Sigmund Freud, one of the founders of psychoanalysis, once said that dreams are "the highway to the unconscious" and I think Christopher Nolan proves that in this movie, Inception. Whenever Cobb enters a dream, whether it's his own or someone else's, everything that happens in the dream is a result of what they are battling in their mind. For example, when Mal, Cobb's deceased wife, appears in Cobb's dreams it is only because he feels guilty that he was the reason why she killed herself and now her children are left without a mother (and without a father since moment that he had to flee). The following essay will explain and provide examples of specific elements of the film and what their functions are, including the roles they play in the plot. I will also provide examples of where similarities and repetitions occur in the film and why they occur. I will show my understanding of difference and variation; development; and unity/disunity by providing examples and citing important theoretical information from Film Art: An Introduction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Inception, there are many different elements with different functions. The main characters in the film have their own function and their own “job” to do. Although the characters are quite important, the protagonist, Dom Cobb, plays the most important role of all. It has been said that Christopher Nolan, the director and writer, did not create well-rounded characters. The only character that is truly explored in the film is Dom Cobb. Kristin Thompson states on her co-owned blog: "I agree that the characters in Inception, aside from Cobb, the protagonist, are barely given traits." And “We get most characters by the kind of premise they provide.” (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010). Thompson continues to explain how the characters (with the exception of the protagonist) only have one trait or function that makes them significant in the film. Yusuf, who knows how to manipulate the use of sedatives; Fischer, the young man who has a "complicated" relationship with his father; Saito, the Japanese man for whom Cobb has to do mining work; Arianna, the architect who builds the world of dreams; Arthur, Cobb's dream companion; and Eames the “forger” who can transform into other people in dreams as well as Cobb's wife, Mal. In the film, the spinning top plays a rather important role. Dom Cobb uses the spinning top as a "totem". This totem is used to help him distinguish between reality and dreams. In reality the top will stop spinning while in the dream it will continue to spin. It is recommended that every person has a totem with them and only you need to know its weight, feel, size etc. Otherwise it won't work. The spinning top also plays an important role at the end of the film. Music also has a function in the film. “Je ne aware rien” by Edith Piaf is played whenever someone needs to come back to reality. He warns the dreamers that they must finish their “mission”. The totem is shown several times to show its importance in the overall plot of the film (as explained in the Function section). The totem is seen as a motif in this film. Film Art: An Introduction explains: “A motif is any repeated significant element that contributes to the overall form. It can be an object, a color, a place, a person, a sound or even a character trait. (Bordwell and Thompson 2013:63) Another element that is repeated is the music that is played to warn dreamers. Music plays towards the beginning of the film as well as during the climax. Yusuf places headphones on Arthur's head to help them synchronize the "kick" of each dream level. “Kicks” are used to wake the person froma dream state. Awakening is achieved by creating a falling movement so that the dreamer wakes him up. Yusuf explains that he designed the sedative so that it does not interfere with the function of the inner ear. This allows the "drop" to penetrate through a layer of the dream. In every dream there is a similarity and (repetition) for Cobb. When she enters a dream state, Mal manages to introduce herself. When this happens, the audience knows that Cobb doesn't have the dream under control. Later in the film, the audience discovers that she continues to appear because he lives with the guilt of being part of the reason his wife killed herself. It is crucial to know that when participants in a dream die, they wake up. Cobb planted the idea in her mind that dreams are reality. So when he woke up, he thought he was still in a dream. There are differences and variations in every dream. No dream is the same. This is because each dream can have a different host, a different architect, and different mental obstacles. This is Nolan's way of comparing characters and their environments. This becomes especially evident in Cobb's dream mission into Fischer's mind. In Cobb's mission there are 4 levels. The first level takes place in a modern city. It's raining cats and dogs because Yusuf, the "owner" of the dream, forgot to empty his bladder. The second level takes place in a very elegant and expensive hotel. It makes sense that he is Arthur's dream as he is always well dressed. The third level takes place in a very snowy area. Mal shows up and kills Fischer, which brings Cobb and Arianna to the fourth level: Limbo. Limbo is suspected to be an unbuilt place but, to Ariadne's surprise, it is exactly the opposite. This dates back to the time Mal and Cobb were stuck there. Development occurs throughout the entirety of Inception. The film begins with what appears to be a flash forward scene with Cobb and Saito. This is revealed towards the end of the film when Cobb goes to Limbo to find Saito after he died in Level 3. Throughout the film, you wonder what the importance of that scene is in the film and what significance the relationship between Saito and Cobb. in the plot of the film. The film develops by showing the audience what Saito needs Cobb to do and why it benefits him to complete the job. The development of the film helps us understand that Cobb needs Saito in order to return to America. He had fled the country because people believe he is the reason Mal killed herself. The film also develops by revealing to the audience why Cobb's wife died and why it affects his dreams so badly. Film Art: An Introduction states, “Filmmakers often treat formal development as a progression from beginning to middle to end.” (Bordwell and Thomson 2013:67) which is exactly what happens in the film. This type of development is the most effective for viewers as it is easier to understand. Bordwell and Thompson explain unity in a film: “[W]hen all the relationships we perceive within a film are clear and economically intertwined, we say that the film has unity. We often call a unified film “narrow” because there appear to be no gaps in its overall form.” (Bordwell and Thompson 2013:69). They later state that perfect unity is scarce in a film and that some films will still have unanswered questions (Bordwell and Thompson 2013:70). Inception ties up most of the loose ends it leaves in the film, however, there are questions that remain unanswered. For example, we never find out how Eames transforms into other people (or "forges his identity") and why he is the only person who can do so. Is it just because he forges documents in real life or is there another reason? The obvious and intentional disunity of the film is the ending. 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