Inception Explained

8/3/2019 Inception Explained

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Inception Explained: Unraveling The Dream Within The Dream

By Josh, Perri, Eric, Katey, and You: 2010-07-16 12:46:06

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Inception crashed into theaters last night at midnight and if youhavent seen it, we hope you will soon. When you do, its sure to be

the only thing youll want to talk about for at least the next week.

Internally here at Cinema Blend its pretty much the only thingweve been able to think about and walking out of the movie left us

and pretty much everyone whose seen it with a lot of questions.

Inception is the kind of movie that gets you thinking and the films

complex plot is the sort of thing that almost demands unraveling.

To help make sense of some of the movies more twisty details the

entire Cinema Blend team got together and tried to ask some of themore common questions people are asking about the film. Its ourattempt to explain Inception and make sense of Christopher Nolans

fantastically detailed dream world.

But we dont have all the answers. Its our hope that youll help usmake sense of things by contributing your own theories and

questions to our detailed list below. Tell us where we were wrong,

help us fill in the gaps, pose new questions we havent thought of

yet, in the comments section below. This list of questions andanswers will be updated with your contributions and new

contributions from us as we work in second and third viewings of

the film over the weekend, so keep checking back to see the latest

updates.

Ready? Enter the dream and try to understand it.

SPOILER WARNING: What follows should only be viewed by people

who have already seen Inception. It contains heavy, critical spoilerswhich will impact your viewing of the film. If you havent seen

Inception yet, stop reading and dont come back until you do.

UPDATED 8/2 At 12:21PM PST

How did Mal get involved in all the dream invasion stuff to begin

with?A: Its seems pretty clear from the context of the movie that Mal

and Cobb were married and engaged in legitimate dreamexploration together before Mals death. After her death, Cobb was


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forced to use his knowledge of dreams to become a thief.

How do the never-ending staircases work, and how was Arthur ableto use one without Ariadne, as the architect, there to alter the

architecture?A: The never-ending staircases are paradoxes (logical fallacies that

cant exist in reality). Though Ariadne designed the levels and

probably designed the staircase, in the level where Arthur uses ithe's the dreamer. Similar shortcuts were worked in, in advance, to

the snow dream by Eams. Ariadne tells Cobb about them when they

need a faster route to the fortress.

What causes the loss of gravity in the hotel dream world?

A: As it is in real life, the dreamer's dream can be affected by things

happening outside the dream. If it gets cold while youre sleeping,sometimes people dream of ice or snow. If a person falls out of bed,sometimes theyll dream of skydiving or falling in their dream. So

when the van in the dream level above the hotel falls off the bridge,

the motion of those inside the van is thrown off, and that feeling of

falling carries over into the dream, making it as though theres nogravity in the hotel level below the van. This effect does not,

however, seem to extend any further than one level in a dream

within a dream within a dream.

Arthur blows up an elevator to create a Kick in anti-gravity. How

does that work?

A: Since there is no gravity, Arthur disconnects the elevator from

the cables and then uses an explosion to propel it, as it would be

propelled if there were gravity. When it hits the bottom they'reshaken around, creating a Kick. Arthur uses the elevator because he

needs a way to insure that the Kick occurs quickly and to everyone

at once so he doesn't have to do them one at a time, in much the

same way the falling van drops them together.

After hes shot and killed, they resuscitate Fisher Jr. Why couldnt

they save Saito in the same way?

A: This one had us stumped but Max Miller offers this explanation inthe comments below: "Saito is shot on the first level of the dream,

but doesn't die until the third. If they resuscitated him on the third

level, it would only bring him back to the second where he was still

dying, and if he survived that, then it would only bring him back tothe first where he was dying the fastest anyway. Meanwhile, since

Fischer was shot on the third level and sent to Limbo, his "bodies"on the other two levels were totally fine. The kick from the


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defibrillator timed correctly with the falling sensation he experienced

after Ariadne pushed him off the building was enough to bring him

back to normal level 3 so he could complete the mission. If she hadjust shot him again down in Limbo, he probably would have woken

up for real and the mission would have failed."

Arent you supposed to be alone in limbo? Why are Cobbs

projections of his wife and kids there?A: Our understanding is that limbo only contains things youve built

in it, which could explain why Cobbs limbo has so few projections.

The projection of his wife is something he tells Mal at the end that

hes tried to recreate over time, so it could be that shes more thana projection and is actually an intentional creation of his. Similarly,

Saito could have created the guards which populate his limbo.

If the world with crumbling buildings is Cobbs limbo, what is theplace he ends up in with Saito?

