elegantlion Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I watched this movie for the second time yesterday and think it would make a great study to tie into a logic or critical thinking class. We'll be doing formal logic next year and I'd like to spend a couple of weeks on this movie. What would you study? My initial thoughts are read the story of Ariadne and the Labyrinth and study some of Escher's art for background info. Then watch the clues and notate what facts are given, then diagram each level of the dream state, starting with the assumption that the assumed reality is such. There are a maze of ideas you could do, such as use figure up how much time is spent in each level, the myth of "limbo", etc. From that you could get into the analysis of what is the reality and what happened at the end. I can imagine a very lively discussion. I watched the movie almost with a backward mindset yesterday, that the reality we see is not the reality and it could be workable. What other ideas would you include? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 What a fascinating idea! We have debated the end of that movie repeatedly and all have very strong opinions on the actual conclusions. My kids would love this.......but it would really throw a wrench in my plans.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Are you aware of the parallel between Inception and the Japanese film Paprika? You might be interested in the description in Wikipedia. (The writer/director of Inception admits that Paprika influenced him so it is not just coincidence.) Two interesting literary works to read as part of your study of "what is real?" could be Through the Looking Glass (the follow up to Alice's Adventures) and the very interesting short story collection The Street of Crocodiles by the Polish writer Bruno Schulz. What an interesting idea, Paula! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 What a fascinating idea! We have debated the end of that movie repeatedly and all have very strong opinions on the actual conclusions. My kids would love this.......but it would really throw a wrench in my plans.:tongue_smilie: I think it would be interesting to survey people and determine if their conclusion lines up with their overall outlook on life, such as is your glass half-full or half-empty. Ah, another exercise for him. Are you aware of the parallel between Inception and the Japanese film Paprika? You might be interested in the description in Wikipedia. (The writer/director of Inception admits that Paprika influenced him so it is not just coincidence.) Two interesting literary works to read as part of your study of "what is real?" could be Through the Looking Glass (the follow up to Alice's Adventures) and the very interesting short story collection The Street of Crocodiles by the Polish writer Bruno Schulz. What an interesting idea, Paula! Jane Thank you, Jane! I was not aware, but Nolan is fast becoming one of my favorite movie makers. I could also force ds to watch Batman Begins again (one of my favorites, he doesn't like Nolan's version of Batman). So we could add some background info on Nolan himself. Oh, yes, a place to add more Alice too, she's been one of our favorites this year. Looking into Street of Crocodiles right now. I love it when a plan comes together. :D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Isn't there a book that begins "Everything I tell you is a lie."? You could try to write a short story that begins with that sentence. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 One cautionary note: Paprika is Japanese anime that has an R rating which I will give you specifics on in a PM. And here is a review of Paprika from the NY Times. Since you are such a film buff, Paula I think you might really enjoy this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Isn't there a book that begins "Everything I tell you is a lie."? You could try to write a short story that begins with that sentence.-Nan This just gets better and better. I love this idea. One cautionary note: Paprika is Japanese anime that has an R rating which I will give you specifics on in a PM. And here is a review of Paprika from the NY Times. Since you are such a film buff, Paula I think you might really enjoy this one. Thanks for the heads up, would appreciate the specifics. I'm thinking we may need more than a few weeks to study this. :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I think it would be interesting to survey people and determine if their conclusion lines up with their overall outlook on life, such as is your glass half-full or half-empty. Ah, another exercise for him. :D I talked to my kids about this and they think it would be interesting. We might make it the final unit of the school yr.......something to keep us going when we want to wane instead of persevere. One of the problems I foresee is that my kids will not agree to your base premise.....that the beginning is what it seems. At least one of my kids believes that his wife was correct and that he is the one that was stuck in the dream state. Most of us agree on the interpretation of the final scene but completely disagree how we reach that decision based on previous scenes. (though a couple believe that he is not in the dream state at the end and are in the definite minority in our household.) My reason (and those that believe he is in the dream state) is based not on the events leading to the conclusion of the movie but on the fact that the children are always in the same position and the same age every time he thinks of them as well as in the final scene. There must be something incredibly interesting in that spot on the ground!! :D The disagreement is based on how why we believe he stayed in the dream state. Of course, some of the kids believe that he never left the dream state even in the beginning and you can't base anything on the top b/c the top was her talisman from her lock box. THis could be a really fun assignment in working on persuasive argumentation. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I talked to my kids about this and they think it would be interesting. We might make it the final unit of the school yr.......something to keep us going when we want to wane instead of persevere. One of the problems I foresee is that my kids will not agree to your base premise.....that the beginning is what it seems. At least one of my kids believes that his wife was correct and that he is the one that was stuck in the dream state. Most of us agree on the interpretation of the final scene but completely disagree how we reach that decision based on previous scenes. (though a couple believe that he is not in the dream state at the end and are in the definite minority in our household.) My reason (and those that believe he is in the dream state) is based not on the events leading to the conclusion of the movie but on the fact that the children are always in the same position and the same age every time he thinks of them as well as in the final scene. There must be something incredibly interesting in that spot on the ground!! :D The disagreement is based on how why we believe he stayed in the dream state. Of course, some of the kids believe that he never left the dream state even in the beginning and you can't base anything on the top b/c the top was her talisman from her lock box. THis could be a really fun assignment in working on persuasive argumentation. :lol: When I first watched I presumed their reality was reality. However, when I watched yesterday one of the first comments in the movie, can't remember which one, started me watching with Mal's reality being the reality. It reframes the whole movie. But I thought we'd start with the presented reality as truth, which could lead to many discussions about what IRL "reality" we accept as truth. I agree about the talisman...hm, now I need to watch again. It was still spinning in the safe, why didn't he want to go into that house?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieM Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 My kids are too young for this, but I'd love to do it myself! What a fabulous idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I haven't seen this movie, so probably shouldn't post, but my son watched it twice and based on what he said it made me think of Plato's Cave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Paula, you come up with the coolest ideas! I have not watched Inception but from reading this thread, I am inclined to buy it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Way cool idea, Paula! I want to see the movie now, more than ever(and am trying to talk my dd into venturing in to the blizzard to go rent it) ! I think that you should develop your idea and start a group so that we can all "sit in" on your class:D What came to mind (but I haven't seen the movie so I may be way off base) was C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy- when they are trying to skew how the protangonist thinks of reality. ( I know that's vague but I don't have copies of the books anymore to look up the details). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Paula, you come up with the coolest ideas! I have not watched Inception but from reading this thread, I am inclined to buy it. :D Thanks. It's such a well thought out movie and so unique. I love studying the meanings of dreams so that appeals to me too. But the screenplay itself is so detailed that it's not one of those movies where you leave thinking of ways they could have improved it. Way cool idea, Paula! I want to see the movie now, more than ever(and am trying to talk my dd into venturing in to the blizzard to go rent it) ! I think that you should develop your idea and start a group so that we can all "sit in" on your class:D What came to mind (but I haven't seen the movie so I may be way off base) was C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy- when they are trying to skew how the protangonist thinks of reality. ( I know that's vague but I don't have copies of the books anymore to look up the details). I haven't read the Space Trilogy, I have the first one and never got around to reading it. Perhaps we'll add it in to the mix. A class would be fun. ...much to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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