Download - Inception Study Notes - Film · PDF fileBefore viewing The trailer for Inception garnered huge attention as it highlighted the film’sunique look, mind-bending concepts and Hans Zimmer’s

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…

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InceptionStudy Notes

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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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‘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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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)