Warning - Massive Spoilers to follow that WILL RUIN THE MOVIE FOR YOU.

“What is the most resilient parasite?”  A question posed by Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) at the very beginning of the movie.  "An Idea.“ After watching Inception, every single one of us walked out of the theatre with our own interpretation, our own version, our own theories on what was reality, what was dreaming, and what was truth.  Much like a religious fanatic or political pundit, we have vehemently defended our idea only by using small bits of the evidence — a piece of dialogue here, a stranger’s glance there.  However, Inception is so vague and ambiguous that every idea can be defended with evidence.  Every parasite has room to grow.

Theories Abound

  1. It is all a dream. This implies Cobb never escaped limbo, the job was never real, and he doesn’t actually see his kids in the end.
  2. It is all reality. The inception on Fischer was real and that he did see his kids in the end.
  3. Only the ending is dreamt. While the inception job on Fischer was real, Cobb never recovers from limbo and doesn’t actually see his kids.

Outside of the main three, I have read a multitude of alternative interpretations, including the entire movie was inception on Cobb, or Cobb was the subject instead of Fischer, or the grandfather (Michael Caine) was the mastermind behind it all.  The list could go on ad nauseam.  Each of them, no matter how outrageous or far off the beaten path can still pull evidence from the film to legitimize their idea.  If every theory is viable, then how have movie-goers decided in which reality to believe?  How did their interpretation of the film come to pass?

The human brain is fantastic at finding patterns.  We take in enormous amounts of raw data through our senses and convert it into meaningful ideas and actions.  Every time we see lightening, we know the thunder is coming.  Every time the doorbell rings, we know someone is there.  The problem is we can’t turn it off.  So when something ambiguous comes along, our brain desperately grasps at straws in a sea of pattern-less data.  Our brain attempts to find patterns where there were none, so we have to go with our gut feeling.  To quote Mal, "it’s not what you know.  It’s what you believe" for this movie.

The interesting question now becomes not "what evidence backs your theory?” but the more introspective “why?”.  Why did you connect with the grandfather’s line to Cobb “come back to reality”?  Why did you think it was so important that Cobb ignores his totem when he sees his kids’ faces?  Why does it matter that Cobb wears his wedding ring in his dreams but not in what  is supposedly reality?  The film should not serve as the centerpiece of your discussions, but merely a jumping off point to more philosophical and spiritual discussions such as states of reality, grief & guilt, or notions on the subconscious.

The Kick

When you are pondering inception, stop limiting yourself to what is onscreen.  Let some more ideas grow in your mind.  Do you think you could become addicted to a dreamworld?  Do you best deal with loss by nostalgically remembering (like Cobb) or trying to forget?  How appealing is the possibility of escaping reality?  There is a lot of material in this film, so “you mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”

Your Turn

What did you think of the movie and what ideas did it put in your head?  Share your parasites below!