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It's said that Christopher Nolan spent ten years writing his screenplay for "Inception." That must have involved prodigious concentration, like playing blindfold chess while walking a tight-wire. The film's hero tests a young architect by challenging her to create a maze, and Nolan tests us with his own dazzling maze. We have to trust him that he can lead us through, because much of the time we're lost and disoriented. Nolan must have rewritten this story time and again, finding that every change had a ripple effect down through the whole fabric.

The story can either be told in a few sentences, or not told at all. Here is a movie immune to spoilers: If you knew how it ended, that would tell you nothing unless you knew how it got there. And telling you how it got there would produce bafflement. The movie is all about process, about fighting our way through enveloping sheets of reality and dream, reality within dreams, dreams without reality. It's a breathtaking juggling act, and Nolan may have considered his " Memento " (2000) a warm-up; he apparently started this screenplay while filming that one. It was the story of a man with short-term memory loss, and the story was told backwards.

Like the hero of that film, the viewer of "Inception" is adrift in time and experience. We can never even be quite sure what the relationship between dream time and real time is. The hero explains that you can never remember the beginning of a dream, and that dreams that seem to cover hours may only last a short time. Yes, but you don't know that when you're dreaming. And what if you're inside another man's dream? How does your dream time synch with his? What do you really know?

Cobb ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) is a corporate raider of the highest order. He infiltrates the minds of other men to steal their ideas. Now he is hired by a powerful billionaire to do the opposite: To introduce an idea into a rival's mind, and do it so well he believes it is his own. This has never been done before; our minds are as alert to foreign ideas as our immune system is to pathogens. The rich man, named Saito ( Ken Watanabe ), makes him an offer he can't refuse, an offer that would end Cobb's forced exile from home and family.

Cobb assembles a team, and here the movie relies on the well-established procedures of all heist movies. We meet the people he will need to work with: Arthur ( Joseph Gordon-Levitt ), his longtime associate; Eames ( Tom Hardy ), a master at deception; Yusuf ( Dileep Rao ), a master chemist. And there is a new recruit, Ariadne ( Ellen Page ), a brilliant young architect who is a prodigy at creating spaces. Cobb also goes to touch base with his father-in-law Miles ( Michael Caine ), who knows what he does and how he does it. These days Michael Caine need only appear on a screen and we assume he's wiser than any of the other characters. It's a gift.

But wait. Why does Cobb need an architect to create spaces in dreams? He explains to her. Dreams have a shifting architecture, as we all know; where we seem to be has a way of shifting. Cobb's assignment is the "inception" (or birth, or wellspring) of a new idea in the mind of another young billionaire, Robert Fischer Jr. ( Cillian Murphy ), heir to his father's empire. Saito wants him to initiate ideas that will lead to the surrender of his rival's corporation. Cobb needs Ariadne to create a deceptive maze-space in Fischer's dreams so that (I think) new thoughts can slip in unperceived. Is it a coincidence that Ariadne is named for the woman in Greek mythology who helped Theseus escape from the Minotaur's labyrinth?

Cobb tutors Ariadne on the world of dream infiltration, the art of controlling dreams and navigating them. Nolan uses this as a device for tutoring us as well. And also as the occasion for some of the movie's astonishing special effects, which seemed senseless in the trailer but now fit right in. The most impressive to me takes place (or seems to) in Paris, where the city literally rolls back on itself like a roll of linoleum tile.

Protecting Fischer are any number of gun-wielding bodyguards, who may be working like the mental equivalent of antibodies; they seem alternatively real and figurative, but whichever they are, they lead to a great many gunfights, chase scenes and explosions, which is the way movies depict conflict these days. So skilled is Nolan that he actually got me involved in one of his chases, when I thought I was relatively immune to scenes that have become so standard. That was because I cared about who was chasing and being chased.

If you've seen any advertising at all for the film, you know that its architecture has a way of disregarding gravity. Buildings tilt. Streets coil. Characters float. This is all explained in the narrative. The movie is a perplexing labyrinth without a simple through-line, and is sure to inspire truly endless analysis on the web.

Nolan helps us with an emotional thread. The reason Cobb is motivated to risk the dangers of inception is because of grief and guilt involving his wife Mal ( Marion Cotillard ), and their two children. More I will not (in a way, cannot) say. Cotillard beautifully embodies the wife in an idealized way. Whether we are seeing Cobb's memories or his dreams is difficult to say--even, literally, in the last shot. But she makes Mal function as an emotional magnet, and the love between the two provides an emotional constant in Cobb's world, which is otherwise ceaselessly shifting.

"Inception" works for the viewer, in a way, like the world itself worked for Leonard, the hero of "Memento." We are always in the Now. We have made some notes while getting Here, but we are not quite sure where Here is. Yet matters of life, death and the heart are involved--oh, and those multi-national corporations, of course. And Nolan doesn't pause before using well-crafted scenes from spycraft or espionage, including a clever scheme on board a 747 (even explaining why it must be a 747).

The movies often seem to come from the recycling bin these days: Sequels, remakes, franchises. "Inception" does a difficult thing. It is wholly original, cut from new cloth, and yet structured with action movie basics so it feels like it makes more sense than (quite possibly) it does. I thought there was a hole in "Memento:" How does a man with short-term memory loss remember he has short-term memory loss? Maybe there's a hole in "Inception" too, but I can't find it. Christopher Nolan reinvented " Batman ." This time he isn't reinventing anything. Yet few directors will attempt to recycle "Inception." I think when Nolan left the labyrinth, he threw away the map.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Inception (2010)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout

148 minutes

Michael Caine as Miles

Cillian Murphy as Robert Fischer Jr.

Tom Berenger as Browning

Marion Cotillard as Mal

Ellen Page as Ariadne

Dileep Rao as Yusuf

Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur

Tom Hardy as Eames

Pete Postlethwaite as Maurice Fischer

Ken Watanabe as Saito

Written and directed by

• Christopher Nolan

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The Science Fiction Movie “Inception” Essay

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The film entitled Inception is a science fiction movie like no other. In a typical science fiction movie the audience is treated to storyline that talks about the future, outer space, time travel, a space ship that can crisscross galaxies in the speed of light and of course aliens bent on destroying humans.

But in Inception the journey is within the mind of the person. The access to the mind is through a hypnotic technique where people can enter the subconscious through a dream. Using that medium they can influence their targt to do the things that they want or to divulge sensitive information. The director, Christopher Nolan was able to create a believable science fiction movie because of his clever use film-making techniques such as those that pertains to camera shots, lighting and visual composition.

The movie begins with a close-up shot of surf hitting sand. The camera then focuses on an unconscious Leonardo DiCaprio – the lead character – who suddenly came to life but moving slowly and trying to get up. He was then taken to a fortress built near the beach and presented to the big boss – an old Japanese businessman who obviously had amassed a great deal of wealth in his lifetime.

It turned out that both of them knew each other. At first the audience was made to think that this is some sort of a time-travel movie but then the main character pulled out an object that signaled the beginning of a complex story about dreams.

The first half of the film attempted to explain to the audience the meaning and purpose of a technique that allows for the extraction of information as well as the planting of the same. The subplot was all about the complexity of this “inception” method and how it can destroy the mind of the person who is trying to enter in, and the person who is being violated due to a type of psychological intrusion without permission.

The middle part of the movie also revealed the reason why DiCaprio was driven to go to uncharted territories when it comes to using his skills as an inceptor. He needed to clear his name through the help of his employer.

The movie had a complex ending because Ken Watanabe the actor who played the part of the billionaire-businessman had to take part in the “inception” and yet he was injured during the operation.

DiCaprio may succeed in inserting the information on the mind of the target but without a healthy benefactor he could never expect his record to be expunged and his name cleared from a false accusation that he murdered his wife. So he had to go back to the deepest recesses of his employer’s mind to rescue him. However, the ending was not clear if he succeeded or if he was still in limbo in dreamland.

This film would not have been made possible if not for the use of film-making techniques such as camera shots, lighting and visual composition. The director used a variety of close-up and medium shots to bring the audience closer to the characters and for them to understand what they are going through.

Nolan rarely used a long shot except in a few scenes where he had to show how a dreamer sees his or her world. In a popular scene for instance the dreamer saw the landscape folded as if it was a piece of paper; it was meant to communicate how the dreamer can manipulate the objects within his dream.

Nolan preferred soft light as opposed to hard light. The purpose was to shift the spotlight away from the physical characteristics of the actors so that the audience can direct their focus on the story. Another reason is to create a dreamlike atmosphere especially when the shadows fall on the face and the audience is only given a partial view of the character. It seems as if there are different layers to this image – imagined, hidden, and real.

Visual composition was made to create a surreal world so that in the first and middle part of the film the audience can easily distinguish the demarcation line between the dream and reality.

But as the story was nearing to a close it was revealed that the wife of the lead character committed suicide because she can no longer distinguish the difference between life in the real world and life in the subconscious. Aside from the use of the camera, the acting was superb and it made the audience believe that such an outlandish idea is possible.

The goal of the director was to convince the audience that the inceptors, such as the character played by DiCaprio and his team can infiltrate the mind of a target and steal corporate secrets and at the same time plant an idea, a suggestion that the target willingly accepts as his own. This requires the use of camera shots, lighting and visual composition techniques that will allow for the merging of the real and the surreal.

The director used soft lighting such as diffused light that created shadows a subtle message that there is more than meets the eye in this film. Since the separation between fantasy and reality exists in the mind of the characters the movie showed a great number of close-up shots and medium close-up so that the audience can have access to the emotions of the characters. Superb acting complemented everything to produce a compelling movie experience.

Inception . Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio Ken Watanabe. Warner Bros., 2010.

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Inception as Philosophy: Choose Your Dreams or Seek Reality

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Christopher Nolan’ Inception is more than its folding cityscapes and mind-bending ambiguous ending. It’s a film that makes its viewer question the very nature of reality. Not only is it possible that the entire movie is a dream, but multiple viewings of Inception leaves one wondering whether the same might be true of one’s experience. Indeed, according to the author of “The Fiction of Christopher Nolan” Todd McGowan, Inception calls its viewers to abandon any concern they have for knowledge of reality and instead choose to believe what they want. But does this moral hold up? Is it philosophically defensible? In this essay, after a close inspection of the movie itself, this moral will be identified and evaluated. An examination of a number of related arguments by important philosophers will reveal that, although knowledge of reality is sometimes difficult to attain, it should always be sought.

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Johnson, D.K. (2020). Inception as Philosophy: Choose Your Dreams or Seek Reality. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Popular Culture as Philosophy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97134-6_5-1

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Received : 31 August 2018

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Published : 12 November 2019

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Understanding One of Christopher Nolan's Greatest Mysteries: An Analysis of 'Inception'

Studying the intricate details of films is a great way of becoming a better filmmaker, and we're definitely big fans of the work  Darren Foley  does in analyzing some of cinema's great modern films.. In yet another great film analysis, Foley breaks down Christopher Nolan's cerebral thriller about dreams within dreams within dreams. Find out how  Inception   lures its audience into their own dream state through "disorientation", as well as the subtle hints that let them know whether what they're watching is real or a dream.

[Warning: There are spoilers ahead!]

