such as Gilles Deleuze’s notion of cinema’s ability to re conceptualize time and movement.6 Although the features of Memento which I discuss suggest that the film does indeed do philosophy in a unique manner, I shall argue for the weaker thesis presented by Smuts: “that some films can make philosophical contributions by paradigmatic cinematic means.”7 Smuts notes that the purpose of the results condition “is to help distinguish be- tween the mere illustration of a preexisting philosophical concept and the presentation of a new idea.”8 The results condition has two elements, innovation and independence, and Smuts is once again wary of setting standards which are too demanding: the innovation requirement is not that “all philosophical contributions made by films must be innovative, but that in principle films should be capable of innovation.”9 Most philosophy lacks innovation in the sense of making an original contribution to the discipline, and there is thus no need to demand this feature of film, as long as film has the potential to make such a contribution. The independence element of Livingston’s thesis is a requirement that the philosophical contribution is not dependent upon a particular interpretation or philosophical context, that is, im- ported into the film by the audience.10 I could, for example, offer an interpretation of George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) based on Martin Heidegger’s conception of authenticity, particularly being-towards-death. Even if my interpretation provided fresh insights into the film, I would clearly be imposing Heidegger’s philosophy on the work, whereas a similar interpretation of Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998) is less likely to be regarded as importation and more likely exegesis.11 I argue that Memento makes an innovative and independent contribution to philosophical knowledge by experiential affirmation, a means which is paradigmatic of the cinematic art form.