So this weeks blog has been in the making for probably a couple of months, in terms of full mental composition. Last week I wrote about enjoying films at face value, relating the film to yourself and paying attention to why you enjoy certain movies, as it can reveal a lot about your inner psychology and narrative.
This month I am talking about Understanding narrative, with a template example focusing on the popular movie Inception. There are several aspects to understanding fully the concept of narrative. This week we are looking at source.
To understand and enjoy the plot or story of a film, one must first look at where it comes from and why that particular film was produced that year. Inception for example comes from a mixture of plots. The Matrix is perhaps the most relatable. Both films involve a focus on one mans journey in a creative unreal space. The main characters Cobb and Neo must overcome their inner struggles before the end to save the day, and everyone else's fate depends on the success of their struggle. The confusing part with both movies is in the premise and how it relates to our own reality. This becomes confusing to our own psychology, because rather than taking us to a planet of blue people who fly on dragons, both movies are set in present time, and make enough sense that they can be believed fully if you accept the premise that you never know what real is until you see the other side. Many movies have done this, so Inception is merely offering a new landscape to plant the ever popular tree of escape and thrilling thought.
This movie and the Matrix are so popular and were made at their given times because society as a whole is slowly becoming mentally disconnected. Many are accepting concepts that are believable enough when you make the leap over the concept. To put it simply, its a lot like a man believing he is really a boy. Once he can mentally accept this small gap, everything changes. The focus on sleep and dreaming is important too, in a society heavily dependent on anti-depressants and mind altering drugs. Inception suggests that given a large dosage of sedation one can accomplish things not possible in our own reality, much like drinking alcohol or smoking weed can take you to places other things can’t. The movie is not saying it believes this, but it realizes that you do. I’m not saying these parallels are true, but it is a viewpoint to think about. The movie is not saying it believes this, but it realizes that you do. It can’t be argued though, that audiences love these mentally thrilling escapes, and hollywood is happy to make money in its offer.
Other movies such as Lord of the Rings, and last weeks suggested film Catch Me If You Can, draw on popular narratives or real life situations. Realize most of these movies are made (or should have been) so you don’t have to look at the back story or source to enjoy them, but enjoyment is enhanced through more extensive knowledge on what the film is about. Harry potter fans for instance enjoy the films far more than those oblivious to the source narrative, due to their in-depth mythology education, and therefore escape much easier into the fiction of the movie. I’m not saying you should go out and read every Narnia book to appreciate the movies, but you can if you desire a little more. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was a recent personal example of enjoying the movies premise so much I was attracted to the original source.
So where do audiences get lost watching Inception (other than color problem T.V.’s)?... Tune in to my next post.
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