A: Two different theories possible, lets break them down one at a

time:

Theory 1 The simplest answer here would be that this world isnt

actually limbo but a deeper level which perhaps Cobb has mistaken

for limbo or misrepresented as limbo. You have to die to go to limbo

and neither Cobb nor Ariadne dies in the ice fortress, they merelygo to sleep again and enter Cobb's dream, which only resembles the

world he and Mal built in limbo because Cobb has created it. (Their

kids weren't with them in their original limbo, so if this were limbo

again, why would they magically be there with them to live happily

ever after?) Also, Cobb could have deliberately been planning howthe whole level worked out - he used it to detach himself from Mal,

create a projection of Fischer to compel Ariadne to get out and not

go into limbo and stayed as the whole thing crumbled to get to the

real limbo to help Saito. And maybe that's the reason Fischer can berevived. He wasn't really shot dead.

Theory 2 But since Ariadne tried to kill herself to escape it, and we

know that killing yourself in any level but limbo will only send you tolimbo, it seems as though Ariadne must have believed she was in

limbo. If the crumbling city level really is a form of limbo, could that

mean both Cobb and Saito in limbo, but in different limbos? If

dreams are the machinations of the subconscious, and limbo is thesubconscious that Cobb has built, the locations are one in the same.

Its the same reason why Cobb can no longer work as an architect.Perhaps Cobb and Saitos final locations are the same place. If so,


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how does Cobb find Saitos fortress? How does he end up on that

beach? Were full of questions on this one, but given the context of

the movie this theory seems like the most likely of the two.

Why is Saito so much older than Cobb in the final dream level?A: It's likely that Cobb and Saito are in limbo for the same amount

of time, however Cobb knows he's in limbo, so perhaps this keeps

him from aging visibly. Saito on the other hand seems to haveforgotten where he is, and so the passage of time (which could have

been decades since time runs faster the deeper you go) has more of

an affect on him. Similarly, the first time Cobb and Mal end up in

limbo they aged because they've forgotten where they really areand accepted it as their reality.

Does Cobbs totem keep spinning at the end or is it about to fall offthe table?A: The fact that the film cuts away before we know for certain

suggests that they want us to keep guessing. But we think it kept

spinning. Heres our reasoning: Note that at the end of the film

Cobbs kids havent aged. They match exactly his memory of them.A memory which must almost surely by now be out of date, since

hes been away from them for many months. Though he finally sees

their faces, otherwise they look exactly as he envisioned them.

They're even wearing the same clothes. In reality, his kids wouldnow be older and different than his memories of them. This could

suggest that Cobb is still in the dream and the top does indeed keep

spinning after the credits roll.

Alternate Theory Aaron points this out in our comments section: "Inthe opening moments you get a glimpse of Leo's hand. Specifically,

he's wearing his wedding ring. Now, if you follow the rest of the

movie keeping an eye out for this you will notice that he only has

the ring on when he's in the dream world. At the end of the moviehe isn't wearing the ring." If the ring only appears when he's in a

dream and he's not wearing at the end of the film, that could be

confirmation that in fact, the top does stop spinning after the credits

and Cobb is at last in the real world.

New Information Even though Cobb's kids appear to be wearing the

same clothes at the end of the film, according to Inception's

costume designer here they are indeed wearing different clothes.

If the top really does keep spinning at the end and Cobbs realityreally is a dream, then why didnt it keep spinning when he tried it


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earlier in the film?

A: Assuming for a moment that Cobb is still in the dream when the

movie ends, it doesnt necessarily mean he was in a dream for theentire film. The Cobb we see at the end could in fact be a man still

trapped in limbo. This seems unlikely though since the film seems toindicate that Saito and Cobb killed themselves to escape it, right

before waking up on the plane. See alternate theory.

Alternate Theory Ivan in the comments below suggests that it's still

possible that the entire movie could be a dream because the totem

may only work to ensure you're not in someone else's dream.

"Think about it, YOU know your totem's trick exactly so if you werein your own host dream then you could replicate it perfectly. It is

only when you are in someone else's dream that your totem does

not behave in it's trick form since that host cannot architect it so.This is why nobody knows the trick functionality of anyone else'stotem!"

How do Cobb and Saito survive limbo for such an extended period of

time? Isnt your mind supposed to burn out in there?A: The film never actually says your mind will burn out there,

merely suggest that you'll become lost there and be unable to find

your way out. The real obstacle to getting out of limbo seems to be

realizing that you're in limbo. At the end of the film, it takes anappearance by Cobb to remind Saito that the world he's in isn't real,

and once he realizes Saito reaches for a gun and, presumably,

shoots himself in order to escape. It could be that your brain only

actually is damaged out if you stay in Limbo for the full term, or if

you stay there after the machine connection powering the dream isdisconnected.

