Most people would think that there are just 2 sides of an argument, but actually this is just an over simplified version in standardized televised debates. For these debates to be considered a good one, both “for” and “against” points should have strong arguments about a certain topic. Common topics could be politics, religion, global warming, or other things that are not exactly proven to be an absolute fact.

So how does this relate to Inception exactly? Well to answer that, let me talk about the different perceptions of the mind or how a certain mindset based on what you know (or what people say at the right moment) can change how you think or feel about the same situation.

PERCEPTIONS OF THE MIND

You would notice in the movie that (almost) all of the participants have their own share of (very scary) skeletons in their closets that they were afraid to reveal to their “comrades”.  At first they kept these secrets hidden because they trusted AND not trusted each other at the same time.

They were on the same mission, but their individual motives were different, and they couldn’t trust each other enough not to spill the beans. Not until they were placed in a very dire (deadly) situation where they have to tell each other everything…but it wasn’t that simple.

THE SUBCONSCIOUS

You might think that it was weird why extreme persuasion had to be used to get any one of them to “talk”. Well, the reason for this is because the information was not readily available in their conscious mind.

First off let us define some terms:

Conscious – You know you are actively doing this thing.

Unconscious – You don’t know you are doing this until it is pointed out to you.

Subconscious – You refuse to believe you are doing this even if it is already pointed out and need some sort of stimuli or significant message/event to get you to believe.

The Subconscious is actually very tricky as it stems from significant key experiences you have in childhood. Those key experiences actually mold /shape you to who you are today, even if you don’t realize it.

There are a lot of kids who would typically rebel against their parents when they are grounded for doing something “not right”. I know in your head you know it’s “not right” but feel that your parents are not giving you enough freedom or whatever. But believe it or not, you’ll thank them one day.

What they “teach” you when you are young will continue to remain in your subconscious even when you get much older. Even one’s principles can be a product of how you are brought up as a child, but it would still depend on how extreme each person’s good/traumatic experience is as they grow into an adult.

We can see from the movie that most of them are actually ashamed of what they did in the past that their mind adapts and “consciously forgets”, but actually it is still hidden deep in the subconscious.

There was a time when Cillian Murphy (a.k.a. Scarecrow in Dark Knight) could not give the password combination to his inheritance even when he was in a “life and death” situation. Why can’t he just give in and spill? Well, that’s because the favorite numbers asked of him (while he was being tortured by masked men) are hidden deep inside the subconscious. That is why it was hard for him to “let it out” even when he  really needed to.

Scarecrow’s situation can be likened to someone who forgets their password for their bank account. Try as they might, it can be pretty darn hard to remember, even if it’s “just there”.

DREAM VS REALITY

Now you know why it’s so hard for them to spill the beans, let’s now go to this fantastic alternate reality– the dream world.

Dreams feel real when while were in them, it’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. (See Movies I gotta see #1 (The A-Team, Inception, Knight and Day)

A lot of people actually do experience this, but didn’t get around to thinking about it until inception came along, pretty neat huh?

“I love to sleep… It really is the best of both worlds. You get to be alive and unconscious.”
— loljokes — Rita Rudner

THE FINE LINE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL

Let’s set up the Inception Team shall we?

Leonardo Dicaprio – Highly Experienced Overall Mastermind (with a very tragic past)

Ellen Page (Juno) – Young Genius Mind Architect (Can easily manipulate dreams and was the only one who knew Leonardo’s (tragic) secret)

Ken Watanabe aka Saito – It was unknown why he wanted to be in the mission (As it turns out, he was the guy that had nothing to lose)

Tom Hardy aka Forger/ Shapeshifter

– Has really controlled emotions when dealing with people in dreams (because he is old and has been in the dream world for so long).  He can more easily differentiate dream from reality because of extensive experience.

Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow in Batman Begins)
– Rich misunderstood guy (like Batman but with not very nice (soon repentant) parent)
– In the end his dad said he was disappointed not because of him perse, but because Scarecrow tried to imitate how his dad ruthlessly did business. Scarecrow thought that was how his dad wanted him to be.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 days of summer)

–Everyone thought he was the weakest link but in the end he turned out to be the strongest. He had the least experience but had the strongest mind mainly because it wasn’t tainted. He wasn’t hiding anything that can compromise the mission, making him the most resilient as he is not easily lured to temptations.

