The film can be related to the hypnopompic state through multiple characters and scenarios throughout this incredibly thought-provoking film. In order to incept a person's dreams to place a new thought or idea in their subconscious, one has to dive into multiple levels of that person's mind, going deeper and deeper so that that foreign thought or idea seems completely natural. These multiple levels make it challenging for those incepting because they also have to escape each level in order to reach reality. Each inceptor, therefore, undergoes the hypnopompic state at each level of the incepted's subconscious. It is crucial to know the difference between a dream and reality otherwise one could be stuck in limbo forever. The hypnopompic state is a common occurrence and inceptors constantly question whether they are in a dream or reality. To indicate which realm they are in, each person has their own 'totem,' a device in which only that person knows the weight, shape, and texture of. Don Cobb, for example, uses a top which he spins to distinguish a dream from reality. If it stops spinning, then he assumes he is in reality, whereas if it continues to spin, then he is in his own dream.
For this film I am going to focus on Dom and his relationship with his wife, Mal. At the end of the film, Dom admits that he only knows about inception because he first tried it on his wife. At one point Dom and Mal were both stuck in limbo. Dom knew that they had to escape, while Mal did not. She wanted to stay in limbo and live out her life there, so in order to get her out of limbo, Dom decided to plant the idea in her subconscious that they were not in reality. Unfortunately, although they apparently escaped limbo, Mal continued to believe she was in a dream because the idea that had been planted was still in effect. Dom was sure they were back in reality, but Mal refused to believe him.
Mal was stuck in the hypnopompic state. According to Dom, she was awake but she continued to hold the idea that the world she was living in was not real and that she still had to escape. Just like in Jane Eyre and "Ode to a Nightingale," love was the main source that lead to this in-between state. Dom only wanted to help, but his inception led to the very destruction of his love for Mal. The couple constantly argued about dreams versus reality and in order to prove a point, Mal took the ultimate plunge by jumping to her death to prove that there was still another reality to reach.
What makes Inception such a great movie is its clever ambiguities and loose ends. Many spectators, for example, have argued that Mal is not the one who is stuck in the hypnopompic state, and that she is actually right in believing they have yet to reach reality. Instead, it has been argued that Dom is the one who is stuck in the hypnopompic state, refusing to acknowledge that he is living out a dream. This scene in particular is questionable because Dom enters a trashed hotel room on one side of the building, but Mal sits at an open window on the opposite side of the building. One argument for why she is on the other side of the building is that she wanted to create an effect. She knew that Dom would be entering that room so she decided to book another room opposite to it. By sitting at a distance, she could make sure that she could speak to Dom while at the same time ensuring that he would not be able to physically stop her. Another side to that argument is that the scene is set in a dream, subtly hinting that Mal is right (and possibly reached reality after jumping to her death) and that Dom, and perhaps the entire film, is set within a dream.
The facts behind the mysteries of Inception are never revealed, leaving the film to be interpreted in many different ways. The confusion between the realms of reality and dream are very apparent within the film and have a major effect on Dom and Mal's relationship. The hypnopompic state is what led to the destruction of their lives and their love. One perspective might be that Dom made sure not to leave Mal behind in limbo, and went so far as to incept his own wife. Mal, on the other hand, gave up on arguing with Dom, and took action without him by committing what Dom thinks to be suicide. It can not be sure which person lives in reality and which remains in the dream world, but either way, the confusion complicated their love and they were forced to eventually let go and move on.
To watch the trailer for Inception, click on the image below:
No comments:
Post a Comment