Inception  is one of those movies that most viewers have to watch more than once to understand it -- even on a base level. It   has been on my personal list of films that I wanted to really dig into and analyze if only to unravel the mystery behind and complexity of the narrative and story structure. The big questions I've heard about this film revolve around what's real and what's a dream within the diegesis.

This is one of the first aspects of the film that Foley tackles in his analysis by focusing on the presence of Cobb's wedding ring, positing that when he's wearing it, he is in fact inside a dream, and when he's not, he is in reality. This is an important claim, for two reasons:

• Cobb's trusty totem, the top, is actually a red herring that is meant to distract and fool the audience, as well as Cobb himself. The ending is indicative of this. The one thing we are told will let us know whether he's in a dream or not fails to answer the final, most pressing question: is Cobb dreaming at the end of the film? We all read and heard and argued about whether or not the top began to wiggle before the shot cut to black, but Nolan didn't give us the satisfaction of knowing for sure -- because the top wasn't the real totem.
• As the film gets deeper and deeper inside the multi-leveled dreams, it gets more difficult to follow, to where what we know about the story becomes a stack of ideas that quickly begins to tower -- teetering and swaying as we replace and rearrange our understanding as we receive new information. The wedding ring -- the audiences totem to their own "Inception" experience -- is a great visual indicator to let us know for sure if we're on the right track.

Foley touches on many aspects of Inception  to untangle its many mysteries, including how Nolan uses the titles of his films to offer the audience a clue as to what will become an important concept. In the video, Foley mentions the titles of  Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight,  and  The Dark Knight Rises  to explain that each title signifies a key concept within the narrative that you can always go back to if the maze of the story gets too confusing.

Check out Foley's analysis below, and then head on down to the comments section to discuss the intricacies of the film.

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What Is an Anthology Series? Definition and Examples from Film and TV

Are you a fan of anthology tv series can you define them and give examples .

I watch so many TV shows that I can get a little burnt out after a while. Sometimes when you binge or watch multiple seasons with the same characters, you might feel this way too. Well, the anthology series might be your new favorite thing.

They're sort of the best of TV and movies mixed into one thing. It's various plots and characters that take you on new adventures.

But what is an anthology series? And what are some examples of them in TV?

Today we're going to define anthology TV shows and go over a few from Netflix, FX, and all sorts of other channels.

Make sense? Let's get started.

What Is an Anthology Series?

Anthology series cover all sorts of media, from radio to novels to short films to TV shows and so on. The world loves diversity in characters, storylines, and situations. These series open up different seasons and even episodes to change.

Anthology Series Definition

An anthology series is a radio, television, video game, or a film series that presents a different story and a different set of characters. They make these switches in each episode, season, segment, or short, as determined by the creators.

Why Do Writers and Directors Like Anthology Series?

As I mentioned in the opener, as a viewer, I like the contestant switch of characters , situations, and stories. Well, writers and directors like that too. Anthology series allow creatives to play with different genres , characters, and situations while maintaining a clear title.

Series can be sold by genre or by characters or even by place. They have a ton of elbow room for people to play with different ideas. They keep them from getting too stagnant or overstaying their welcome.

What Are the Best Anthology Series?

There are so many excellent series out there. Some of my favorites are American Horror Story, Love, Death, and Robots, and most of True Detective . The ability to change stories and characters has always been interesting to me.

TV shows like The Twilight Zone are sold on the idea that they can change weekly. They explore different big ideas. They can scare you, make you laugh, and even be a place where you can take a small idea and twist it into something larger.

Horror anthologies, TV shows like Tales from the Crypt , do their best to scare people week in and out. where a traditional horror TV show might lose its luster after you get used to the scares, anthologies let you terrify people every week with something different.

I think it's hard just arbitrarily to pick the best. So instead, here are some examples from lots of different genres.

Adult Animation Anthology Series

• The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022)
• Cake (2019–present)
• Cartoon Sushi (1997–98)
• Greatest Party Story Ever (2016)
• Jokebook (1982)
• Like, Share, Die (2015)
• Liquid Television (1991–1994)
• Love, Death & Robots (2019–present)
• Off the Air (2011–present)
• Party Legends (2016–17)
• Robot Chicken (2005–present)
• Spicy City (1997)
• Sunday Pants (2005–06)
• Children and Family
• ABC Afterschool Special (1972–1997)
• ABC Weekend Special (1977–1997)
• CBS Afternoon Playhouse (1978–1983)
• CBS Children's Film Festival (1967–1978)
• CBS Children's Mystery Theatre (1980–1982)
• CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
• CBS Storybreak (1985–1987)
• Disneyland (1954–1958)
• Dramarama (1983–1989)
• Faerie Tale Theatre (1982–1987)
• The Fox Cubhouse (1994–1996) (contains Johnson and Friends, Jim Henson's Animal Show, Rimba's Island, Magic Adventures of Mumfie and Budgie the Little Helicopter)
• It's Itsy Bitsy Time (1999) (contains Budgie the Little Helicopter, 64 Zoo Lane, The Animal Shelf, Tom and Vicky, and Charley and Mimmo)
• Jackanory (UK, 1972–1985)
• Lift Off (1992–1995)
• NBC Children's Theatre (1963–1973)
• Noddy (1998–2000)
• Off to See the Wizard (1967–68)
• Once Upon a Classic (1976–1980)
• Shining Time Station (1989–1993)
• Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958–1961)
• Special Treat, also known as NBC Special Treat (1975–1986)
• Tall Tales and Legends (1985–1987)
• Walt Disney Presents (1958–1961)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1961–1969)
• The Wonderful World of Disney (1969–2009)
• WonderWorks (1984)
• The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996–98)

Comedy Anthology Series

• The Comic Strip Presents... (1982–2015)
• Carol and Company (1990–91)
• Cilla's Comedy Six (UK, 1975)
• Cilla's World of Comedy (UK, 1976)
• Comedy Lab (1998–)
• Comedy Playhouse (UK, 1961–2014)
• Dear Uge (2016–)
• Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible (2001)
• The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre (1955)
• El Chapulín Colorado (1973–1979)
• Ripping Yarns (UK, 1978–79)
• George Burns Comedy Week (1985)
• Good Heavens (1976)
• The Guest Book (2017–2018)
• High Maintenance (2012–2015, 2016–present)
• Human Remains (2000)
• Inside No. 9 (2014–)
• Oboler Comedy Theater (1949)
• Love, American Style (1969–1974)
• Miracle Workers (2019–present)
• Murder Most Horrid (UK, 1991–1999)
• The Ronnie Barker Playhouse (UK, 1968)
• Seven of One (UK, 1973)
• Six Dates with Barker (UK, 1971)
• Undressed (1999–2002)

Crime Anthology Series

• Adventure Theater (1956)
• American Crime (2015–2017)
• American Crime Story (2016–)
• Agatha Christie's Marple (UK, 2005–2014)
• Agatha Christie's Poirot (UK, 1989–2014)
• The Big Story (1949–1958)
• The Black Robe, also known as Police Night Court (1949–1950)
• Crime Patrol (2003–)
• Fargo (2014–)
• FBI: The Untold Stories (1991–1993)
• Gang Busters (1952, 1954–55)
• Lawbreakers (1963–64)
• The Man Behind the Badge (1953–1955)
• Official Detective (1957–58)
• Police Call (1955)
• Police Story (1952)
• Police Story (1973–1978)
• Tatort (1970–)
• The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (UK, 1971–1973)
• They Stand Accused (1949–1952, 1954)
• True Detective (2014–2019)
• Underbelly (2008–)
• The Walter Winchell File (1957–58)
• The Whistler (1954–55)
• The Sinner (2017–2021)
• Educational
• Inside/Out (1972–73)
• Omnibus (US, 1952–1961)

Historical Anthology Series

• Captain Newfoundland from the Tip of Atlantis/Captain Atlantis Late Night (Canada, 1972–present)
• The Great Adventure (1963–64)
• Our American Heritage (1959–1961)
• Profiles in Courage (1964–65)
• Saga of Western Man (1963–1969)
• You are There (1953–1957)

Medical Anthology Series

• The Doctor, also known as The Visitor (1952–53)
• Medic (1954–1956)
• Medical Story (1975–76)

Military Anthology Series

• Flight (1958–59)
• Men of Annapolis (1957–58)
• Navy Log (1955–1958)
• The Silent Service (1957–1959)
• The West Point Story aka West Point (1956–57)
• Mystery and suspense
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1965)
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985–89)
• Behind Closed Doors (1958 TV series) (1958–59)
• The Best in Mystery (1954)
• The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse (1949)
• Byline, also known as Adventures in Mystery and News Gal (1951)
• The Chevy Mystery Show (1960)
• The Clock (1949–1952)
• Danger (1950–1955)
• Dark of Night (1952–1954)
• Darkroom (1981–82)
• Dow Hour of Great Mysteries (1960)
• The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (US TV version of British theatrical second features, 1960–1965)
• Escape (1950)
• Escape (1973)
• Espionage (1963–64)
• Eye Witness (1953)
• Fallen Angels (1993–1995)
• George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957)
• Hands of Mystery, also known as Hands of Destiny, Hands of Murder (1949–1952)
• The Hitchhiker (1983–1987)
• I Spy (1955–1957)
• Inner Sanctum (1954)
• Invitation Playhouse: Mind Over Murder (1952)
• Kraft Mystery Theatre (Summer 1961, 1962, 1963)
• Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963–1965)
• Mr. Arsenic (1952)
• Murder in Mind (2001–2003)
• Murder Most Horrid (UK, 1991–99)
• Mystery! (1980–)
• Panic! (1957–58)
• Philip Morris Playhouse (1953–54)
• Rebound, also known as Counterpoint (1952–53)
• Scene of the Crime (1991–92)
• Stage 13 (1950)
• Sure as Fate (1950–51)
• Suspense (1949–1954)
• Suspicion (1957–58)
• Target (1958)
• Twisted Tales (1996–97)
• Two Twisted (2006) (Sequel to Twisted Tales)
• The Vise (1955 TV series) (1955–57)
• Volume One (1949)
• The Web (1950–1954)
• The Web, syndication title Undercurrent (1957)
• Your Play Time (1953–1955)

Science Fiction and Horror Anthology Series

• Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond
• Amazing Stories (original series)
• Amazing Stories (reboot)
• American Horror Story
• American Horror Stories
• Are You Afraid of the Dark?
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
• Black Mirror
• Castle Rock
• Channel Zero
• Deadtime Stories
• Dimension 404
• Electric Dreams (2017 TV series)
• Fantasy Island
• Fear and Fancy
• Fear Itself
• The Fearing Mind
• Freddy's Nightmares – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series
• Friday the 13th: The Series
• Ghost Stories
• Ghost Story
• Great Ghost Tales
• The Haunting
• Historias para no dormir
• Infinity Train
• Inside No 9
• Into the Dark
• Journey to the Unknown
• Lee Martin's The Midnight Hour
• Love, Death & Robots
• Masters of Horror
• Masters of Science Fiction
• Métal Hurlant Chronicles
• Mystery and Imagination
• Night Gallery
• Night Visions
• The Nightmare Room
• Nightmare Cafe
• Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King
• Out of the Unknown
• Out of This World
• The Outer Limits
• Perversions of Science
• Play for Tomorrow
• Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected
• The Ray Bradbury Theater
• R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour
• Science Fiction Theatre
• Strange Stories
• Tales from the Darkside
• Tales from the Crypt
• Tales of Mystery
• Tales of Mystery and Imagination
• Tales of the Unexpected
• Tales of Tomorrow
• The Twilight Zone (original series)
• The Twilight Zone (first reboot)
• The Twilight Zone (second reboot)
• The Twilight Zone (third reboot)
• The Unexpected
• Urban Gothic
• Welcome to Paradox
• What If...?
• Star Wars: Visions

What Are Keys to Writing An Anthology Series?

