who had an accident and then spends eight years asa perfect suburban Krispie-treat soccer mum? Every fighting skill is suppressed, until a car accident reactivates them? Thats a complete change of personality brought about by amnesia. Shes not a cop. Or a stuntwoman. Or in private security. Because somehow she has a new personality and wouldnt know how to do any of these roles. No, shes a teacher. And not a Nazi-like PE teacher either. Now go back to Jason Bourne. Perhaps he wakes up, settles down in a nice town in Midwest America, has a couple of kids, joins a local amateur dramatic society and opens a kitten sanctuary? No. Because, despite his amnesia, hes still Jason Bourne