If the dream they enter at the end of the film belongs to Fisher Jr.,

then why does Cobb enter the limbo he built with his wife?Shouldnt it be Fisher Jr.s limbo?

A: The snow fort dream is not Fisher's. That dream belongs to

Eams. Each level is dreamt by a different member of Cobb's team,

and then Fisher's subconcious is brought in to fill it. The first level isdreamed by Yusuf, who then stays behind to drive the van and

initiate a kick to bring them back. The second level is dreamt by

Arthur, who then stays behind to put them in the elevator and

initiate another kick. The third level is dreamed by Eams, who againstays behind to plant explosives on the building, which drops them

and initiates another Kick. The final level is Limbo. Limbo is ashared environment not limited to a single subconscious. Limbo


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contains nothing, excep the remnants of whatever might have been

built by someone who has been there before. Cobb has been there

before, so limbo contains the buildings he and his wife built over the50 years they spent there.

If Mal and Cobb grew old together in Limbo, and we see them as an

elderly couple, why are they young when at the end of the time in

limbo they kill themselves on the railroad tracks?A: The most likely explanation for this is that Cobb's memory of

their youth was merely a fantasy of his, and in truth they aged

together as we saw. This is supported by the film. The first time we

see Cobb envisioning them killed by the train, they're young. Aclose up shot of their hands clasped reveals their hands to be young

as well. Later when Cobb tells the real story of how they escaped

limbo, we see their hands clasped on the railroad tracks and they'reolder and wrinkled, just as Cobb and Mal are when we see themwalking through the city while Cobb talks about them growing old

together. It seems likely this is the true version of the story and the

version in which they're younger is part of the delusion Cobb

constructed which was visited by Ariadne.

How did Cobb and Mal end up in Limbo in the first place?

A: The movie suggests it was an accident, caused by Cobb's desire

to keep going deeper and deeper into the dream until he went toodeep. Several different ways this could have been accomplished,

perhaps they used the same type of sedation as Yusuf used and

then intentionally killed themselves just to see what would happen.

Why did Cobb perform Inception on Mal?A: Cobb and Mal were trapped in Limbo for 50 years, unaware that

their world wasn't real. Cobb eventually discovered the truth, but

Mal refused to accept it. In order to get Mal to kill herself and return

to the real world, Cobb performed Inception on her, planting theidea that the world wasn't real in her mind. This worked, they killed

themselves and escaped Limbo. Unfortunatley, the idea remained in

Mal's mind and once they returned, she was unable to accept that

the real world wasn't a dream.

Who were the dreamers for the different levels?

A: Level one, with the van, was dreamed by Yusuf (Dileep Rao).

Level 2 in the hotel was dreamed by Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).Level 3 with the snow fort was dreamed by Eams (Tom Hardy). The

final level was Limbo and dreamed by no one, since it's a place ofshared consciousness.


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How does the Architect have control over someone else's dream?

A: The Architect designs the dream levels in the real world, andthen teaches the level design to the dreamer.

How does the Forger work?

A: Eams is the Forger. This name has two meanings. In the real

world he can forge identities using his contacts and his ability tofake documents. In the dream world, he can alter his appearance

and take on the personality of someone else he's studied, probably

using much the same methods used to construct buildings.

Was Ariadne somehow aware of the numbers Fischer would come

up with or did she change the hotel's floor plan so that 491 would

be below 528?A: It seems impossible that they could have known in advance, theymust have left a blank place in their design to be filled in with the

numbers as they learned them. If anyone has any other theories on

this, sound off in the comments!

Why did dying wake dreamers up early in the movie, but later in the

movie it sent them to Limbo?

A: The film explains this as being due to the types of sedatives used

on the dreamers during the final sequence. When normal sedativesare used, death wakes you up. But in order to go three dream levels

deep, heavier sedatives must be used, causing this unwanted side-

effect.

Why didn't Arthur wake up when the van drove off the bridge?A: When the van drives off the bridge, Cobb says they missed the

first Kick. This is understandable since Cobb, Eams, Ariadne, and

Fisher Jr. are two levels below it and can only be awakened by a

kick in the level above them, where Arthur is. But Arthur is in thelevel directly below the vans, and the rules of the movie do seem to

suggest that he should have awakened by that Kick. Perhaps

experienced dreamers have some control over whether a Kick

wakes them up? We're a little baffled by this one, let us know if youhave a better theory.