Writing an anthology series presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities compared to traditional serialized storytelling. Here are some key considerations and steps to keep in mind when developing an anthology series:

• Identify a unifying theme or concept that ties together each installment. Whether it's a genre (e.g., horror as in "The Twilight Zone") or a more abstract theme (e.g., technology's impact on society as in "Black Mirror"), having a strong central theme will give your anthology coherence.
• Given that each episode or installment will be its own unique story, it's a chance to bring in different writers, directors, and actors for each. This diversity can provide a richness of perspectives, styles, and voices.
• Despite varying stories and possibly varying creators, maintain a consistent tone throughout. This could be achieved through similar pacing, mood, visual aesthetics, or musical choices.
• Since each story will be relatively short, characters need to be quickly and effectively established. Dive into the heart of the characters' motivations and conflicts to immediately draw the audience in.
• Each installment should be satisfying on its own. While some anthologies might have subtle connections or Easter eggs between episodes, each episode should have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
• One of the joys of an anthology series is the opportunity to experiment. Consider varying the structure, setting, time period, or narrative style from one episode to the next.
• Many successful anthology series resonate because they tap into current societal fears, hopes, or dilemmas. Think about the larger themes or questions you want to explore and how they relate to the world today.
• Given the standalone nature of each installment, it's important to provide resolutions that feel both unexpected and earned.

Remember, the beauty of an anthology series is its flexibility. By keeping these guidelines in mind but also allowing for creative freedom and experimentation, you can create a compelling and memorable series that captures the imagination of your audience.

Summing Up "What Is An Anthology Series?"

Now that you know what an anthology series is, you can go create your own. Enjoy the freedom of writing new characters and worlds with each season or episode.

Before you go, let us know what your favorite anthology series is in the comments!

What Are the Best Mystery Movies of All Time?

What are the best romance movies of all time, the ending of 'challengers' explained, what are the best adventure movies of all time, why blackmagic is dropping the ursa mini pro 4.6k g2’s price by nearly half, what is the 4:3 aspect ratio and how is it used, how 'the curse' used vfx to pull off all those mirror shots, what is a narrative, how to create, edit, and transfer custom luts directly to your panasonic lumix s9, vimeo promises it will not allow ai models to train on your videos on its platform.

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“a lot of complex concepts”: how inception gets dreams almost exactly right explained by expert.

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Inception: All 5 Levels In The Movie Explained

“i’m not a fool, but i’m not afraid”: kevin costner defends spending $20m more than initially reported on horizon budget, 2024 survival thriller with 92% rotten tomatoes score becomes global netflix hit.

• A neuroscientist states that Inception mostly gets its dream logic correct.
• Christopher Nolan's complex narrative style, as seen in Inception , reflects his storytelling risks and signature style.
• Inception 's ambiguity about reality and its complex dream plot device contribute to its allure and success.

Neuroscientist and dream doctor Rahul Jandial assesses how Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi film Inception gets dreams almost exactly right. Released in 2010, Inception features an ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Dom Cobb, a professional thief who enters the dreams of others to steal information. After being caught during one of his heists, he’s tasked with performing an untested concept that involves implanting an idea within another mind.

Speaking with Penguin Books UK , Dr. Jandial breaks down the concept of dreams and how Nolan’s Inception manages to get everything mostly right .

He explains how we perceive and create our dream world while also detailing how dreams arrive involuntarily. Read his quote below:

That’s fantastic. Sometimes it’s almost creating itself. That’s very important, we don’t have to activate dreams and dreaming, it’s stimulus independent meaning we don’t have to kick it into gear. Dreams arrive, arise without our intention, so that’s spot on. We create and perceive our world, we are the creators of our dreams. Now, that might seem like a self-obvious or self-evident point but for thousands of years, because we thought the brain was inactive while we slept, it had to be somewhere from outside of our skulls that dreams arrived. Dreams now we know for sure arrive from the human brain so that’s excellent. When we dream, we create our dreamscape. The motor area of our brain, the visual area of our brain, they are active, it’s not just imagination. It’s actually down to neuronal activity, so waking thoughts and dreaming thoughts both fire up the brain. A lot of complex thoughts about dreaming and getting most of them right and making a movie that i love. If i was to score 0 to 10 with 10 being most accurate, i’ll give it a generous 9 .

Inception’s Complex Dream Plot Device Adds To Its Allure

Nolan is known to take storytelling risks.

Since he began making a name for himself decades ago, Christopher Nolan’s works have largely engaged with complex narratives or plot devices that have helped him stand out as a filmmaker. The 53-year-old’s breakthrough movie, Memento , remains one of his most elaborate and complicated to date, as the movie unravels in reverse order and toys with the concept of time. This idiosyncratic style has become Nolan’s signature over the years and Inception isn’t any different.

In Inception , the main characters also experience time dilation as they gradually move through different layers of their subconscious thanks to a dream machine that allows Cobb and his team to embark on a dangerous mission of planting an idea within another person’s mind. During the movie, the inner workings of the dream machine and the concept of time become rather difficult to follow. However, the much-disputed Inception ending manages to drive home its overarching theme, which relates to the subjectivity of reality.

Inception sees a team of dream infiltrators plant an idea in a man's head, but how many layers are there to the mission, and what are they all for?

While many viewers of Nolan’s works still debate the different talking points of Inception , especially the ending which begs whether Cobb is still in the dream world, the movie’s ambiguity helped its success. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Inception holds an impressive approval rating of 87% while also grossing over $800 million worldwide at the box office. Several factors contributed to the success of the movie, like its impressive cast. However, it is undeniable that a huge part of the movie’s allure is its complex dream plot device.

Inception is available to stream on Apple TV+.

Source: Penguin Books UK

Christopher Nolan's 2010 Sci-fi action film Inception follows a thief who enters the dreams of others to steal information and, after being caught, is given a chance to clean his slate by performing an untested concept - implanting an idea within another mind. An ensemble cast is brought together by former target Saito, who seeks to implant the idea of destroying his own company into his father's mind. In a complex labyrinth of dreams and untested theories at the forefront, survival is not guaranteed in this psychological heist where the stakes are high, and nothing is what it seems.

The Psychology of Inception: Trying to Escape a Harsh Reality

Copyright Nicole Sumner, Ryerson University

In the 2010 film Inception, Christopher Nolan takes inspiration from a number of mental disorders in order to create a new world with complex characters. Nolan uses the film as a tool to mimic the experience of having a mental disorder, giving the audience a taste of what it feels like first hand to get lost in a disease and not even realize it. However, Nolan also provides us with small reminders throughout the film that what we are seeing is not our reality.

PORTRAYAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS

In the film, Nolan utilizes a variety of mental disorders for his main characters, which become more evident as the film progresses. Dom Cobb, the main character of the film, displays the most obvious signs of a mental disorder. It is clear through the film that Cobb suffers greatly  from PTSD, which is an illness that originates from the exposure to a traumatic event or multiple events (CMHA 1). Cobb is continually haunted by a projection of his wife, Mal, likely brought on by the trauma of her suicide. In addition, Cobb experiences a recurring vision of his two children, which he was forced to abandon in the wake of his wife’s death. The vision is a symbol of his regret, as the last memory of his children were not of their faces. Due to this, he re-experiences his last day with his children, but is never able to recreate their faces.

In addition to Cobb, a multitude of other characters display forms of mental disorders or illnesses in Inception . The “Forger” in the film known only as “Eames”, displays signs of dissociative identity disorder. Dissociate identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder, is a condition where an individual has created more than one distinct personality state (Psychology Today 1). Eames has the ability to accurately portray another person by observation alone and often completely becomes this person at the extent of losing himself. In the majority of the film, Eames is portraying someone else and there are rare moments when we see what he is like when he is not forging another person. The way his character is framed, it is impossible to tell what is the “real” him and what is simply a forge or an act.

Likewise, the character of Arthur displays obvious signs of OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Acting as the “Point Man” on the project, Arthur is the lead of the group and in charge of everything, including researching and development of the entire project. He is always dressed immaculately in a fancy suit, and his hair remains in place throughout the entire film, no matter the situation. He also becomes visually distressed when he realizes that he had made a mistake in his research. Due to this, he may have obsessive compulsive disorder, which involves compulsive actions such as “washing, cleaning or ordering things in a certain way” (CMHA 1).

Finally, the character of Mal is a good example of a character that displays depressive episodes. Depression is categorized as an endless feeling of despair that affects all aspects of a person’s life, especially their relationships with others (CMHA 1). After returning from limbo, Mal becomes convinced that her world is not real and therefore can no longer connect with the things or people around her. She decides that the only way to “wake up” and return to the real world is to kill herself, which is the method that the other characters use to end their dream sharing. This ultimately leads to her suicide.

DREAMSCAPE AS ESCAPE AND SELF-CARE

So why does this matter? Why is it important to note the different mental disorders displayed in the film? Ultimately, these observations are important because they represent a larger theme of the film: escapism and self-care. Every character in the film uses their dream sharing abilities to escape or placate their mental disorders, making the dreamscape a form of psychotherapy or a coping mechanism. Furthermore, the dream world is used as a tool for escapism, which is a diversion of the mind to a “purely imaginative activity or entertainment” that allows an escape from reality (Merriam Webster 1). Rather than deal with their illnesses in a professional manner, the character utilize dream sharing to relieve themselves from the stresses of reality. For Cobb, this means creating a fantasy world where he can be with his wife forever, rather than dealing with the grief and loss of her suicide. Likewise, Eames uses the dreamscape to change into others and allow his multiple personalities to become a reality, while Arthur uses it as a tool to have control of everything around him without the fear of unforeseen situations where he may feel uncomfortable.

The use of dreamshare in Inception is used to help the character’s escape their reality, therefore allowing them to continue to feed their illnesses, rather than to get help. In the dream world, their mental disorders are seen as tools rather than a hindrance, allowing them to create something good out of what is seen as a bad thing in reality. They become dependent on the dream world as it gives them a purpose that they no longer feel in the real world. This is similar to what is known as supplementary dreams, dreams that are used as a self-healing tool that separate the dreamer from the “world of waking consciousness” (Freud 5). Nolan’s characters are using their dreams to turn their back on reality, in hopes that their problems can be fixed before they wake.

