Postmodernism in Inception (2010)
Fig 1. Inception (2010) poster
Inception (2010) is a film about Dom Cobb - a professional thief and corporate spy who steals
information by infiltrating the dreams of certain people. Cobb offered a chance to have his criminal
history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious
by his previous target Saito. Assembling a team, they enter the dreams of their target: businessman
Robert Michael Fischer. They succeed and Cobb returns to his children but not before trying out his
spinning top to see if he is dreaming. He is interrupted by his family while the top continues to spin
before we the end result and the film suddenly cuts to the credits.
In this review I will be examining how the film has postmodernism interwoven into both its technical
and narrative aspects. The sources I have gathered to uphold and reinforce the arguments made in
this review include other critiques of the film and an excerpt from Jacques Derrida’s Of Grammatology.
In postmodernism there’s the concept of deconstruction. Developed by the philosopher and media
critic Jacques Derrida. In his book Of Grammatology Derrida argues that “We are disturbed by that
which, in the concept of the sign-which has never existed or functioned outside the history of (the)
philosophy (of presence)-remains systematically and genealogically determined by that history. It is
there that the concept and above all the work of deconstruction, its "style," remain by nature
exposed to misunderstanding and nonrecognition” (Derrida, 1967). The medium or work is laid bare
and broken down to show how and/or why it works or even the implications they suggest. This is
often done by the author to communicate a message or idea to the audience.
In Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010) conventional filming techniques are construed,
deconstructed and twisted to surprise the audience mostly especially the editing and framing.
Whenever a scene starts, we very rarely see how they got there. Even if the characters get out of a
car, plane or other vehicle we don’t see them make the whole journey of getting there. We assume
that the film cuts to show the next of the story, that the characters arrive and go on to conduct their
illicit activities.
Fig 2. Dom Cobb awakes on a beach
In his 2010 review of the film Nev Pierce writing for Empire notes the hyperreality of the production
stating “Based on his previous behaviour, Nolan isn’t likely to explain what he thinks Inception is
actually about”, “Nolan, though, doesn’t muse; he motors. This is no sombre meditation. The
themes are there to be explored (there will be more theories about this movie than about the killing
of JFK), but you can just as well sit back and enjoy the spectacle” (Pierce, 2010). It is evident there is
no defined truth to the events of the film. There is no telling if the characters are concurrently living
in the ‘real’ world or trapped within the confines of a dream. This is heavily suggested in the ending
where the protagonist Dom Cobb’s (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) spinning top continues to spin
before the credits roll. In the film it is explained that if it continues to spin then Cobb was in a dream.
Th open ended nature of the film suggests a reality or hyperreality that it indistinguishable from the
truth. And the struggle at the climax becomes whether Cobb remains trapped within.
Fig 3. Ending of Inception (2010)
Another example of a lack of an established truth and hyperreality is in the character of Mal Cobb,
Dom Cobb’s diseased wife who more or less haunts the film. In his review, Roger Ebert argues that
“Cotillard beautifully embodies the wife in an idealized way. Whether we are seeing Cobb's
memories, or his dreams is difficult to say--even, literally, in the last shot” (Ebert, 2010). There is
evidence that what we see of Mal may be of Cobs own memories crudely pieced together or the
ruinous power of his own subconscious.
Fig 4. Mal Cobb
Overall Inception (2010) delivers a postmodern experience via the ambiguity of its narrative and the
concept of hyperreality. Within the confines of the dreamworld or worlds both the characters and
the audience are at a lost when it comes to the truth and what is ultimately real. This especially goes
for the ending where the ambiguity leaves audience to interpret.
Bibliography
Derrida, J. (1967). Of Grammatology. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.
Ebert, R. (2010, July 14). INCEPTION. Retrieved from Roger Ebert.com:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/inception-2010
Pierce, N. (2010, July 15). Inception Review. Retrieved from Empire:
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/inception-review/
Image List
Fig 1. Inception (2010) poster [poster] At: https://www.amazon.com/INCEPTION-ORIGINAL-
LEONARDO-DICAPRIO-CHRISTOPHER/dp/B06XVPZ5FF From: 16/10/2019 Accessed: 16/10/2019
Fig 2. Dom Cobb wakes up on a beach [video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dalmb2bljE8
from: 14/03/2016 Accessed on: 16/10/2019
Fig 3. Ending of Inception (2010) [still] At: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-christopher-nolan-
doesnt-explain-movie-endings-2015-4?r=US&IR=T From: 23/04/2015 Accessed on: 16/10/2019
Fig 4. Mal Cobb [still] At: https://www.quora.com/In-Inception-since-Mal-exists-in-Cobbs-mind-why-
didnt-she-know-that-he-performed-an-inception-on-her From: 13/08/2017 Accessed on:
16/10/2019
