Film review: Inception

Are you in control of your own mind? Are you currently awake or dreaming? Does the narrative of perceived reality necessarily follow a linear, sequential path? To what extent do other people play roles in our perceived realities distinct from the environments in which we exist and interact? How deeply can we manipulate the mind of another person? What ethical issues does such manipulation raise? These questions, which have both deep philosophical and urgent practical significance, are all raised by the recent film Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2010). In this review, we develop these questions both as they appear in the film and as relate to the world we perceive as being real. Inception is a very dense film, raising more major ideas than we can discuss here. For example, we do not discuss the resilience of ideas within our minds or the power of the subconscious; the latter topic is among those covered in a separate review (Rinesi 2010). In our review, we will give away much of the plot (so please be warned), but also offer topics for consideration that deepen the viewing experience. Inception’s plot revolves around a technology that permits groups of people to undergo shared dreaming experiences. At least some participants in the dream worlds can perform sophisticated, intentional actions, including the following of plans developed pre-dream. Using this technology, a high-level underground business has developed to extract valuable information from target individuals. “Extraction, ” the remova