Picture of the Day: 

Banyan trees at the Wringling Museum!

Quote of the Day: 

"We turn not older with years, but newer every day." 

-Emily Dickinson

With an electronic show of hands, can I see how many of my readers have seen Inception? You know--the movie with dreams, good looking men in suits, and the amazing special effects? Good! How many of you liked it? I thought so. 

Now, how many of you enjoy mythology? What about Greek mythology? Perhaps the hands are fewer, but for those of you who are still diligently keeping them raised, I would like to present you with this idea: I can meld them both together. Yes. I said it. It came to me in class the other day. 

Allow me to explain.

I am in a Film and Culture class. It is horrible. All we do is get an hour of lecture, watch a movie and then break out and discuss said movie for an hour afterward. It is killer for those of us that like to be stimulated with interest. But. We watched Inception the other day, and I adore that movie. I have seen it so many times, yet I stuck around to watch it again. And the discussion? Got me thinking.

Someone brought up the idea of mazes being so important in the movie. And a kid in the back raised his hand and said, "I can go a step further...Mal is the minotaur." That was all he said, and the class busted out laughing. But me, being a Greek mythos geek really thought about it. And when I got home, for a response note, I wrote about it. I thought I would share my ideas with you. You know...to blow your mind. Or at least make you think a little. Have at it, folks! 

This is verbatim my post. It is informal, because that is what it was called to be. 

So first off, I would like to say that I love the movie Inception. It came out, and I was nearly bursting in my seat in the theater watching it for all the adrenaline and excitement my mind felt as it was weaving through a well thought-out story line and fantastic dream sequences. It was a rush for an intellectual who likes to use her brain. Still, I have a few questions that stick out to me when the movie is done. 

1.) Ariadne and the grandfather are both in France when Cobb comes across them, looking for a new architect. Why do neither of them speak French or have a French accent? The grandmother does when Cobb calls home. 

2.) How in the world does Saito have power over Cobb's criminal record? I mean, I am glad that when he gets home he can see his children (whether it is in a dream or not!), but hey. How did that work exactly?

3.) Is he actually dreaming at the end or what? (I am sure a lot of people wonder about this, too.)

Nonetheless, it is an amazing film. 

For starters, I would like to broach the subject of the Minotaur that we proposed in class; in the labyrinth of dreams, Mal becomes the Minotaur. I am a very big fan of mythology and tales, and I began to think about this readily upon leaving. I would like to further blow you away with this particular piece of information: Ariadne is a Greek name. Ariadne is the half sister of the minotaur in Greek mythos, and ultimately the one who helps Theseus slay him. Now, I propose this: Ariadne has her name because it is her character that helps Cobb through dealing with and facing his demon. 

Ariadne serves as a pivotal character for Cobb--she is the one person he cannot seem to hide from. (To me, this seems a little ridiculous, considering how bad Mal's interference is implied at being even from the beginning. Arthur seems like he knows a bit more than we give him credit for, but he doesn't seem to do anything about it!) She alone seems to have enough sway to help Cobb deal with his haunting wife-projection. She ventures into the chasm of his basement dreams and hands him a metaphorical red string of hope so that he can return to the real world. 

One of my favorite moments between them is the scene where Ariadne asks why Cobb cannot return to the states. He replies, "They think I killed her." (Her being Mal.) Ariadne is stunned to silence, and Cobb stands and says further, "Thank you." 

Ariadne appears confused and asks, "For what?"

"For not asking if I did." 

Now, this is a quick exchange and hardly takes up any time of the movie at all. Still, I find it poignant. Just like the fabled Ariadne from Greek lore, Ariadne of the Inception world is drawn to help the hero of the tale. Immediately following this scene, it is like Ariadne's purpose shifts from being the architect to being the personal aide to Cobb. She insists on joining the mayhem of dreaming just to make sure Mal is kept at bay. 

I have also found this interesting. If Mal is in Cobb's subconscious, how is it that Ariadne can help keep her away? She is a projection. 

Anyway.

I find the movie tastefully done. The cinematography is absolutely amazing, and the design of the worlds is pretty neat as well. I think you could talk for ages about this movie, and could still have questions regarding its message. Suffice it to say that it certainly is riddled with fantastic philosophical goodness. 

The lack of master shots did not occur to me consciously until this viewing; they were largely absent, but like I stated in class, I do believe that it is to show the difference between dream time and real time. It is stated, after all, that the dream's time is slower than real time. Naturally, the deeper into the dream you go, the more slowly everything would appear to be going. 

That being said, I have one final question. 

4.) They said the levels of the dreams were going to give them exponential amount of time in each. Hours for level one, months for level two, and years for level three. Is it just me, or did they not NEED that much time in each level? They certainly didn't age any in the third level with the hospital, and since both Saito and Cobb were shown to have aged at one point in the scape of limbo, I can assume that they would do so there as well.

Okay. Enough of my ramblings. It was just food for thought!

Did I blow your mind? Just a little? 

The kicker? You will dream of this. I know it.