ROMANTICIZATION OF MENTAL DISORDERS

If the world of dream sharing is a representation of the character’s inability to cope properly with their mental disorders, than Nolan’s blatant glorification of the dream world could directly translate to a romanticization of mental disorders. Nolan represents the dream world as a world of endless possibilities where one can create anything without the limitation of the “real world”. Therefore, those within the dream world develop a god-like power where they have power over everything. The characters in Nolan’s film have become completely obsessed with the possibilities of the dream world and their dependency is evident throughout the film. For example, Nolan makes it obvious during the film that Cobb is suffering from insomnia and the only way for him to sleep is to enter himself into the dream world where he has created a copy of his wife. There is also an interesting scene shortly after meeting the young student Ariadne, where she is introduced into the dreamworld and ends up leaving due to the sheer intensity of her experience. During this scene, Cobb is convinced that she will return, as “reality won’t be enough for her now” (Nolan 1:53:21); she does inevitably return.

Therefore, it is clear to see the dependency that the characters in Inception have on the dream world and how they use it to escape their everyday reality. The dreamscape is an unhealthy coping mechanism meant to placate their troubled minds, but it in no way properly treats them for their disorders. However, despite the unhealthy nature of the dream world, Nolan chooses to portray the place as “fanciful or glamorous” (Barton 1). We are constantly reminded of the possibilities of the dream world, while being rewarded for our time with fantastical scenes and stunning visual effects. The CGI in this film is focused only on scenes in the dreamworld, with the “reality” world using traditional filming techniques. This further acts to romanticize the dream world, making it appear “better than reality would warrant” (Merriam Webster 1). By placing so much emphasis on the beauty of the dream world, Nolan is using it as a tool to take attention away from the growing mental instability of his characters. He regularly frames the dream world as a tool for Cobb to use in order to alleviate the stress of his real life, but throughout the film we see firsthand that it only serves in skewing his sense of reality and harboring demons of his past. If the dreamworld is such a bad place, then why would Nolan continually glorify it? His methods are directly related to the romanticization of the mental disorders that he is portraying in his film. The dreamworld may be an unhealthy coping mechanism that continually plagues his characters and feeds on their disorders, but that doesn’t matter because the world is also pretty. In this way, Inception speaks about a larger issue of the stigma surrounding mental illnesses and the unwarranted obsession and beauty associated with one losing their mind.

FILM AS ESCAPISM

Another deeply interesting method that Nolan uses for the film Inception is his use of media. Inception is about escaping reality and using a fictitious place to forget about the issues in your everyday life. The manipulation of reality that is found throughout the movie can be mirrored with what we experience when we go to see a movie. People are manipulated by movies and much like the characters in the film, become dependant on film to provide them an escape from reality. As humans, we are constantly looking for a way to escape our reality and we do this through a variety of methods. Film is one of the most popular methods of escapism in the modern world.

What is also interesting to note is the way that Nolan frames the film to manipulate the viewer’s experience. Essentially, what he accomplishes is a mimicry of what the characters are experiencing, as we find ourselves as an audience lost in the movie as they are in their illnesses. He does this by creating a oneiroid state for the audience, where the scenes are almost kaleidoscopic, wherein “reality, illusions and hallucinations are merged into one” (Kapstan 1). Throughout the film, we are treated to scenes in both the real world and the dream world, weaved together in a way that makes sense for us. We can always determine the difference between the real and the imaginary, even though we start to favor the dream world due to its stunning visuals and exciting action. It isn’t until the end of the film that reality and imaginary begin to merge into something we can no longer classify. We believe through the entire film that we can determine what is real and what is not, however, the twist ending has us questioning everything that we just experienced. Was any of it real, or was it all just an illusion that we created? Essentially, this mirrors the same emotions that our heroes are experiencing throughout the film. Much like the audience, they too are constantly questioning their reality and the legitimacy of their surroundings. Furthermore, just like them we have become so engrossed in the imaginary that we have lost all concept of the “real”.

REALITY AS A REMINDER

Despite their constant need to escape reality through their dreams, the characters in Inception are continually reminded that all dreams lead back to something in our everyday lives, rather than releasing ourselves from it (Freud 5). In the film, the character of Mal (Cobb’s wife) serves as a reminder of what is real and what is not. Mal represents what is wrong with the dream world, as her obsession and dependency on it is what caused her to commit suicide. As such, she serves as a reminder to both the characters in the film and the audience that what they are seeing is not real, and as a warning that they are losing touch of their reality. The character of Mal only shows up when the other characters are doing well, whether through exploring the possibilities of the dream world or through their plan for Inception. Whenever the other characters are doing well and are starting to feel safe in the dream

world, she appears to remind them of the dangers of getting lost in a fictitious reality. The most notable example of this is when Ariadne is learning how to create things and manipulate the dreamworld. She begins to use places from her memories to help her in the creative process, effectively blurring the line between what is real and what is manufactured. In this moment, Mal appears and attacks her, serving as a warning to never draw from reality in her dreams ever again.

Mal also works as a tool for the audience to determine when reality is being skewed, while also preventing us from becoming lost in the fictitious. She appears to us as a reminder whenever we start to get lost in film. As soon as we start to get enthralled in the action or amazed by the possibilities of the dream world, she comes in and halts everything around her. She serves as a reminder of the reality of escapism, and is a warning to all others that becoming lost in the imaginary will cost you everything.

Therefore, Nolan uses a variety of tools in his film to create a unique visual experience for his audience. His characters display regular signs of having serious mental illnesses and use the dream world as a form of escape or a coping mechanism. Although their dependency is an unhealthy one, Nolan spends most of the film glamorizing the world to a point in which we no longer recognize the harm it is causing to the characters. Through this, we are effectively ignoring the signs of mental illnesses and continually romanticizing unhealthy coping mechanisms that are causing a further decline in mental health. However, Nolan does provide us with one reminder in the film in the form of Mal, who shows up whenever we or the characters are losing their grasp on reality. Finally, Nolan uses the medium of film to mimic the feeling of escapism and loss of reality that the characters are feeling in the film. In doing so, he is creating an inception of his own, a form of escapism within a form of escapism. This speaks to a larger connection between psychology and visual culture. In this case, visual culture is being used to help us escape our own reality, into a place where we are warned about the dangers of escapism. Nolan not only creates a romanticization of mental illnesses in his film, which further perpetuate the stigma surrounding mental disorders, but also allows us to experience what having a mental disorder is like first hand. In this sense, it is hard to tell whether Nolan’s film Inception is using visual culture to perpetuate the stigma around mental illnesses, or to educate us on them.

Barton, Laura. Romanticizing Mental Illness Feeds Mental Health Stigma. Healthy Place, 2015.

Canadian Mental Health Association. Depression . cmha.ca, 2017.

Canadian Mental Health Association. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) . cmha.ca, 2017.

Canadian Mental Health Association. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) . cmha.ca, 2017.

Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. 1900.

Kaptsan A., Miodownik C., Lerner V. Oneiroid Syndrome: a Concept of Use for Western

Psychiatry. Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. 37(4):278-85, 2000.

Merriam Webster. Romanticize Definition. Merriam Webster Incorporated, 2017.

Merriam Webster. Escapism Definition. Merriam Webster Incorporated, 2017.

Nolan, Christopher. Inception. Film, Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2010.

Psychology Today. Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder).

psychologytoday.com, 2017.

Images in this online exhibit are either in the public domain or being used under fair dealing for the purpose of research and are provided solely for the purposes of research, private study, or education.

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Inception Explained (Dreams, Kicks, Totems, Everything)

Inception is a brilliant science-fiction mind-bender by Christopher Nolan . Many remain confused with the film, the kicks, how they worked, and what was with that spinning top in the final scene. Apart from this, there is even the fundamental confusion of how many levels of dreams there are. Let’s answer every question. So, here’s the plot, kick, dreams, totems and everything about Inception explained. Heads up – this is not a movie review; spoilers ahead.

If you are specifically looking to understand the ending of Inception, go here –  Inception Ending: Dream or Reality

Hollywordle – Check out my new Hollywood Wordle game!

Where To Watch?

To find where to stream any movie or series based on your country, use This Is Barry’s Where To Watch .

Oh, and if this article doesn’t answer all of your questions, drop me a comment or an FB chat message, and I’ll get you the answer .  You can find other film explanations using the search option on top of the site.

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – What idea is being planted?
• – What happened to Cobb’s wife, Mal?
• – Inception Process Explained
• – Types of dreams in Inception
• – Time Dilation
• – What is a Totem?
• – Synchronized Kick Explained
• – What is Limbo?
• – What is Inception?
• – How many dream levels are there?
• – Plot: Summary of the Mission
• – Why is Saito so much older than Cobb?
• – Inception Ending Explained

The film inception deals with a group of individuals who enter a person’s mind to steal information. Rather than extracting information, one of the clients (Saito) offers massive compensation to incept an idea into his business competitor’s (Fischer) mind. As you can imagine, the process of Inception is fundamentally far more complicated because the victim needs to believe that the idea is their own  and not planted into their mind.

Inception: What idea is being planted?

Fischer’s father has recently passed away, and he has inherited his father’s company. Saito wants Fischer to shut down his father’s firm, which currently monopolizes the business. The idea being planted in Fischer’s mind is that his father always wanted him to be his own man, so Fischer should start something of his own and therefore shut his father’s firm down.

Inception: What happened to Cobb’s wife, Mal? Why Mal killed herself.

One day Mal and Cobb experiment on the dream machine and over sedate themselves. They find themselves in Limbo and can’t get out. Cobb realizes that the only way out is by killing themselves, but Mal disagrees and accepts Limbo as her reality. In desperation, Cobb leaves Mal’s spinning top inside her safe . This safe represents Mal’s innermost subconscious and the perpetually spinning top indicated a fake world. Mal’s mind is incepted with the idea that her world is not real, and she needs to kill herself to wake up. Both Mal and Cobb lie down on the tracks in Limbo and let the train kill them. Unfortunately, due to Cobb’s Inception, even in the real world, Mal continues to believe that her world is not real and she needs to kill herself to wake up. Mal even believes her kids are only a projection. She eventually jumps to her death and kills herself.

What is the most resilient parasite?

Once successfully planted in a person’s mind, an idea grows exactly like a resilient parasite, refusing to die. This snowballs to become the core of the person’s belief system. For Mal, the resilient parasite was the notion that her world was not real. For Fischer, it was the idea that his father wanted him to be his own man.

Inception: Why is Cobb wanted? 

Mal wanted to commit suicide (and go to what she believed was the real world) but wanted Cobb to join her. Mal believed so strongly that their world was not real that she informed the authorities that Cobb was responsible for her death before committing suicide. Unable to prove his innocence, Cobb flees from the USA and, as a result, is a wanted criminal. The kids end up staying with their grandfather. Cobb takes up Saito’s job because Saito promises to clear Cobb’s records so he can go back to his children.

Inception Process Explained

The confusion stems from the fact that there seems to be one extra Kick when you count the number of Kicks for each person and the total number of Dream Levels. We’ll break down the Inception process to its simplest form to fully understand it.

For any dream sequence, there is always the following:

The Dreamer  – whose dream it is The Subject – the one from which information is to be extracted, this person’s consciousness fills the dream. The Architect  – the person who designs the levels of dreams.

