THE DEAD IN THE MEMORY PALACE: THE DETECTIVE WORK OF MEMORY AND MOURNING IN THE MENTALIST (CBS, 2008-)
THE DEAD IN THE MEMORY PALACE: THE DETECTIVE WORK OF MEMORY AND MOURNING IN THE MENTALIST (CBS, 2008-)

Summary/Abstract: My paper investigates several representations of the workings of memory and mourning in several sample cases from the American TV series The Mentalist (CBS, 2008-). The main investigative energies of this TV drama are concentrated around police consultant Patrick Jane, former TV psychic and fraud, whose wife and daughter were murdered by a serial killer who dubs himself "Red John." In his attempt to discover the killer, and avenge the death of his family, Patrick Jane participates in many police murder investigations. These are, however, merely the stage upon which Patrick Jane's mnemonic techniques receive full display. Jane often explains his "Memory Palace" technique, and relates memory and place in the mind, which connection apparently enables him to reconstruct scenes that he has actually never witnessed. The manner in which the creators of the show choose to represent memory (both post-traumatic, in the case of Patrick Jane's and others' flashbacks, as well as everyday memory), contributes to and reflects the manner in which the audience of the show understands the way we remember.

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