A Post Inside a Post

In the reading this week, it talks about dreams and their part in media. There is no doubt that there are several books and movies that depict dreams, and a dream state. However, there is none better (in my mind) than that dipicted in the movie Inception.

Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie looks into the future, with the use of technology, and lets one control dreams. In the reading it mentions the signs of dreams and what one's dream might mean. In contrast, the movie Inception concentrates on controlling your own dream, a place that is imaginable and very dangerous.

Also in this movie, it allows one to enter into another’s dream. This is what is desirable about the dream state that can be recreated in the movie. Another desirable idea that is covered in the movie is the ability to go back in time and in a sense, live in the past. For example, near the end of the movie, DiCaprio sees his family and feels the love that he is now lacking in “real life.”

The catch to this dream state is that one can get stuck in this and never wake up. The temptation is something that everyone can relate to if they have ever woken up from a dream that was greater than life. So this movie plot introduces an interesting idea… Is it possible to control dreams?

While we don’t have the answers to this yet, this week’s reading focuses on dream theory and the importance of dreams in our life. On pg. 114 it reads, “nighttime thoughts are a product of the need to escape reality.” An example of this can be seen in the Harry Potter movies, one of which is displayed below.

There are several times when Harry goes back in time and visits his parents, or vice versa. Other times he is escaping a bad situation at Hogwarts or discovering the solution to a trying issue. Nonetheless, this dream state always seems to add importance to the movie, just as it does to people in real life. Because the readings say that dreams are indeed a product of the human mind, each dream is personalized and should be utilized, just as in Harry Potter.

It is also important to note that a dream can carry over to reality. This idea is depicted in the movie Up. The old man, who acts as the main character, has a dream to travel with his wife. However, his wife dies before this dream can be lived out. The old man decides that he will, by himself, live out this dream they had together in memory of his wife. This journey taken by the old man results in a new adventure that brings him happiness and adventure, all because of his decision to live out his dream.

Examples lie these are endless in media, it allows for a different aspect that we can all relate and can bring to life things that otherwise would not be understood. The dream state is one that nearly anything can happen and “arms us with terrible freedom” as the reading says. Media takes this freedom from dream theory and pushes it to its limits as displayed in movies such as Inception, Harry Potter, and Up.