Activation Synthesis Theory

Links between many dream related

By Alex Kent

theories and Inception

In this essay I will be looking at whether Inception supports Freud’s Dream Theory or the Activation Synthesis Theory. I will be analysing multiple scenes that promote their corresponding theory. These can be the likes of external dream influences, Freud’s many theories or the Activation synthesis theory

In my first analysis it is not of a scene but of a concept in the movie. Freud believed that dreams were constructed by drawing upon a person’s memories of places and events. This is the same as in the movie as they need an “architect” to sculpt the dreams. Cobb recruits Ariadne to be this architect and to make the levels that she teaches to the respective dreamers. In chronological order this is Yusuf, Arthur, Eames then nobody (Limbo). This link could have been made to make the movie more realistic or relatable to the audience as we all subconsciously believe that places in our dreams are places we have previously visited.

The

A great example of this in “Inception” is the fact that Cobb is struggling with the loss of Mal and doesn’t believe that she is gone forever, eternalising her in his private dream state (the dream where there is an elevator with many floors of his memories of her). This links to the belief that if the subject did not deal with his loss that it would be eternalised in his ego, which almost happened until Cobb enters limbo and trades his life for Fischer. He then spends a lifetime in limbo until he ends up finding Saito, who is an old man while he is still young, then they kill themselves to reach the kick up above and escape the multiple levels of