What Inception tells us about our experience of reality

While reading Ian Alan Paul’s attempt to interpret Inception, I have to say that I strongly disagree with his interpretation of the ending. Paul claims that the top “acts to test whether the world he is in is actually reality or is just another dream”. Not the top itself serves as the reality-test, but the fact that someone has chosen it as his or her personal totem. This top is the totem of another character in the movie and there is no reason to assume that the main character Cobb has chosen the exact same item as his totem.

Nevertheless, this movie makes you think about the reality the characters are living in. Some video games use the exact same method to make the player think about the plot and feel with the character. A great example is the game Alan Wake which, mainly in the first episodes, makes you question the reality of Wake’s experiences.

Paul, Ian Alan. “Desiring-Machines in American Cinema: What Inception tells us about our experience of reality and film.” senses of cinema 56 (2010): n. pag. Web. 13 May 2013.