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This is the base of operations for Graham Lord.
From here I broadcast a mediocre blog of events that interest me, and the slow development of my on-going digital hub.
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2010-08-09 18:01:14 / Cobb is not Dreaming
THIS BLOG CONTAINS SPOILERS ABOUT INCEPTION.
So I saw Inception on Saturday, and of course, everyone's like "omg! Was he dreaming at the end or not?! We'll never know!"
The ending was a classic for a film like this, anyone who was trying to predict the film saw it coming. Ironically, I didn't predict the ending, because I was expecting some mind-bending 3rd act twist that never happened. Presumably they figured the plot was confusing enough without screwing us over in the eleventh-hour. My mind was stuck on the scene when Cobb spins the totem in the bathroom (fairly early on in the film) and it falls straight to the floor- I figured that was a botched reality-check to fool Cobb into thinking he was awake at that point. Turns out it was a red-herring, because it wasn't referred to at any other time.
So with that in mind, why should we think that Cobb is dreaming at the end, and it's a conspiracy?
1. Firstly, we've got the ending itself. The totem topples slightly, but we never see it actually fall. The biggest problem with this ending, is that in order to believe that Cobb is dreaming, we also have to believe that he'll never do another reality-check. After everything that's happened, this is highly unlikely. Cobb will inevitably question his happy ending, and do another reality-check to make sure.
In order to defeat this point, someone has to have compromised the totem. There is no evidence whatsoever in the film to suggest that this has happened. No one else touches the totem, and it's authenticity is proven by his backstory of inheriting it from Mal.
Therefore, Cobb is not dreaming at the end.
2. Cobb does not do a reality-check when he wakes up on the plane. This is a critical lapse of vigilance on his part, and leaves him wide open to a false-awakening (where is wakes up in another dream).
Once again, although a strong observation, this point is not backed up by any other evidence. If we are to believe that this has happened, we need some other reference to suggest that someone is trying to fool Cobb. There are no such references. Cobb reconciles with Mal, successfully reminds Saito that he is dreaming in Limbo, and thus has no reason not to wake up in real life on the plane. Further, refer to the solution to scenario 1. Therefore, Cobb is not dreaming at the end.
3. Cobb's dad is conspiring against him. After pointing out that Ariadne is a terrible plot-device, whose only use in the film is to act as a witness on behalf of the audience, it was pointed out to me that she may well be grounds to believe that Miles (Cobb's father) or someone in a similar position, has created her to lead Cobb through the story and to reconciliation with Mal at the end.
There is no direct evidence contrary to this theory. But there is no evidence to suggest that Cobb is being fooled either, as per scenario 2, and also that there is no benefit to anyone into fooling Cobb, since other people know how to perform Inception, and no useful information is extracted from Cobb during the film. Additionally, scenario 1 also defeats this one. Therefore, Cobb is not dreaming at the end.
So all in all, in my opinion, Cobb earned a happy ending, and they should've concluded it with the totem falling over. Anyone with basic analysis can make the same observations I have here- I don't think the so-called 'open ending' will keep many people awake at night.
Apart from that, I thoroughly enjoyed Inception- the first objective of a movie is to entertain the viewer, and I was entertained.