Names, Characters and Dream Roles (Inception Cast)

Cobb  (Leonardo DiCaprio) – The leading man who steals secrets from the subjects’ minds. Arthur  (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – Cobb’s right-hand man, helps find information about subjects and design dreams. Ariadne  (Ellen Page, now Eliot) – The young girl is the Architect for the multi-level dreams. Eames  (Tom Hardy) – The impersonator in the multi-level dream. Yusuf  (Dileep Rao) – The chemist who creates the compounds to sedate the dreamers. Fischer  (Cillian Murphy) – The Subject on whose mind inception is to be performed. Saito  (Ken Watanabe) – The person who needs the Inception to be performed on Fischer. Mal  (Marion Cotillard) – Cobb’s dead wife who manifests in the many dreams.

Types of dreams in Inception

The movie has two types of dreams, and this is very important to understand:

• The basic dream-within-a-dream , which Cobb uses to extract information from the Subject’s mind. An example of this is the opening dream sequence of the movie, where Cobb’s team is trying to extract information from Saito’s head (and they fail).
• The more  elaborate multi-level dream  where Cobb’s team is trying to perform Inception on Fischer. For this multi-level dream, everyone needs to be under a  powerful sedative .

Inception: Time Dilation

A good thing to know at this point is that as you go into the inner levels of the dream, time will stretch. What is 10hrs in the real world would become 1 week in the first level of the dream, 6 months in the second level, and so on.

What is a Totem? What is Cobb’s Totem?

A Totem is an object carried by everyone to tell them if they are in a dream or real life. Each item has a secret that only the owner knows. Cobb’s Totem is a top that spins perpetually inside a dream; it was originally Mal’s. Arthur has a loaded die that would be lopsided in the real world but be evenly balanced in a dream.

What is a Kick in Inception?

A Kick is a sudden jolt that can wake the Dreamer up by  one level . Usually, the Kick is a fall. In a  basic dream,  a simple Single Kick is enough to wake the Dreamer up by  one level of dream . Also, the Kick can be administered either to the sleeping body or the dreaming self . Here are examples to illustrate the two options.

In the film’s opening sequence, Cobb is dunked into the bathtub, which wakes him up by one level – this is a Kick given to the sleeping body. 

Later, Arthur is shot in the head by Cobb, and Arthur wakes up by one level – this is a Kick given to the dreaming self.

Simple enough? Well, yes, but only if this is a basic dream . However, to perform Inception, the team needs a  multi-level dream which needs them to be under a powerful sedative. Therefore, waking up by one level is not as simple anymore.

Inception: Synchronized Kick Explained

Now, in a  multi-level dream,  people are under a powerful sedative, and a  Single Kick  is not enough to wake them up. They now need a Synchronized Kick, a pair of Kicks – one Kick to the sleeping body and one Kick to the dreaming self… together.

Confusing?  Let’s understand Synchronized Kicks with some examples.

Understanding a Single Kick and Synchronized Kicks

Consider this. You are asleep on a bed and dreaming (this is analogous to a  basic dream ). Now, if someone pushed you off the bed, that would be a  Single Kick to your sleeping body  and would pull you out of your dream. Alternately, you could fall in your dream, and this will cause you to wake up –  a Single Kick to the dreaming self . 

In either case, you can wake up from a Single Kick.

Now let’s consider the case where you are unconscious because you have been administered anaesthesia, and now you are dreaming. Just pushing you off the bed would not be enough to wake you up (if it did, it wouldn’t make a pretty scene in most operation theatres). Similarly, having a dream of falling wouldn’t be enough to wake you up either. So how then can you wake up?

One way is that the effect of the anaesthesia wears off (this is equivalent to the timer running out on the dream machine in the movie).

The other way that the movie theorizes is using a pair of Synchronized Kicks. If there was a way you could fall in your dream ( Kick to the dreaming self ) and at the same time be pushed off the bed ( Kick to the sleeping body )… Bingo! You can wake up! The critical thing to note here is that the anaesthesia administered to you should leave your inner-ear function working so you can feel falling.

How are the kicks synchronized in the movie Inception?

Simple, they play music into the ears of the Dreamer and then provide a Kick to the sleeping body. Inside the dream, the Dreamer hears music, which means it’s time to give a Kick to themselves (dreaming self). This will cause two kicks to synchronize. The ear functions remain working so the music can be heard in the inner dream levels.

How do we know from the movie that the pair of kicks need to be synchronized?

Remember the part when they are in the snowfield, and they talk about “ missing the kick “?

The Kick they miss is – the van smashing against the edge of the bridge. This one kick alone is insufficient to wake them up. The Kick they actually catch is the van hitting the water. The falling van is unplanned and causes the gravity problem in the Hotel Lobby. As a result, Arthur has to improvise a plan to make the lift fall.

Inception: The Chain of Synchronized Kicks

Now that we understand why it’s so complicated, let’s go through the sequence of Synchronize Kicks. Cobb’s team needs to synchronize a pair of kicks for every dream level and for every person. They achieve synchronizing by playing music in the ears of the Dreamer. The music cues the team in the lower level to perform a Kick and synchronize with the level above. Remember, the Synchronized Kicks are not  required because of the multiple levels of dreams; it’s needed simply because the sedative is too strong for a Single Kick to work.

Here’s the pair of Synchronized Kicks for each person in an image:

Inception: Death in a Dream

Now the next catch is death – what happens if one dies a dream? Again, this differs based on the type of dream.

If one  dies in a basic dream , it simply works as a Single Kick (to the dreaming self), and the person wakes up by one level (e.g., Arthur is shot in the head, waking him up by one level).

However, if one  dies in a multi-level dream  (strong sedative), they end up in a dream state called Limbo.

Inception: What is Limbo?

Limbo is a shared subconscious state where the mind might fail to tell that it’s a dream and can be lost there forever.

Now, what happens if you die in Limbo? If death occurs in Limbo, then the Dreamer wakes up all the way into reality bypassing all the levels of dreams; no Kicks are required.

Limbo is where Cobb and Mal had once been lost for almost a lifetime (50 years, thanks to  Time Dilation ). The buildings we see in Limbo are what the two had built during their stay there. Limbo is not one person’s dream in particular. It is a common area that one ends up in if they die in a heavily sedated multi-level dream.

Inception: Entering Limbo

There are two ways to get to Limbo.

• If the architecture of the multi-level dream consists of 3 levels and if one tries to go a level deeper than what was designed, they will reach Limbo. In this case, they will still remember how you got to Limbo and what they were doing before that (e.g., when Cobb and Ariadne go from the hospital level further down to get Fischer. The two know why they are there and what they need to do).
• If one dies in a heavily sedated, multi-level dream, they will be hurled into Limbo. In this case, they will not remember clearly how they got there and what they were doing before that (e.g., when Saito dies and reaches Limbo, he ends up living there for many years, not realizing where he is).

One cannot reach Limbo in a basic dream. It is simply not possible.

Inception: How to get out of Limbo?

The movie makes it abundantly clear that the only way to exit Limbo is by dying. But this is easier said than done. A person’s mind in Limbo must first believe that they are not in the real world. They must take their own lives as that would be the surest way to wake up in the real world without losing their minds.

A quick table of difference between the two dream types

What is Inception?

Inception is the act of inserting an idea in a person’s mind which will bloom in a way making the Subject think it was their idea. This is the whole point of the movie. Cobb states that there is a safe house at every dream level, which gets populated with the innermost thoughts and secrets of the Subject. Cobb’s team usually extracts secrets from the Subject’s mind from this safe. Cobb also suggests that if you insert an idea into this  safe in the 3rd (or lower) level of dream, the Subject will wake up believing the idea is his or hers. Of course, the idea should align with the Subject’s life; Inception can’t be as random as making the Subject believe he’s Superman, that won’t work.

Cobb performs Inception on Mal by mistake

When Cobb and Mal end up in Limbo, Cobb eventually realizes that they are not in reality. But Mal refuses to believe that. So Cobb locates Mal’s safe and leaves a perpetually spinning top there (perpetually spinning top is Mal’s Totem that indicates that Mal is in a dream). So in Limbo, Mal gets convinced that she is in a dream and decides to die with Cobb on the rail tracks, and they both wake up in their room (reality). However, what Cobb has done unknowingly is, the idea he incepts in Mal’s mind (safe) is now with her even after Mal has woken up. So she continues to think the real world is a dream and decides to die so she can wake up. Sadly, this is how Cobb realizes that Inception is possible.

How many dream levels are there? Who dreams which levels?

There are three architected levels of dreams – The City, The Hotel, and The Snowfield. Here’s a diagram indicating the levels and who the dreamer is on which ones.

Inception Plot: Summary of the Mission

• Saito buys the airlines on which Fischer has a planned journey.
• With the crew’s help, the team drugs Fisher and enter a shared dream with him.
• The first level is The City, where the team realizes Fisher’s mind is militarized. His mind is trained to resist attacks. We see this in the form of armed men. Saito gets shot in this level. Eames impersonates Fischer’s uncle, who has been kidnapped along with Fischer.
• The next level is the Hotel, where Cobb poses as Fischer’s subconscious, saving him from a mental attack. Cobb convinces Fischer to go down with him to another level of dream.
• In the next level, The Snowfield, the team takes Fischer to meet his dying father impersonated by Eames. This is the Inception level, but Cobb projects Mal, who sabotages the mission by shooting Fischer.
• Cobb and Ariadne go down a level with Fischer, into Limbo, to save him. Mal has him captive. In the level above, Eames defibrillates Fischer and Ariadne times and pushes Fischer off the balcony in Limbo. This works as a Synchronized Kick for Fischer and wakes him up by one level.
• In The Snowfield level, Fischer meets his father (as part of the team’s carefully planned deception) and finds his childhood paper-fan inside his safe. This step is Inception of the idea that Fischer’s father always wanted him to be his own man. Point to note – this is a lie, but Inception works.
• Everybody rides their Synchronized Kicks back to the first level, The City. Saito dies from his wound and goes to Limbo. Cobb decides to get Saito out, so the team lets him drown in the van.
• Cobb arrives in Limbo, dazed and confused. He meets Saito, and together, they remember that they are in Limbo and need to take a leap of faith (kill themselves) to wake back up on the flight.

Why is Saito so much older than Cobb in Limbo?

Who was the old man at the end?  It’s Saito. Saito gets shot in the 1st level and is dying. There is a misconception that Cobb dies in Level 4 (Limbo) due to Mal’s stabbing.  That is not the case. When everyone rides their Kicks back up to the 1st level, they exit the van with oxygen cans. They leave Cobb there to drown. There is a specific shot that captures a drowning Cobb. The cause of death for both Saito and Cobb is in the 1st level, The City. For Saito, it’s the bullet; for Cobb, it’s the drowning. A short moment of time lapses between both of their deaths. But due to Time Dilation, in Limbo, this is many years. This is why Saito is so much older than Cobb in Limbo.

Why doesn’t Fischer recognize anybody on the flight?

Once a person wakes up, their dreams are hazy, and faces can barely be remembered. All Fischer would recollect is that he had a crazy dream, and he is left with the revelation that his father wanted him to be his own man, and Fischer will now want to close down his father’s firm and start something of his own. Even if the people on the flight around him look familiar and from his dream, he would simply brush it off, thinking he dreamed about them because he saw them on the flight.

