All About the Film, Inception - A Lucid Dreamer’s Perspective

Espionage is a concept as old as time–between governments and other organizations. Over the ages, people have come up with all kinds of crazy methods to obtain information from their targets. But what could be crazier than infiltrating someone else’s subconscious? That’s what the lead character in Inception does!

In this movie, a dream intervention team plants an idea in their target’s thoughts. To do this without being noticed, they infiltrate the target’s subconscious in different dream levels. The movie blurs the lines between dreams and reality. It involves navigating and controlling dreams, much like lucid dreaming.

Inception has been referred to as a modern classic. It’s especially fascinating to lucid dreamers and other dream enthusiasts. So what is Inception all about? What’s the role of lucid dreaming in the film? We answer these and more questions here.

Plot Overview - What Is the Film Inception All About?

Dominic Cobb, the protagonist, specializes in stealing valuable information from his targets’ minds while they’re in the dream state.

This time, however, a powerful businessman, Saito, hires him to plant an idea into a competitor’s mind. It’s no easy task because this competitor has to believe that the idea is his own. So Cobb assembles a team for the mission–Arthur (his associate), Ariadne (a student architect), Eames (a forger), and Yusuf (a chemist).

Saito’s competitor, Robert Fischer, boards a plane and Cobb and his team sit around him. They then sedate him and connect to shared dreaming equipment.

The shared dream has several layers with each layer setting the stage for the next. As the characters move onto the next level, one member is left in the previous level to keep it active. They’ll then perform a synchronized kick or jerk to wake up from the dream.

The team attaches the idea into Fischer’s mind, connecting it to strong emotions concerning his father, in the hope that it will show up organically in his mind.

The movie begins with reality and then proceeds to different dream layers. When it ends, viewers are left questioning whether the ending is a dream or not.

Lucid Dreaming and Inception - The Role of Lucid Dreaming in the Film

Inception may be pure science fiction but it contains many interesting themes about dreams, like lucid dreaming.

In a lucid dream, the dreamer knows that they are dreaming. In some instances, they can control the dream by changing scenes, adding characters, and more. The concept of lucid dreaming is fascinating but it has sometimes been met with a lot of doubt.

However, in 1985 Dr. Keith Hearne worked with a veteran lucid dreamer to prove that lucid dreaming is real and verifiable.

In Inception, Cobb and his team members are aware that they are dreaming. They can manipulate the shared dreams to achieve a certain goal.

We also see the concept of a dream within a dream, where you have a dream leading to another. This is slightly similar to the concept of false awakening which is often associated with lucid dreaming.

Another detail that may have captured lucid dreamers’ attention is the use of a totem. The gang members have a totem, an object they use to test whether they’re dreaming or awake. Lucid dreamers also perform reality checks to see whether they’re in a lucid dream or awake.

We don’t use totems though; just simple actions like trying to use your imagination to change a feature of the environment, or attempting to levitate. (If you suddenly start flying, you’re probably dreaming.)

Is Inception Possible in Real Life?

Some aspects of Inception are possible in real life. You can have lucid dreams intentionally or unintentionally. Accidental lucid dreams are rare but you can train your mind to have lucid dreams.
These lucid dreams can be strange and exciting, just like the movie.

However, you cannot enter someone’s dream. There’s no device that can allow people to enter each other’s dreams and share their experiences. What is possible so far is two-way communication with someone in a lucid dream. In this experiment, people in a lucid dream were able to answer questions using certain eye movements.

Another Inception detail that’s possible in real life is the use of drugs to induce lucid dreams. Several studies have shown that some substances can trigger lucid dreaming.
Getting into someone’s subconscious and stealing secrets is completely fictional and not possible in real life.

As for planting ideas, a few people may argue that it’s already happening. Your mind absorbs information everyday and you don’t even realize it. You consume subliminal marketing messages on a daily basis and they may influence your purchasing decisions. But that’s as far as this concept goes in real life–it doesn’t happen like in the film.

The Impact of Inception on Popular Culture and the Lucid Dreaming Community

Although people have been studying the phenomenon of lucid dreaming for years, interest in the subject is still low.

When Inception was released in July 2010, there was a spike in Google searches for “lucid dreaming”. The movie was a huge success–it popularized lucid dreaming and made it cool. People who had been lucid dreaming but didn’t know what it was finally had a name for it.

The writer and director of Inception, Christopher Nolan, also talked about being a lucid dreamer himself. He said that his lucid dreams inspired the movie.

Since then, the interest in lucid dreaming has been fluctuating. You can find active online lucid communities scattered across different platforms. The Reddit lucid dreaming community seems to be among the largest and most active ones.

There are now studies showing that lucid dreaming has fascinating benefits. For instance, it can help to reduce depression and anxiety in people with PTSD. Findings like this could lead to a spike in interest in lucid dreaming again.

Wrapping Up

Inception is a film that explores different dream concepts. Some of them are fictional while others are possible in real life. You can’t share dream experiences or steal secrets from people’s minds, but lucid dreaming is possible and it’s something you can learn.

The best thing about the movie, as a lucid dreamer, might be the ending. It leaves you wondering, is this a dream?