I saw Inception opening night, and I have to agree with film critics when they say it is Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. I love that it stimulates the intellect and touches on the concept of a simulated reality (which I'm a huge sucker for). Although the ambiguous ending is clichéd, I love that it sparks discussion - which is why I am writing.
In addition to this, I added established rules and inferred rules.
Established:
- One feels pain in a dream, because pain is perceived by the mind.
- Because one no longer exists (dies) in a dream, they are kicked into the previous level.
- One must be kicked back into the last level before each dreamer wakes up. Therefore, a synchronized kick takes place in each level, so they are not trapped.
- Time goes by relatively faster as you venture into deeper levels.
- To escape limbo, one must realize it is merely a dream, then commit suicide. After Cobb and Mal accept they are in Limbo, they off themselves and are kicked back into “reality”. When Cobb helps Saito come to this conclusion at the end of the film, it is implied that they kill each other.
- The architect (Ariadne) designs all levels, but each level can be manipulated by the dreamer. For example, Arthur is able to manipulate the stairs in the hotel level, and Eames is able to create an alternate path in the snow fortress.
- The dreamer cannot travel any further than their own dream. Which is why Yusuf stays in the van-level, Arthur stays in the hotel-level, and Eames stays in the snow-level.
- As a result of the sedative, when someone dies in a dream, the go straight to Limbo. This is the case for both Cobb, Fischer, and Saito - and also explains the age difference between them. Saito dies first and remains there for the longest, which is why he appears the oldest in Limbo. Because Cobb realizes he is in Limbo relatively soon, he doesn't appear to age.
There is one inconsistency that forces me to question what I believe (that the plan was success), and that there are actually more levels of dreaming. I have come up with three theories.
What happens if someone is disconnected from the machine while they’re still traveling through another person’s dream? I wondered about this after everyone woke up on the plane. The flight attendant is the one who operates the machine, but she is given no cue as to what is happening in each person’s dream - only an estimate of when the sedative should wear off. So how does everyone on the plane wake up without accidentally being stuck in someone’s dream after being disconnected? The flight attendant must be able to disconnect everyone (especially Fischer Jr.) before they wake up.
1.) The airplane/”reality” level is actually Saito’s dream. There is a lot of evidence that supports this. The movie starts off in Saito’s limbo, then moves into his dream. Some examples from the film are:
- Saito and “Mal’s” recurring phrase “take a leap of faith”.
- Because Saito feels Cobb’s totem, he can reconstruct it in his dream, allowing Cobb to think he can distinguish reality versus dreaming. This supports the second inferred rule.
- Saito coincidentally rescues Cobb from the dream-like chase in Africa.
- We never see if the totem topples over when Saito walks in on Cobb in the bathroom. Cobb never tries it again afterwards, until the final scene.
What I love about this theory is that Saito is able to keep his promise to Cobb, by “reuniting” him with his family. Saito takes specific steps to ensure that Cobb remains in Limbo (perhaps finding a machine that allows Cobb to stay in a comatose state) while ensuring that Fischer Jr. begins his own business.
The only flaw with this theory is that it serves no purpose. Saito's goal is to plant an idea in Fischer's mind, but if this is all in Saito's dream, the whole plan was useless.
2.) The airplane/”reality” level is actually Cobb’s dream, where he creates a happy ending for everyone. He saves Saito from Limbo and everyone escapes successfully. He returns home to be greeted by his family, and instead of waiting to see if his totem topples over on the counter, he chooses to ignore it, perhaps accepting this as his reality. What can you say? Ignorance is bliss.
However, this means that his physical body is somewhere in reality, and we don't know what is happening to it. Limbo is a state of mind, and if his actual body dies, does he disappear? Because we don't know where his body is, one might assume that Cobb accepting his fate is only a temporary solution, because his body (as far as we know) is vulnerable.
3.) All the levels above the airplane level were a dream. The technology does not exist, the passengers on the plane were just in his dream by coincidence (which is why they don’t acknowledge each other after they leave - even Fischer, who had just dreamt about him, doesn't stop in surprise), he was never banned from the U.S. - he is merely overwrought with guilt. After his dream, he finally accepts his wife’s suicide and returns home.
As much as I'd like to stick to "everything was a success", I have to take these into consideration. Although it falls under the "none of this actually ever happened" theory, which I'm not particularly fond of, I believe theory #3 holds the most weight. I will admit to not particularly liking the idea, but it still explains the flight attendant inconsistency best. None of these theories are concrete, but I wanted to draw attention to each possibility, as well as establish their weaknesses. It's all up for argument.
What are some of your theories and inconsistencies you’d like to draw attention to? An idea is "the most resilient parasite" - why not share yours?
P.S. - Was I the only one who thought, “Jack Dawson survived!” when Leonardo DiCaprio washed up on the shores of Limbo at the beginning of Inception?
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24 comments:
^u mad
@FirstCommenter
I am sick of retards with baseless assumptions. You're a fucking idiot. Man, people like you are annoying; why don't you look up the definition for "interpretation" before you resort to name-calling?