Different levels of sedatives were used depending on the extent of the dark past each one had. I think 500 days of summer guy needed a lower dose just because he had a clear conscience and every part of his mind was already dedicated to the mission.

I found the “wait for the music” part particularly funny, mainly because it was the signal that they were already in 500 days of summer guy’s plane. Everyone else had pretty traumatic dream planes while he just had his soothing music. (And don’t forget his charms and ability to fight in zero gravity, totally awesome.)

THE KICK

Now what was “The Kick” exactly and why did they need this to wake up? Basically it’s the jolt that was needed to wake up from a plane.  For me it’s when my feet “jolts” when I fall in a dream or when a dream gets so out of hand that it has to be not real.

Anyways, we are introduced to the levels of consciousness in the several alternate dream dimensions. To succeed in the mission, the plan was to enter 3 (different people’s) planes – dream within a dream within a dream. (I’m not really sure but I think the most I have ever dreamt myself is 2 planes — dream within a dream.)

Entering 3 planes is no ordinary feat, which is why they need some sort of sedative to induce it per plane. Add to the fact that their own subconscious is very suspicious of people who try to enter their mind territory. (Basically this means if there is a threat to the flow of the dream.) People in the particular dreamer’s dream will become suspicious and then will try to eliminate the threat. That is why it was very important for them to stay inconspicuous.

A good example is when they were trying to win over evil/unaware Scarecrow. You see, the induced dream world looked so vivid that Scarecrow did not anymore realize that it was actually just a dream (2^nd plane). He threatened to kill himself as a test, but Leonardo knew that he wouldn’t do it just because both of them knew the consequences of this action— a coma, or an unending sleep where they are trapped in a viscous cycle of their dreaded dream world.

CAN THEY DIE IN THE DREAM WORLD?

Technically it’s only their “alter selves” that die. The reason why they didn’t want anyone to get hurt in every plane is because it will compromise the mission.

As what transpired, because they weren’t so truthful to each other, they had some major setbacks and some casualties in each plane. This made the mission a lot more complicated, that it had to reach the impossible 5^th plane – Leonardo’s dream.

Each one of them had something to resolve in each plane. Leonardo’s plane was actually the climax where everything unfolds, the part where Leonardo had to face his deepest fears unfold (once again) in front of his very eyes.

THE SPINNING TOP

From the beginning up until it was wrapped up to the very end, there was the spinning top. Why was this top so important?

Well the theory here is that in the dream world everything is as it should be, so the top spins perfectly. Once before Leonardo’s wife invented/made that top in order to differentiate the dream world from the real world. Leonardo knew that if his wife found out the truth, she might not want to live in the dream world anymore. So he said some things to make her believe that the top was not spinning perfectly when in fact it was.

Later on she found out that she was being lied to, but she knew that Leonardo would not admit it subconsciously. She thought that if she jumped off a building then it would be enough threat to Leonardo’s subconscious that he would admit it consciously… but he didn’t.

TIME IS ABSTRACT

In the movie, time in the dream world is a lot slower than the real world, or so it would feel like it.

Time is relative, or Einstein seems to think so. Maybe it actually depends on the dream. In a good dream you’d feel it ended too soon, while in a bad dream you’d feel relief that it is actually over– but it depends on the dreamer what a “good” or “bad” dream is.

Some would have a higher amount of tolerance for bad dreams (such as the Forger in the movie) just because he has already seen every bad thing there is. The Forger was not there for the nice experience like Leonardo, but for the thrill of the challenge.

NOW BACK TO OUR INITIAL ARGUMENT

So how does perceptions of the mind relate to the winning argument? Well that  would depend on what you say at the right moment.

In most cases people would think that there is an easier side between the “pro” and “con” in any debate, well, perhaps there is, but that doesn’t mean that the easier side will automatically be the winner.

It doesn’t matter if you are the underdog, with the winning argument; you can definitely still get that shiny gold trophy you always wanted.

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Posted in Mind Boggling, Movie Review