Post on 06-Feb-2018
Directed by: ChristopherNolan
Certificate: 12
Running time: 148mins
Release date: 16July2010
Synopsis:Cobb(LeonardoDiCaprio)isanexpertatthedangerous,rarelyperformedskillofinception–infiltratingpeople’sdreamstoplantanideathatmaychangetheiractionsorideologieswhentheywake.HeisalsoinexilefromhishomeintheUS,huntedacrosstheglobeforallegedlymurderinghiswife.WhenCobbandhisteamof‘extractors’areofferedthedeadlytaskofperforminginceptionupontheheirtoabusinessconglomerate,heseesthelastchancetoearntheprivilegeofreturninghome.Riskingeverything,Cobbventuresdeepintothedreamworldwhereanythingcanhappen,minuteslastdecades,andthelinebetweenthesubconsciousandrealitybecomesincreasinglyblurred…
©WarnerBros.Entertainment
InceptionStudy Notes
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©Film Education July 2011. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external websites.
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Before viewingThetrailerforInceptiongarneredhugeattentionasithighlightedthefilm’suniquelook,mind-bendingconceptsandHansZimmer’smemorable,grindingscore.
z Inceptionquicklybecameknownasafilmwithacomplicatedplot,buttowhatextent does the trailer for Inception indicate that the film has an incrediblycomplexstory?z Whatelementsofthefilmdoesthetrailerseemtoemphasise?z Doesthetrailercalltomindthelookorinfluenceofanyotherfilms?z TowhatextentdoesthetrailersuggestInceptionisamainstreamblockbuster?
After viewing: action cinema – ‘dumb movies’ for ‘dumb people’*?
AcademicYvonneTaskerexploredthestatementaboveinheressayongenderinactionfilms.ButisInceptionsimplyanother‘dumb’actionmovieorisitsomethingelse?Explorethisdebateinreferencetothefollowingareas:
Masculinity z HowareDiCaprioandthecharacterheplaysdifferentorsimilarto...
a)Themuscle-bound,imperviousactionheroesofthe1980s(e.g.Arnold Schwarzenegger,SylvesterStalloneaswellascontemporaryequivalentssuchas TheRockandVinDiesel)? b)Theleaner,morevulnerableand/orfeminisedactionheroesofthe1990s(e.g. BruceWillis,MelGibson)?
Femininityz What function does the character of Ariadne (Ellen Page) serve? Could thischaracterhaveservedthesamepurposeifitwasamalerole?WhatparticularnarrativefunctionthatyoumayexpectfromthissortofcharacterdoesAriadnenotserve?z IsthecharacterofMal(MarionCotillard)problematic?Thinkaboutthewaysheispresented:doessheseemtobestereotyped?Ifso,inwhatway?
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©Film Education July 2011. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external websites.
www.filmeducation.org www.nationalschoolsfilmweek.org
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©Film Education July 2011. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external websites.
www.filmeducation.org www.nationalschoolsfilmweek.org
‘The Hero’s Journey’z LookatJosephCampbell’stheoryof‘TheHero’sJourney’usingthewebsitesbelow. How closely does Cobb’s journey adhere to this archetypal narrativeframework?
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ref/summary.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heroesjourney.svg
Vladimir Proppz Propp’scharacterarchetypes,firstappliedtoRussianfolktalesin1928,arelistedbelow.Ifyouarenotalreadyfamiliarwiththese,lookthemup.Whatroleswouldyou assign to the characters from Inception? Are any archetypal charactersmissingfrom Inception’snarrative,orarethereanycharacterswithmorethanonefunction?
- thehero - thevillain - thedispatcher - thehelper - thePrincess/prize - thefatherofthePrincess - thedonor - thefalsehero
Target audiencez HowdoesInceptionappealtoteenageboys?z Howdoes it trytoappealtootheraudiencessuchas30+males,womenandolderaudiences?
The ‘MacGuffin’
Inceptionhadbeencriticisedforhavingaweakandindifferentplotdevice-aperson,objectorsituation thatgives theplotmomentumandsignals theendof thenarrativeonceitisobtained,solvedordealtwith.SomegoodexamplesofplotdevicesincludethebombonthebusinSpeed(1994),thesharkinJaws(1975)ortheArkoftheCovenantinRaiders of the Lost Ark(1983).Plotdevicesareotherwiseknownas‘MacGuffins’–aphrasecoinedbyAlfredHitchcock.
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©Film Education July 2011. Film Education is not responsible for the content of external websites.
www.filmeducation.org www.nationalschoolsfilmweek.org
z WhoorwhatisInception’sMacGuffin?z WhathappensoncetheMacGuffinisdealtwithattheendofthefilm?z Whydoyouagreeordisagreewiththecriticismoutlinedabove?
An unconventional blockbusterInceptionbreaksanumberofHollywood ‘rules’ thatcouldhavealienatedmainstreamaudiences,yetitwasoneofthemostsuccessfulfilmsof2010takingnearly£36mattheUKboxoffice.FilmCriticMarkKermodevotedInceptionthebestfilmof2010becauseitprovedthatHollywoodblockbustersdidn’tneedtobe‘dumbandstupid’inordertobeacriticalandcommercialsuccess.
z WhatelementsofInceptioncouldhavealienatedaudiences?z Are the various dream levels differentiated in anyway so that audiences cankeeptrack?Canyouexplainhow?z Whatisuniqueaboutthefilm’sopeningsequenceandtheclosingshot?z Is Inception the ‘brainiest’blockbusterever?Findanddiscussotherpossiblecandidatesforthistitle.
Written by Gareth C Evans
* Tasker, Y., Dumb Movies for Dumb People: Masculinity, The Body, and The Voice in Contemporary Action Cinema in Screening The Male: Exploring Masculinity in the Hollywood Cinema (S. Cohen & I. R. Hark eds) Routledge, 1992 (pp. 230 – 244)