Inception Ending Explained – The Spinning Top

The ending scene of Inception leaves us with a spinning top making us wonder if it was all a dream or reality. Look at it this way. If it was all a dream at the end, then we don’t know when the dream started, whose dream it was and if there were any other “real people” or merely projections, and if projections, then whose? If the most parts of the movie was a dream, the brilliant concept behind the levels of dreams and Kicks would all go to waste. So, given that we are shown a spinning top leaving it unclear whether Cobb is still in a dream or not, it would simply make a more complete movie if the ending was not a dream .

There is a popular Inception theory with the wedding ring (Cobb’s ring is on  inside dreams and is  off  in reality, and at the airport, Cobb is not wearing a ring – hence that is reality). But besides that, the top wobbles. A wobble occurs when a spinning object changes speeds, specifically when slowing down. If its speed remained constant, you would not have a wobble on a spinning top. Remember what the top looked like in Mal’s safe? Still. In the end, the top wobbles, which means it’s eventually going to stop. This also means that there will be no Inception 2 or any such Inception sequels.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of that last scene and how we can know for sure if it is happening inside of a dream or reality –  Inception Ending: Dream or Reality

Barry is a technologist who helps start-ups build successful products. His love for movies and production has led him to write his well-received film explanation and analysis articles to help everyone appreciate the films better. He’s regularly available for a chat conversation on his website and consults on storyboarding from time to time. Click to browse all his film articles

Chicago Sky | Column: The latest WNBA discourse is downright…

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Chicago Sky | Column: The latest WNBA discourse is downright messy — and it’s not about basketball

We’re less than a month into the season and the discourse is out of control. For many years, interest in the league was considered pretty niche. A dedicated community of fans held down the WNBA space by creating blogs to share news and stories, designing and selling apparel and other merchandise, and starting communities both online and in real life with the intention of “growing the game.”

Now that the growth, investment and interest that the league’s longtime supporters have wanted are here, it doesn’t look as pretty.

In fact, it’s downright messy. And it’s not about basketball.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and her logo 3-pointers have brought a great number of eyes to the WNBA. Through no fault of her own, the constant coverage of her college career and the beginning of her rookie season has put every aspect of every game she plays under a microscope — including the actions of her opponents.

Was the hip check by Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter on Saturday unnecessary and not a basketball play? Absolutely. Was it the end of the world and a reflection of how everyone feels about Clark? Absolutely not.

Referring to the foul as assault is dangerous and extreme rhetoric. Using language that implies criminal activity plays into stereotypes and racial undertones that are pervasive throughout these discussions. Basketball players, including Clark, push and shove all the time. Physical play is a characteristic of the game, and calls for Clark to be handled softly seemingly miss that.

If she draws a double team, Clark is being defended unfairly . If she is fouled, the other team has it out for her. If she is on the bench, the coach clearly doesn’t know what she’s doing. (There are multiple change.org petitions calling for Fever coach Christie Sides to be fired due to disapproval of how she has managed the team with Clark.)

Fans and media new to talking about the WNBA seem surprised by the league’s physicality, skill and diversity of personal stories that have gone untold. But instead of watching, listening and learning — in addition to contributing to the conversations at such an exciting time in WNBA history — some are quick to dismiss just about anyone with even a game-related criticism of Clark. People who would admit they’re new to the league or to women’s basketball suddenly are positioning themselves as experts on the W’s culture.

And they’re dominating the conversations.

Sweeping generalizations have been made by people such as Charles Barkley, LeBron James and Stephen A. Smith. Veteran players have been called jealous, “haters” and “thugs” by people who believe there is some concerted effort to dull Clark’s shine. These are professional athletes in competition, and I wonder if some of this is fueled by the idea that women are supposed to play nice and get along.

There also have been conversations that every good thing happening currently for the WNBA and its players is thanks to Clark — and that they should simply be grateful for her presence.

While there’s some validity to the idea that some players resent Clark for being put on a pedestal and anointed the G.O.A.T., signing record-breaking endorsement deals and having most of her games on national television, we should be careful not to paint all of the players with such a broad stroke. Takes like these thrive on us versus them and an either/or mindset that has overtaken the WNBA community.

Chicago Sky fans temper newfound attention with heightened expectations at home opener: ‘It’s transformative’

There are more than 100 players in the WNBA, so there is likely a mixture of feelings throughout. The thing about humans is we can feel more than one thing at a time and not necessarily act on any one emotion. It’s important we don’t assume to know what anyone is thinking. Projecting malice says more about us than the people we’re projecting our feelings on.

There always will be someone who doesn’t like the person getting the most attention and sympathy, but there’s an ugliness to these conversations that isn’t being put in proper context. The WNBA is predominantly Black and substantially queer, and most discussions surrounding the league lately try their hardest to avoid those facts. Any attempt to bring this up in conversation is met with “Why is it always about race?” or “It’s not that deep, it’s just sports.” But as WNBA veteran Imani McGee-Stafford wrote on social media , “It actually IS that deep.”

When we talk about why the WNBA was largely ignored for decades or even the language used in defense of Clark, you have to mention the Blackness and queerness. It would be naive to act as if these aren’t important layers to the nastiness we’re seeing. The truth of the matter is until we stop acting as if these aren’t issues — whether conscious or subconscious — we’ll never be able to move forward.

Since its inception, the WNBA has fought against perceptions of its queerness.

“The WNBA kind of fell into the trap that women’s sports throughout history have fallen into, which is the belief that in order to find an audience, the women have to appeal to men, particularly straight men and the male gaze,” Frankie de la Cretaz, a journalist who covers the intersection of sports and gender, told the Tribune.

“The players’ femininity was played up in a lot of the advertisements. They didn’t really talk about their personal life or family, or the players that they did allow to speak publicly were ones who were married to men or had children or families. And so those straight partnerships were really emphasized in the press.”

That issue is mentioned in 13-time All-Star and four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird’s documentary, “Sue Bird: In the Clutch”. Bird, the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft, came out in 2017, more than a decade after entering the league.

“I think (Bird) is relevant here because there’s this pattern in the WNBA of kind of looking for the next ‘Great White Hope’ who will ‘save’ a predominantly Black sport and make it appeal to more mainstream — read: white — audiences,” de la Cretaz explained . “And the important thing is not just that person is white, but that person is straight. And so we see that with Caitlin Clark. You can look at Sue Bird and see the way that was done when they put her on a red carpet with Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys her rookie year.”

Bird discussed it earlier this year in an interview with Pablo Torre.

“It was basically told to me that the only way I was going to have success from a marketing standpoint is to really sell this straight, girl-next-door (image),” Bird told “Pablo Finds Out” in February. “At 21, I was afraid.”

. @S10Bird speaks for the first time about the fear she felt as a young player in the WNBA to not come out publicly. "It was basically told to me that the only way I was going to have success from a marketing standpoint is to really sell this straight, girl-next-door [image]. …… pic.twitter.com/dLDGemmtVy — Pablo Torre Finds Out (@pablofindsout) February 15, 2024

In 2021, the Sports Business Journal found a disparity in media coverage of WNBA players.

“A’ja Wilson, the 2020 WNBA MVP who is Black, received half as much media coverage last season as Sabrina Ionescu, the first pick in the 2020 WNBA draft who played in just three games before a season-ending injury and who is white,” the report said .

Longtime fans are on high alert, aware of the WNBA’s history of promoting white players and pushing back against new narratives, as those fans have been the unofficial keepers of the game for more than two decades. They’ve pointed to this as the reason Clark fans refer to her as “more marketable” than Wilson and others, but in their zeal to protect the players they love, the arguments on social media have descended into chaos. Their points, rooted in both truth and history, are dismissed as “hating on Caitlin Clark”.

While Clark is not to be blamed for that, her presence has highlighted or perhaps even exacerbated the issue. The expectations placed on her by her own fans have put Clark in a position where her basketball game is hardly discussed. There’s no talk of shot selection, efficiency or a single show-stopping highlight. There’s also no talk of her demeanor on the court when things aren’t going her way. Instead, we are subjected to multiday discourse over a flagrant foul.

In their rush to defend Clark, newcomers fail to see the historical, systemic issues at play and instead assume everyone is picking on their favorite player. And until the disparity is addressed, the fighting and debates will continue.

Maybe one day we’ll get back to the basketball of it all.

More in Chicago Sky

Chicago Sky | Column: A bad look for the Chicago Sky over a cheap shot — and not a lot of talk — against Caitlin Clark

Chicago Sky | Chicago Sky coach says Chennedy Carter ‘will learn from this’ after WNBA upgrades her foul on Caitlin Clark

Chicago Sky | Kamilla Cardoso impresses in Chicago Sky debut as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese showcase WNBA’s bright future

WNBA | WNBA commissioner says the new charter flight program is ‘a big Rubik’s Cube’ but is running smoothly

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Volleyball: a Dynamic Evolution from Inception to Modernity

This essay about the history of volleyball traces the sport’s origins, development, and global reach. It begins with William G. Morgan’s creation of the game in 1895 as a less physically demanding alternative to basketball. Initially called “Mintonette,” the sport quickly became known as volleyball. The essay covers the spread of volleyball worldwide, driven by the YMCA and American soldiers during World War I. Significant milestones include the formation of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) in 1947 and volleyball’s inclusion in the 1964 Olympics. The essay also highlights the rise of beach volleyball and technological advancements that have enhanced the game. Overall, it emphasizes volleyball’s evolution and its impact on culture and society.

How it works

Volleyball, an activity captivating multitudes globally, possesses a rich narrative marked by ingenuity, adaptation, and worldwide expansion. Originating in a Massachusetts gymnasium, its evolution from a nascent pastime to a ubiquitous recreational and competitive pursuit speaks to its enduring allure and adaptability.

The genesis of volleyball traces back to 1895, when William G. Morgan, a physical education director at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts, endeavored to craft a novel pastime amalgamating facets of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball. His aim was to devise a game with less physicality than basketball, suitable for older YMCA members.

Initially dubbed “Mintonette,” the game swiftly morphed following a spectator’s observation of its volley-centric nature, hence adopting the more apt moniker, “volleyball.”

Early volleyball featured rudimentary rules and equipment, with the net borrowed from tennis standing at a height of 6 feet 6 inches. Teams engaged in a straightforward objective: volleying the ball over the net to sustain play. While its initial contests were confined indoors, the sport’s burgeoning popularity naturally extended to outdoor venues, including beaches, giving rise to beach volleyball as a distinct variant.

Volleyball’s proliferation was rapid and far-reaching. By 1900, it had already traversed to Canada, and within the subsequent two decades, it disseminated across Europe and Asia. The YMCA played a pivotal role in its global dissemination, leveraging its extensive network to introduce volleyball to numerous nations. World War I expedited its international footprint as American troops introduced the game to Europe and beyond. This era witnessed significant rule modifications, such as rotation implementation and the imposition of a three-hit limit per side, enhancing strategic depth and accelerating gameplay.

The establishment of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) in 1947 represented a seminal moment in volleyball’s narrative. Standardizing rules and organizing inaugural World Championships, the FIVB fostered a structured and competitive milieu. Volleyball’s integration into the Olympic Games in 1964 in Tokyo solidified its global stature, elevating its visibility and prestige, thereby catalyzing heightened interest and participation worldwide.

