Assignment 2: Notes for a Critical Essay, Glossary

Subject and Section Professor’s name Date The Meaning Behind “Inception” the Movie: Exploring Perception, Memory, and Subjective Reality Introduction Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film “Inception” poses issues related to perception, memory, the nature of knowledge, and truth to the audience. The film tells the story of Dom Cobb, a very professional thief who specializes in stealing or planting thoughts in other people's minds by the use of dreams. Exploring the dream world, Cobb finally attempts to perform "Inception" – putting an idea into someone's mind instead of taking it out – and as is expected, the lines between dreams and reality become rather vague not just for Cobb but also for the viewers asking the question: "What is real?" According to Freudian Analysis, dreams are the “royal road of the unconscious” (Rahardjo). In this film, Nolan shows that the subjective ideology of every individual varies and can shape the structure, motifs, and themes of an alternative reality. This shows that Inception is a complex allegory referring to the subjectivist conception of reality, identity, and the moral issues of learning about controlling minds. This work examines how Inception utilizes them to produce elements of doubt in terms of knowledge and the ability of the audience to manipulate their perceptions with the help of memories. On this basis, the features of constructing the narrative structure and its impact on the perception of reality are described. Therefore, the layered dreams in this film represent the complexities of reality. Furthermore, every individual layer in the film has their temporal-spatial logic different from one another, and time runs slower in deeper layers. The main action unfolds across four layers: reality, the first dream sphere, a second dream sphere within this first one, and the limbo phase in which time extends indefinitely. Additionally, every level offers both the spatial and cerebral increase in the character's experience, thus confusing the notion of time and space (Fisher). Another element is Wally Pfister’s cinematography, known for practical effects and visual storytelling. The film's editing successfully contributes to this layered experience of perception together with the characters. For instance, one of the most frequently used symbols belongs to the deeper dream layers, which reveal the slowed-down perception of time used in the slow-motion scenes. However, fast switching between these dream layers increases the pressure and erases differences between layers of dreams (Variety Staff). This visual disorientation repeats the same as Cobb's experiences with reality, whereby he becomes confused in deciphering between dreams and wakefulness. In his critique, Daniels has observed that complex or intricate narrative forms such as those seen in films such as Inception involve viewers in the cognitive mapping processes involved, in this case, by challenging the audience to put the pieces together and engage them in the activity that they are shown in the film. These two elements result from the conflict between story construction and the represented narrative, which concerns human imperfection as a receptor of reality. By making the audiences be required to identify the different layers of the movie to comprehend the theme, Inception is instead a representation of this fact as it is representable how different people perceive time, space, and the truth. Memory as a Driving Force Behind Identity Memory is another force that defines identity and sensory perception in Inception; through his late wife, Mal, Cobb's urges become in Emanuel's "projections" of the dream world, veiled emotions that control him and endanger himself and his team. Mal is depicted often in low light, the Sinking feeling, a reference to Cobb’s guilt and inability to let go of his dead wife. Through the film, Mal shows this aspect of memory in that it produces a twisted history that becomes even a living menace to Cobb's reality (Fisher; Bradshaw). Moreover, memory plays a role in Inception and forms the validity of knowledge obtained from dreams or memory recall. Mal is constructed by Cobb's guilt, amounting to regret and sorrow. Therefore, the flashback shows that Cobb must accurately depict Mal's emotions or feelings. This is consistent with psychological evidence, which shows that memory is not a tape recording of events but a narrative that is inclined by feelings and predispositi...