You have a weak argument and don't support it with evidence from the film, unlike the writer. She even mentions that Fischer doesn't freak out when he sees Cobb, whom he had JUST had a dream about. So far, she has more support than you do.
^ *high five*
I like your three theories and I agree that the third one makes the most sense. :]
The first theory is almost sweet (keeping his promise to Cobb) but I totally forgot that it would ruin the purpose of Saito's plan.
And just to jump the bandwagon on bitching out the first person; fuck YOU. She was offering THREE thoeries as food for thought she wasn't saying "hurr it was all a dream." You're a big fucking idiot, have a terrible day.
Good read. :-) I like that you mentioned Cobb chose ignorance over knowing the truth in the second theory. I'm glad this wasn't just an instance of "OMG WUT HAPN HERE LOL?!" and instead supported all your claims. More people need to do that before they open their mouths. ;o)
i am still convinced that the children in the end are the same as the children he keeps seeing.
ty for the diagram. it rly helped organize wat hapnd.
"man people like you really are annoying, you find 1 flaw you cannot take the time to even google, then you run off with that 1 flaw and make a huge baseless assumption that HURR ITS ALL A DREAM!"
She gives us that whole list of evidence from the movie, you dense fuck.
Great read--you cleared up the age difference for Saito and Cobb for me. :D
The timeline of events is fantastic. I'm definitely saving it, as well as the established/inferred rules.
To first commenter: you are one dumb motherfucker. She says that none of the theories are concrete and that they're simply there for consideration. She isn't saying "OMG THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS." Joyce even finishes the article claiming she would still prefer to think that the heist was a success.
I lol'd at your reference to Titanic.
I still can't tell if the kids at the end are the same, and this is what I tried paying attention to the second time I watched it. Although imdb says there were two actors/actresses for each kid, I don't think there's a way of knowing since we don't see their faces.
Have you heard of the word going around that the girl's voice changes mid-phone call? Maybe the older girl offered her voice just for that part. We don't know. Credits don't specify.
Only thing about the 3rd theory is that they Cobb is awake when they are setting up the machine and he drugs his drink. If it was just a dream and they happened to be there why would he randomly drug a man's drink. I like the 3rd one but it has a few flaws.
Isn't the winter level Fischer's dream, not Eames'? I thought the whole point of it was for them to get into Fischer's mind?
^ It's Eames' dream, which is why he can add the air-duct to that level. It's also why Eames doesn't leave that level to chase after Fischer. He can't go as far as his own dream.
If it were Fischer's dream, the winter level would have collapsed when he died and went to Limbo.
One idea that stuck in my head was that when Ariande falls in Limbo to create a kick, her eyes are shown opening in the snow world. Dom has been constantly pushing his wife to go to deeper and deeper levels during their shared dreams and this is how they end up in limbo originally from what I can tell. So if Ariande "dies" in limbo and awakes in the snow world just before the kick, then wouldn't Dom and his wife have awoken only one level above limbo when they killed themselves via the train. Dom's wife killing herself in this higher level of dream state would have taken her closer to reality and not actually killed her as Dom believes has happened and means he has been stuck in the same higher dream state since her death. I think it is interesting then that Dom becomes so reliant upon this "one higher" level than the original limbo he and his wife was in that even deeper levels of dream state are able to be achieved before reaching limbo again.
One inconsistency after a quick read of your interpretation...time is SLOWER the deeper you go, according to the movie. Remember, the van had like so many seconds before it toppled into the water, and the characters had an hour in the snow.
^ I believe that time goes -faster- the further/deeper you go. That's why Saito has aged so much by the time Dom goes back to limbo and is reunited with Saito.
The van is the "first" level of dreaming they enter, so it is slower than the other levels. Therefore, the deeper ones are faster.
"One inconsistency after a quick read of your interpretation...time is SLOWER the deeper you go, according to the movie. Remember, the van had like so many seconds before it toppled into the water, and the characters had an hour in the snow." July 21, 2010 10:53 AM
It explicitly states in the movie that time goes by faster the deeper you go.
I kind of can't believe you made that diagram/timeline because you were struck with inspiration in the shower.... hahaha.
I was convinced that it was theory #1 after watching the movie. That whole chase in Africa or wherever was so dream-like... but you opened my eyes to the lack of purpose it would serve if it were Saito's dream.
Well-written.
I saw this film twice on opening day. Both times i heard people yell out it was "Jack"
Just saw this movie recently. Great timeline image you created, but it ignores something important. Unless I can figure out how this key point relates to the rest of the story, no theory anyone creates matters.
The issue I have with your picture is the fact that you only have Cobb and Saito in the shared limbo state at the end of the timeline. You totally ignore the opening scene of the movie. This is a very important scene everyone seems to ignore.
My first instinct after the movie began was that the bulk of the movie would be a flashback that eventually leads back to the opening scene. The movie wants you to think this way. If you compare the two scenes however, you'll notice they are different. At the end, it is almost as if Cobb remembers the opening scene, and is therefore able to guess Saito's line of "half-remembered dream." This implies that Cobb and Saito have had that same conversation at least twice.
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