No one else has seen this movie. No one has heard of the actors. Well, it exists in our minds. No, in fact, memory research shows us clearly that each time a memory is recalled, it is altered. Sooner or later, the movie becomes a shadow of itself in our minds.
Whole scenes are lost, detail is altered by recall, and so forth.
What possibly can be the definition of self without a self-reflective path that necessarily implies memory. Self-awareness is itself the circular reflection of memory. At least self-awareness in any contemplative sense. Suppose a self-aware dog with memory, that is, the dog knows its name, a few tricks, where it lives, comes when you call it, sleeps on your bed and so forth, forgets everything. Now the animal is strange to us.