The real plot hole in Inception?
(This blog post may be a useful preamble.)
1) Either all the events of Inception are a dream; or some events are not a dream.
2) If some events (i.e. the basic commission from Saito to enter Fischer's mind) are not a dream, then there are many plot holes. (I leave these as an exercise for the reader.)
3) If all the events of Inception are a dream, then most of those plot holes are solved. Implausible events, physics, personalities, and more are all simply characteristics of the abrupt and illogical nature of dreams.
4) Suppose, then, that all the events of Inception are a dream. Inception is a movie created by a reasonably-skilled director. Therefore, while plot holes are forgivable according to point #3, an incoherent or meaningless plot is not.
5) If all of Inception is a dream, who is the dreamer? Cobb is clearly the simplest choice: he is the only character present in nearly every scene, he is the only character with complex motivations for his behavior, and he is the only character (other than Fischer) to reach a state of psychological closure at the end of the film.
6) If Cobb is the dreamer, then the unifying plot of the film is the resolution of his psychological state, and all subplots should contribute to this meta-plot (since, as stated in #4, this is a well-crafted movie).
7) The subplots about Cobb, Mal, and his children do contribute to this. So does the general plot of an attempt at inception, since it addresses his own guilt over his inception in Mal, and since it allows him to travel to the state of "Limbo," in which he can confront Mal directly in a familiar environment.
[7b) This, incidentally, resolves what would be a plot hole otherwise. The idea of a universal "Limbo," shaped by everyone who travels to it, and shared by everyone who enters it, is completely out of place in a movie that otherwise explains the world through simple science and psychology; it's washed-over Jungian mysticism about the collective unconscious. But if Limbo is simply one level of dreaming within Cobb's mind, then of course it retains the same basic form when he travels into and out of it.]
8) So, to recap, it seems that the entire movie is Cobb's dream in which he attempts to resolve feelings of guilt toward his wife and longing for his children. (The question of whether Mal is alive and manipulating this dream, perhaps posing as Adriane -- conveniently named after the princess who gave Theseus the thread to guide him out of the labyrinth -- is intriguing but irrelevant to my current inquiry.)
9) What, then, is the purpose of the entire subplot about Fischer's relationship with his father? As a classic movie heist, it's eminently enjoyable, but it seems entirely irrelevant to Cobb's psychological development. Fischer loves, admires, and craves affection from his father, and his relationship with his father is at the heart of his business decisions and emotional development. In contrast, we never even see Cobb's father, and his father-figure is a wise and encouraging man, with very little tension in the relationship.
10) To take this point further: the key moment of inception, the climax of the labyrinth of Fischer's subplot, is when his father tells him that he was disappointed that Fischer was trying to be his father. Again, this is a brilliant strategic move, but it bears no particular meaning for Cobb, who isn't even present. Only in a very loose sense is the advice remotely applicable to Cobb's situation. It's at the climax of the movie, but it has no relevance for the meta-plot of Cobb's life.
11) Thus, it seems that there are two options: either the movie has plot holes of a practical nature, or it spends far too much time on a subplot that's irrelevant to the main purpose of the movie -- an artistic plot hole, from my perspective. Both options are unsatisfying.
Thoughts?
1) Either all the events of Inception are a dream; or some events are not a dream.
2) If some events (i.e. the basic commission from Saito to enter Fischer's mind) are not a dream, then there are many plot holes. (I leave these as an exercise for the reader.)
3) If all the events of Inception are a dream, then most of those plot holes are solved. Implausible events, physics, personalities, and more are all simply characteristics of the abrupt and illogical nature of dreams.
4) Suppose, then, that all the events of Inception are a dream. Inception is a movie created by a reasonably-skilled director. Therefore, while plot holes are forgivable according to point #3, an incoherent or meaningless plot is not.
5) If all of Inception is a dream, who is the dreamer? Cobb is clearly the simplest choice: he is the only character present in nearly every scene, he is the only character with complex motivations for his behavior, and he is the only character (other than Fischer) to reach a state of psychological closure at the end of the film.
6) If Cobb is the dreamer, then the unifying plot of the film is the resolution of his psychological state, and all subplots should contribute to this meta-plot (since, as stated in #4, this is a well-crafted movie).
7) The subplots about Cobb, Mal, and his children do contribute to this. So does the general plot of an attempt at inception, since it addresses his own guilt over his inception in Mal, and since it allows him to travel to the state of "Limbo," in which he can confront Mal directly in a familiar environment.
[7b) This, incidentally, resolves what would be a plot hole otherwise. The idea of a universal "Limbo," shaped by everyone who travels to it, and shared by everyone who enters it, is completely out of place in a movie that otherwise explains the world through simple science and psychology; it's washed-over Jungian mysticism about the collective unconscious. But if Limbo is simply one level of dreaming within Cobb's mind, then of course it retains the same basic form when he travels into and out of it.]
8) So, to recap, it seems that the entire movie is Cobb's dream in which he attempts to resolve feelings of guilt toward his wife and longing for his children. (The question of whether Mal is alive and manipulating this dream, perhaps posing as Adriane -- conveniently named after the princess who gave Theseus the thread to guide him out of the labyrinth -- is intriguing but irrelevant to my current inquiry.)
9) What, then, is the purpose of the entire subplot about Fischer's relationship with his father? As a classic movie heist, it's eminently enjoyable, but it seems entirely irrelevant to Cobb's psychological development. Fischer loves, admires, and craves affection from his father, and his relationship with his father is at the heart of his business decisions and emotional development. In contrast, we never even see Cobb's father, and his father-figure is a wise and encouraging man, with very little tension in the relationship.
10) To take this point further: the key moment of inception, the climax of the labyrinth of Fischer's subplot, is when his father tells him that he was disappointed that Fischer was trying to be his father. Again, this is a brilliant strategic move, but it bears no particular meaning for Cobb, who isn't even present. Only in a very loose sense is the advice remotely applicable to Cobb's situation. It's at the climax of the movie, but it has no relevance for the meta-plot of Cobb's life.
11) Thus, it seems that there are two options: either the movie has plot holes of a practical nature, or it spends far too much time on a subplot that's irrelevant to the main purpose of the movie -- an artistic plot hole, from my perspective. Both options are unsatisfying.
Thoughts?