Beach volleyball emerged as a prominent offshoot of the indoor iteration, particularly in locales like California and Brazil, where it became synonymous with beach culture. Official recognition by the FIVB in the 1980s culminated in its Olympic debut in 1996 in Atlanta. Characterized by its dynamic nature and scenic locales, beach volleyball captivates both spectators and participants alike.

Technological advancements have indelibly shaped volleyball’s trajectory. The advent of synthetic leather balls in the 1980s augmented consistency and control. Innovations like the libero player, introduced in the late 1990s, and adoption of rally scoring have heightened strategic intricacy and spectator engagement. Contemporary volleyball showcases powerful serves, swift reflexes, and intricate teamwork, epitomizing players’ athleticism and skill.

Volleyball’s influence transcends the court, permeating culture and society. It fosters teamwork, communication, and physical fitness, rendering it valuable across age demographics. Its inclusive nature accommodates various adaptations, catering to diverse skill levels and environments, from school gyms to professional arenas and sandy shores.

In summation, volleyball’s saga is a captivating tapestry of innovation, cultural exchange, and global assimilation. From its inception as a gentler alternative to basketball, it has evolved into a multifaceted pursuit cherished by millions worldwide. Its narrative reflects an ongoing process of adaptation and refinement, propelled by grassroots enthusiasm and professional dedication. Volleyball’s enduring popularity underscores its unique capacity to unite people, fostering community and competition that transcends boundaries. As it continues to evolve, volleyball remains a vibrant fixture of the global sports landscape, inspiring future generations to partake in the timeless pursuit of volleying a ball across a net.

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Film Form in Inception Silke Botha College

Sigmund Freud, a founder of psychoanalysis, once said that dreams are “the royal road to the unconscious” and I think Christopher Nolan shows that in this film, Inception. Each time Cobb enters a dream, whether it is his or someone else’s, everything that happens in the dream is as a result of what they are fighting within their mind. For example, when Mal, Cobb’s deceased wife, shows up in Cobb’s dreams it is sole because of the fact that he feels guilty that he is the reason she killed herself and now her children are left without a mother (and a father since he had to flee). The essay that follows will explain as well as give examples of specific elements in the film and what their functions are including what roles they play in the plot. I will also give examples of where similarity and repetition occur in the film and why it occurs. I will show my understanding of difference and variation; development; and unity/disunity by giving examples and quoting important theory information from Film Art: An Introduction.

In Inception , there are many different elements with different functions. The main characters in the film have their own function and “job” to do. While the characters are somewhat important, the protagonist, Dom...

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The Very Brief Life of a World-Class Cricket Stadium on Long Island

Built in 100 days for the Cricket World Cup, the stadium will host nine matches before it is dismantled.

By David Waldstein

John Norton, a retired police officer from Long Island, sat in a folding chair and watched his grandson’s Little League game in East Meadow on Wednesday. The quiet spot is less than a mile from where one of the biggest sporting events in the world would take place in a few days, but Mr. Norton, like many people in the area, was only vaguely aware of the details.

“I saw the stadium from the street,” Mr. Norton said. “I don’t know the first thing about cricket, but I guess it’s going to be pretty crazy over there.”

The stadium he saw — the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium — seemed to have popped up almost overnight. Now it sits on one edge of the 930-acre Eisenhower Park, a massive — if temporary — cricket stadium that was built in sections, like a giant erector set, over the last 100 days. It will host eight matches of the Men’s T20 World Cup, an international cricket tournament expected to draw the attention of hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide, even if most people in New York seem barely aware of its existence.

Matches will also be held in six Caribbean nations along with Dallas and Lauderhill, Fla. The event officially opens on Saturday in Dallas, where the United States plays Canada. The stadium in East Meadow, which can hold 34,000 spectators, will be inaugurated with an exhibition match on Saturday between India and Bangladesh.

The Indian team arrived in New York this week and practiced at a nearby facility in Hicksville. This was all reported with great fanfare in India, a country dotted with cricket grounds of all sizes.

So why go to all the effort to host the event in a quiet park in suburban Long Island? The aim is to make new fans out of people like Mr. Norton or, ideally, his grandson. The International Cricket Council, which runs the event, estimates there are already 200,000 cricket players in the United States (up from 30,000 players 20 years ago). Geoff Allardice, a former professional cricket player from Australia and the chief executive of the I.C.C., said that even with more than a billion fans, cricket can become more popular globally.

“One of the things we are trying to do is take the game to new markets,” he said. “New York is a big step for our sport.”

The most anticipated match in the group stage is the showdown between India and Pakistan on June 9 at East Meadow. That rivalry, between two of the world’s best cricketing nations, has a bitter history on and off the pitch — like the Red Sox against the Yankees on a much larger scale and fraught with decades of geopolitical tensions. The last time the countries played against each other, at a different World Cup event last year, 323 million viewers watched in India alone, more than twice the audience of the last Super Bowl.

“The Indian cricket team would have to be the most popular international sporting team in the world, in terms of the number of followers,” Mr. Allardice said. “It’s not only the No. 1 sport, but it drives passion like nothing else.”

Besides the new stadium, fans in New York can also watch matches live on a video screen at the Oculus near the World Trade Center. Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, will host a viewing party for the India-Pakistan match on June 9.

The I.C.C. is hoping that this event will do for cricket what the 1994 World Cup did for soccer in the United States: crash the dominance that baseball, basketball, football and hockey once held.

Cricket, which originated in England, has a long history in New York. The Staten Island Cricket Club is set to celebrate its 152nd anniversary in July, and the first international cricket match was played 30 years before that in Manhattan, between the United States and Canada on Sept. 24, 1844 .

A traditional cricket match is a notoriously long affair, so much so that there are tea breaks. Games can last most of the day, and then there are five-day internationals. But about 20 years ago, a new format was invented, called Twenty20, or T20 for short, that limited play to around three hours, and its popularity soared globally.

There have been many leagues and clubs in the United States over the decades; last year saw the inception of Major League Cricket, a professional league. New York’s team won the championship, but it plays its games in Texas for now, while hoping to build a permanent stadium in the New York area.

For the World Cup, the I.C.C. initially proposed installing a venue in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, a center for New York area cricket. But local opposition, including from cricketers who did not want to lose their playing fields during construction and play, forced the I.C.C. to look elsewhere. It settled on Eisenhower Park in November, and when word reached media outlets in India, some toured the site and discovered a small, scraggly pitch.

“They were appalled,” said Don Lockerbie, the venue development director, who grew up in nearby Stony Brook on Long Island. “They didn’t know what we were going to build here.”

The playing field, with the rectangular pitch in the middle, was fashioned from special grass grown in Florida. The grandstands are borrowed materials most recently used at Las Vegas’s Formula 1 race and professional golf events. After the last match is held at East Meadow on June 12, the stadium will be dismantled, the parts shipped back to Las Vegas and another golf event, and Eisenhower Park will return to normal, but with a world-class cricket pitch left behind.

Mr. Norton wished the cricket teams good luck in the tournament as he watched his grandson play baseball, but said he had no plans to attend.

“I barely get to any Yankee games,” he said.

Victor Mather contributed reporting.

David Waldstein writes about the greater New York region with an emphasis on sports. More about David Waldstein

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Is the rise of lesbian cinema a win for representation or just more porn for straight men?

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With movies like Love Lies Bleeding and Drive Away Dolls breaking into the mainstream in recent months, it’s a good time to be a film-loving lesbian . 

While women-loving-women (WLW) have previously had to scrounge for scraps of representation in their media consumption – clinging to minor gay subplots, suffering through bad films just to see that one gloriously sapphic moment, and generally deeming any female character who wears a white tank top without a bra as ‘probably queer’ – things have been looking up lately. 

For those of us who have rewatched Carol (2015) so many times that we’re always one bad day away from buying a mink coat at a chari t y shop, it’s a relief to finally live in a time when stories centered around gay women are making bigger and bigger waves at the box office. 

But more representation doesn’t always mean better representation. As cinema struggles to cast off the sexism that has haunted it since its inception, is the increase of WLW characters actually positive representation, or just fetishisation?

Take the classic lesbian film Blue is the Warmest Color (2013), for example. A seven-minute-long sex scene between the two female leads is one of the movie’s claims to fame, but instead of being used as a narrative tool to further the story or reveal the inner lives of the characters, it’s decidedly gratuitous.

It’s shot with close-up angles reminiscent of a porn film. The characters are emotionally distant from each other and the audience throughout, creating a scene that is more a series of body parts than a plot point. 

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It exists simply because it’s hot and as a marketing tool to appeal to men, and the use of the word hot, instead of erotic or sensual, is intentional. Genuine eroticism can be an art form unto itself, but many sex scenes between two women are catered to a very specific gaze – the male gaze. 

As feminist filmmaker and scholar Nina Menkes observes in her film essay Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, the subtle implication of the objectification of the female body in film can be read in even small cinematic details.

just watched “blue is the warmest color” it’s such a great and beautiful film but i hate the way it’s a TERRIBLE queer representation, how awful the sex scenes were and how lesbians were fetishized… Adele’s performance was just breathtaking it’s impossible to rate it for me pic.twitter.com/AMtYfcklAo — ugolin! 🧙🏻 (@thesensualwcrld) June 3, 2024

For example, viewers are often introduced to female characters with camera shots that isolate parts of their bodies that are not their faces, and often in situations of inaction, a noticable aspect of Blue is the Warmest Color.

What is the male gaze?

Prominent film theorist Laura Mulvey first coined the concept in her 1973 essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema: ‘Male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure, which is styled accordingly.’

This concept was further elaborated on in art and social critic John Berger’s seminal work, Ways of Seeing, when he wrote that much of Western art shows a man’s presence as something that ‘…suggests what he is capable of doing to you or for you…the pretense is always towards a power which he exercises on others.

‘By contrast, a woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself, and defines what can and cannot be done to her.’

In contrast, Menkes observes, male characters are most often introduced with shots that not only show their faces but show them in action in some way. 

Essentially, classic cinema language presents a woman and her body as passive objects to be acted upon, while it presents men to the audience as active forces. 

So how does this apply to lesbian cinema?

If two women having sex are presented as passive objects by the language of film, the result is a sexual interaction that offers power and autonomy to the viewer, not to the participants in the scene. This inevitably implies that even in intimate moments between two women, there is still the sense of a male viewer acting upon the women, real or imagined.

Atomic Blonde – an action thriller that came out in 2017 and features a steamy sex scene between Charlize Theron and Sofia Boutella’s characters – is a prime example of this phenomenon.

The love scene was heavily marketed before the film’s release, which, when juxtaposed alongside the violent action scenes that make up the rest of the movie, creates an image of a film that’s specifically intended to appeal to the fantasies of teenage boys, not accurately depict queer sex or love. 

Like many of the objectifying lesbian scenes in cinema, it features plenty of moaning, writhing, and a sense of hypersexuality. There’s very little intimacy, curiosity, or tenderness at play.

queer baited would be more appropriate for black swan. the commercials showed almost the entire sex scene, made it seem like it would be a much bigger part of the movie. but it was just a nightmare sequence — alex (@alxhmpsch) February 19, 2023

The sex scene between Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman in Black Swan only differs in that it has a sense of implied and literal violence, as well as an obvious sense that the women are using sex as a means of grappling for power, which is startlingly common in WLW sex scenes.

