Perspectives | Why Is "Inception" Postmodern

"Inception" Poster

Inception is a 2010 science fiction film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, and co-produced by Emma Thomas. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious, and is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for a seemingly impossible task: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious. But how come this film is postmodern?

1. Hyper-reality - During the movie „Inception” the mind is opened into another reality which could be seen as more desirable than the actual real-life reality. This aspect of the film convinces the audience that it is an authentic world, a world which is presented as a new, better and a more sought-after one.

2. Intertextuality - One of the most famous paradox “The Penrose staircases” is referenced during the film “Inception”. In order to demonstrate to Ariadne, the new dream architect, the importance of mazes and paradoxical architecture to create a convincing dream space Arthur created the Penrose stairs. Furthermore, the stairs indicate that anything is possible with the architect’s creativity.

3. Non-linear story telling -  The story telling style of the film “Inception” is “non-linear” which means that the story is not told in the chronological order. For example, at the start of the movie the main character Cobb is stranded at the beach and is carried to an old man sitting at a table. This scene is shown once more at the ending of the movie explaining how he got there.

4. Unreliable Narrator - During the entire movie an unreliable narrator accompanies the audience. He is, by definition, telling the story not truthfully and the audience is forced to question the shown scene or the conclusions he made. The viewer is left with only parts of the whole true story. The final scene of the movie makes the audience question whether the protagonist is still in the “hyper-reality” world or in the real world.

5. Time bending -  The movie “Inception” has an interesting “what if” style which makes the audience question what the world would be like if we could alter/manipulate someone else’s mental state. Additionally, it asks the audience whether it is right to invade a person’s thoughts. As stated before the film lets the viewer to decide if he/she prefers the “hyper-real” world or the reality.