Alternate Theory CB reader Jordan offers this possible explanation:

Ealier in the movie Arthur tells Ariadne that if Yusuf kicks too earlythen they won't wake up. While normally in order to wake up you

must recieve a Kick in the level above, this isn't true when using thespecial sedative. Instead with the sedative it takes two synchronized


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Kicks. In order to be Kicked when under the sedative you had to be

kicked in both levels simultaneously. Arthur didn't have the second

Kick ready when the van drove off the bridge, so he wasn'tawakened by the van falling off the bridge.

Why did Ariadne jump off the building in Cobb's limbo if Eames was

going to wake her up with his Kick in the level above?

A: Ariadne may not have been certain Eames' Kick would work, soshe was attempting to kill herself by jumping off the building. Even

though we'd been told killing yourself inside the dream would only

push you into limbo, Cobb has just told her that once he got to

limbo with Mal they escaped by killing themselves so Ariadne knowsthat death is a way to escape, even though in this case it wasn't

necessary.

Alternate Theory Because of the sedative it may require two,synchronized Kicks in two levels to wake someone, instead of the

single Kick normally used.

When Arthur plans his Kick, why is it important for everyone towake up at the same time?

A: We're not entirely sure it is. It's more important that he wake

them up quickly when it comes time for the Kick, to time it to occur

at the same time as the Kick in the level above. By putting them inthe elevator he can give them a Kick all at once, and synchronize it

with the other Kicks.

What did Cobb putting a spinning top inside the safe mean?

A: The safe is a creation of the subconscious that Cobb exploits, inthis case Mal. The safes are constructed so that the dreamer

believes that it is a safe place for them to store their secrets. The

top is Mal's totem, which she uses to determine whether she's in a

dream. If it never stops spinning, that tells Mal that she's in adream. By placing a constantly spinning totem in the safe, Cobb is

placing an idea (and a very simple one) inside her subconscious. It's

not that she saw the totem spinning, but that it was always spinning

in her subconcious mind. This is why she thought she was trappedin the dream world.

Why did Cobb need to use Inception on Mal to convince her to kill

herself? Couldn't he have simply snuck up on her and shot her?A: Concievably. But perhaps Cobb, madly in love with Mal, simply

couldn't bring himself to do it. Remember, he was barely able toshoot a projection of her. It might be all but impossible to kill the


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real Mal, no matter how important he thought it was to do so.

Updated 7/16 At 7:52PM PST

A Kick: By upsetting the equilibrium of a dreamer you can wake

them from a dream and return them to reality. If youre dreaming a

dream within a dream, each level of the dream has to have its ownKick in order for the one on the higher level to work. So Arthur blew

up the elevator to wake them up from the snow fortress dream so

they could then be woken up by the car hitting the water.

Limbo: A place where dreamers may end up if they go too deeply.

Its a place where time runs quickly and people seem to forget

reality. Were told a person flung there might burn out their mind,though somehow Saito, Cobb, and Mal all survive it and escape.Because of the drugs used in the dreamers in Inceptions final

mission, we learn a dreamer can in this one instance also be flung

into limbo if theyre killed in the dream.

Inception: The practice of entering dreams and planting an idea in

someones head. Normally Cobb and his team only invade dreams

to steal secrets and they arent sure if Inception is really possible.

The Architect: The person who constructs the dream world inside

the mind of the Dreamer. In the final dream of Inception, Ariadne

(as played by Ellen Page) is the architect.

The Dreamer: The person whose dream you're actually in. Whencreating a dream within a dream, each level must have a different

dreamer. In the final sequence, Yusuf dreams the first level, Arthur

dreams the second one, and Eams dreams the third level with the

snow fort.

The Subject: The person whose subconcious is actually brought into

the dream, usually for the purpose of extracting information from

them or on rare occasions in order to plant an idea in their mind. Inthe final sequence, Fisher Jr. is the subject.

Totem: An object constructed by someone who plans to invade a

dream, whose exact weight and composition only they know. Thisobject can be used to help verify whether youre in the real world,

or the dream world. Cobb uses a top which, when spun inside adream never stops spinning. Ariadne constructs a chess piece,


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which she plans to use as her totem.

Projection: A person created by the subconcious mind of thesubject. Projections are not real. They function like white blood cells

and should the subject begin to realize that the dream he's in isn'this, Projections respond violently and attempt to seek out the

Dreamer and destroy him.

Now its your turn. Think you have better answers? Have questions

we havent already posed? Post them in the comments section

below.

Inception Explained

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