It was also heavily used for marketing to make the movie seem appealing to a male audience.

Rarely do two onscreen female lovers share an intimate sexual connection that isn’t in some way fraught with troubled power dynamics or shame. Even the stunning movie The Handmaiden (2016) can’t escape this trap, presenting its two female characters as part of a troublesome hierarchy deeply influenced by their own sense of powerlessness. 

When queer female characters do have sex without shame or implied violence, they tend to be presented as innocent children unaware of what exactly they’re doing. 

Mulholland Drive is a prime example of this category. When Naomi Watts and Laura Harring have sex in the 2001 Lynch classic, they’re presented as naive and childlike (Harring’s character has literally lost her memory).

Of course, there are exceptions to these troubling trends. Love Lies Bleeding manages to cater to the male gaze very minimally, so much so that there was plenty of backlash from displeased viewers who felt that the movie would have been ‘better’ had the two leads been ‘hotter’ in a traditional sense.

What they meant by this, of course, is that they wished Stewart and O’Brian had looked more feminine/straight so as to have male fantasies more easily projected onto them. 

I genuinely do not understand how anyone watched Love Lies Bleeding and thought it was for the male gaze. Seriously, straight boys on the Internet have been whining for weeks about how Kristen Stewart is not hot anymore now that she has a mullet. pic.twitter.com/37eEDqrAeJ — Dr. Jaime Hartless (@JaimeHartless) March 22, 2024

Perhaps the biggest difference between movies like Love Lies Bleeding and Blue is the Warmest Color, however, is that actual queer women were involved in the making of the former, while the latter was essentially a straight man’s exploration of lesbian sex. 

For representation to matter and escape fetishisation, queer stories need to be told by queer artists and leave behind outdated methods of filmmaking.

Hopefully, this will be a big step towards normalising modes of cinema that leave the male gaze behind. 

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The Best Jim Henson Documentary Is Already out on YouTube

Ron howard’s new disney+ movie offers a flattering portrait, but a little-known youtuber went deeper..

Jim Henson steps in front of the camera, wearing a Steve Jobs–style black turtleneck, a detail that seems to foreshadow the early death we now know awaited him. At the time of the interview, the creator of the multinational, multimedia Muppets franchise must have been in his late 40s, yet his appearance was that of a man already flirting with old age. His long, lanky limbs—seemingly shaped for puppeteering—had grown thin, his trademark beard had faded to a dull gray, and the ever so slightly morose look in his eyes spoke volumes of the conflict that had defined the better part of his adult life: the push and pull between limited time and limitless ambition.

“Are you a puppeteer or an artist?” the interviewer asks. “Any of the above,” Henson mutters in a nasally voice most people recognize as Kermit the Frog’s. Only those close to him would have been able to tell that, behind his friendly chuckling, Henson was having a full-blown Muppet meltdown.

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The truth, as revealed in Ron Howard’s new documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man , which opens on this scene, is that the world’s single most famous puppeteer never wanted to work with puppets. At least, not always. Growing up in Mississippi, he aspired to work in television, and the main reason he created Kermit and the gang was that he felt they could help him secure a spot at his local station. (They did.) For the young Henson, puppeteering wasn’t a childhood passion. It was an impulsive experiment, one that—to his delight as well as his dismay—proved so successful he would never really be able to try anything different. For more than 30 years, his hands had been tied up in his creations, and time was running out.

If Idea Man , which premiered at the 77 th Cannes Film Festival this month and is available Friday on Disney+, has been praised for anything, it is simply for giving the documentary treatment to a giant of American entertainment history, a visionary who—standing shoulder to shoulder with Walt Disney—should have received this treatment a long time ago. But the thing is, Henson has gotten it—not from a Hollywood insider like Howard, but from a YouTube channel called Defunctland. Created by a man who goes by the pseudonym Kevin Perjurer, the channel, which currently boasts 1.8 million subscribers, primarily uploads video essays on theme parks and the artists and business minds behind them, and those have earned it plenty of praise, including from this online magazine and, last month, the Peabodys . But Defunctland’s own ambition has extended beyond amusement rides. Its six-episode series on Henson’s life clocks in at around 180 minutes—more than an hour longer than Idea Man —and in that time, it covers biographical details that Howard doesn’t include, making for a warts-and-all portrait that’s not only more comprehensive and more humanizing but more touching.

Idea Man and the Defunctland series follow the same narrative beats. Both start with Sam and Friends , a puppetry segment for Washington’s WRC-TV that Henson produced alongside his future wife, Jane Nebel, when the two were still in college, before moving on to his reluctant involvement with Sesame Street and his yearslong struggle of putting on The Muppet Show , and end with his sudden death from bacterial pneumonia in 1990, at the age of 53. Defunctland incorporates additional projects that do justice to Henson’s immeasurable impact on pop culture, from Fraggle Rock , an HBO show that celebrates the differences between different Muppet species, to his partnership with George Lucas on the design of Yoda, among other Star Wars characters. Perjurer also dives deeper into Henson’s private life, specifically his relationship with Nebel, a talented puppeteer in her own right who, after helping launch Henson’s career, abandoned her own to fulfill the role of a traditional homemaker, raising their five children while Dad continued playing with his dolls. Where Idea Man —which some critics argue is too corporate of a film to offer a truly complete examination of Henson’s legacy (the Walt Disney Company purchased the Muppets in 2004)—claims that Nebel chose this life, Defunctland suggests that it was to some extent forced upon her.

Both documentaries explore how the unyielding critical and commercial success of the Muppets stifled Henson’s creative freedom. Although he ultimately came to realize that puppetry could be a serious art form and not just slapstick entertainment, he had a hard time convincing others. It is for this reason that he was so hesitant to assist in the development of Sesame Street , a show that, in spite of and because of its record-breaking ratings and educational value, served only to confirm the notion that, in Perjurer’s words, “puppets were for kids in the morning, not adults at night.”

Henson encountered similar hostility when, in an effort to overhaul his cuddly reputation, he and his team had a brief stint performing skits for Saturday Night Live . To the Muppeteers’ disappointment, they weren’t allowed to pen their own material, and the staff writers that were assigned to work with them often responded with sighs and grunts. “I won’t write for felt,” comedian Michael O’Donoghue protested. “Mucking Fuppets,” John Belushi added. The insults would haunt the sensitive Henson to the end of his days.

For a rare glimpse at what Henson could do without a puppet on his arm, look no further than 1965’s Time Piece , an Academy Award–nominated experimental short film about mortality, possibly influenced by the death of his older brother Paul Jr. in a car crash at the age of 23. Though filled with the same sense of playful absurdity that characterizes Henson’s most cherished Muppet skits, Time Piece also demonstrates his skills as an editor and cinematographer—qualities he couldn’t readily express in his puppetry performances. In Idea Man , Howard inserts brief clips of Time Piece whenever Henson’s dreams and integrity are stomped on by the entertainment industry, with Jim the actor airing all the frustration that Jim the person bottled up.

Much of Idea Man ’s footage is stitched together at the same, snappy pace as Time Piece , allowing Howard to narrowly evade the tired talking-heads format most documentaries dutifully follow. Despite working with a fraction of Howard’s budget, Perjurer also manages to pay homage to Henson with aspects of his own editing style: Even the Squarespace ads parody the puppeteer’s wonderfully subversive early commercials for Wilkins Coffee , with one Muppet tormenting the other in myriad sadistic ways for refusing to purchase the relevant product. Although the Defunctland series lacks the production quality of the channel’s more recent output—including a nearly two-hour economic analysis of Disney’s disastrous FastPass system and a “symphonic” documentary about the history of EPCOT—Perjurer’s extensive experience documenting theme parks and other forms of children’s entertainment helped him grasp something about Henson that Howard seems to have overlooked: his dependency on his co-workers.

Henson might have been the driving force behind The Muppets , but his career wasn’t a one-man show. With Nebel acting as talent scout, Henson quickly amassed a team of both established and up-and-coming puppeteers—including Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, and Jerry Nelson—to bring alive their ever-expanding cast of monsters. Far from being mere employees or assistants, these individuals played an active role in shaping the personalities of the characters they played. The dynamic between Sesame Street ’s Bert and Ernie, for example, was an exaggerated foil of the relationship between the grumpy, introverted Oz and the energetic, free-spirited Henson, who—it’s worth noting—went on to encourage his partner to not only direct such Muppet films as The Muppets Take Manhattan but to co-direct Henson’s pet project The Dark Crystal . An artist all his own, Oz would go on to direct classics without Henson, like Little Shop of Horrors .

Although Howard’s documentary does not have the time to go into the development of Sesame Street or The Muppet Show , Defunctland follows these projects from inception to opening night—and, in doing so, greatly alters the viewer’s impression of Henson and his creative process. Where the former suggests, if merely out of necessity, that the only obstacles in the way of getting The Muppet Show on the air were a bunch of skeptical producers, the latter reveals that Henson’s magnum opus went through significant workshopping before it became the series we know and love today. Multiple pilots, including an edgy, innuendo-filled, adult-oriented iteration titled “Sex and Violence,” fell flat with audiences. In the beginning, Kermit wasn’t even involved in the story, his position as the show’s front man falling to several other, less charismatic characters. Just as the Muppets were an ensemble, so too were the Muppeteers, and any documentary that focuses exclusively on the achievements of Henson fails to abide by what Henson stood for as both an artist and a human being: the power of kindness, collaboration, and—to use a word Henson sang about often—connection.

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Inception — Rhetorical Analysis Of The Poster To The Movie Inception

Rhetorical Analysis of The Poster to The Movie Inception

• Categories: Film Analysis Inception

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Words: 1178 |

Published: Nov 5, 2020

Words: 1178 | Pages: 3 | 6 min read

Works Cited

• Caputo, N. (2013). Nolan's 'Inception' and the Rashomon Effect. The Explicator, 71(2), 127-130.
• Dassanayake, D. (2010). DiCaprio's Inception hits $800m at box office. Express.co.uk.
• DeWaard, A., & Sweetser, K. D. (2012). Finding meaning in Inception: "Living honestly with the truth". The Journal of American Culture, 35(4), 333-346.
• Dravnel, S. (2011). Inception and Philosophy: Because It's Never Just a Dream. Open Court Publishing.
• Fritz, B. (2010). 'Inception' marks Warner Bros. and Legendary's gamble on Christopher Nolan. Los Angeles Times.
• Hurley, N. (2012). Dreaming as Deliberation: On the Cognitive Functions of Dreaming. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 11(4), 423-445.
• Mahootian, S., & Li, Y. (2013). Exploring the dreamworld of Christopher Nolan's Inception: A cognitive approach. Film and Linguistics, 1(1), 17-28.
• Rowell, A. K. (2012). Architects of the Mind: A Cognitive Analysis of the Films of Christopher Nolan. Interactions: Studies in Communication & Culture, 3(3), 309-322.
• Smith, M. (2011). The Way Things Don't Quite Meet: Christopher Nolan's Inception. Wide Screen, 3(1), 1-14.
• Zeitchik, S. (2010). Christopher Nolan's secrecy campaign for 'Inception'. Los Angeles Times.

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