What is real?
Overview
Inception is directed by Christopher Nolan.
This film will be used in the Through their eyes
(Close Reading of a film) Achievement standard, so
in this ppt we will:
• Watch scenes from the film.
• Analyse 2 key scenes in detail. Looking at mise-en
scene, music and characterisation.
• Practise writing a response to scenes in the film,
looking at mise-en-scene, camera shots,
characterisation, symbolism and music.
• Begin the assessment.
Characters
Christopher Nolan
• Born in Britain, but his mother was American.
• Directed Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
• Is renowned for pushing the limits of filmmaking, particularly by using camera angles
and mise-en-scene for dramatic effect.
Characters in Inception
• In an interview Nolan explained that he based the
roles in Inception on those of film making, but
our knowledge of the Hero’s Journey and Propp’s
archetypes provides us with identifiable roles for
each character too.
• Cobb – director
• Arthur – Producer
• Ariadne – production designer/writer
• Eames – actor
• Saito – studio
• Fischer –audience
Archetypal character roles in Inception
• As we run through the characters in the
following slides, decide which of these
archetypal roles you would assign them.
(Some roles may be missing, some characters
may have more than one role.)
• The hero
The villain
• The dispatcher
The helper
• The donor
the false hero
• The princess/prize
• The father of the princess
Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb:
A professional thief who specializes in conning
secrets from his victims by infiltrating their
dreams. Cobb leads a team with the goal of
influencing Robert Fischer's actions via his
dreams.
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur:
Cobb's partner who takes "point" during jobs
and is responsible for researching the team's
targets.
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
Ellen Page as Ariadne:
A graduate student of architecture who is
recruited to construct the various dreamscapes,
which are described as mazes.
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
Marion Cotillard as Mallorie "Mal" Cobb:
Dom Cobb's projection of his deceased wife and
a frequent presence in his dreams. As the film's
main antagonist, she is a manifestation of his
guilt about the real Mal's suicide. Dom is unable
to control these projections of her, challenging
his abilities as an extractor.
Ken Watanabe as Mr. Saito:
A businessman who employs Cobb for the
team's mission, and insists on joining them
inside.
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
Tom Hardy as Eames:
A sharp-tongued associate of Cobb's. Eames
uses his ability to take the form of others inside
the dream world in order to manipulate Robert
Fischer in his own dreams. The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
Dileep Rao as Yusuf:
A chemist who formulates the drugs needed to
sustain the dream states.
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
The hero
The villain
The dispatcher The helper
The donor
The false hero
The princess/prize
The father of the princess
Cillian Murphy as Robert Michael Fischer:
The heir to a business empire and the team's
target.
Background notes for Inception
• Was made in 2010.
• During production the film’s plot was kept
secret. Nolan said, “it is set within the
architecture of the mind.”
• It was originally conceived as a horror film,
but Nolan rewrote it as a heist film, although
“traditionally they are very superficial in
emotional terms.”
• Nolan decided to “make sure the emotional
journey of his character was the emotional
driving force of the movie.”
genre
• This makes the film’s genre a difficult thing to pinpoint.
– It is a combination of science fiction (set in the
future with new technology), heist (a thief attempts
to steal something from a multi-million-dollar
corporation), film noir (dark and sensual plots),
action film (hero is involved in battle, car crashes
and explosions) and thriller (suspense is built).
– To assist the viewer to distinguish one dream from
another, each level of the dream is a different kind
of film: The kidnapping is a thriller, the hotel is a
heist, and the mountaintop is an action film.
– Each also has different hues: first Saito meeting is
red/yellow, kidnapping=blue, hotel/heist=brown,
mountaintop=white.
The 6 Key Scenes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Exposition – not studied
Mirror Scene – not studied
Mombasa (dreaming and chase) – not studied
Mal Commits Suicide
Zero Gravity Scene
Final Scene – not studied
Mirror Scene
Dreaming in Mombasa
Final Scene
Mal Commits Suicide
Before we watch the clip
Answer the following questions individually:
1. Why do you think Mal kills herself?
2. What effect does this have on Dom?
Physically? Mentally?
3. What genre do you think this scene portrays?
Why?
We will now watch the scene 4 times.
As you are watching the scene I want you to take
notes on the following:
• Mise en scene
• Use of Camera
• Characterisation
• Music
Each time we watch the scene you should focus
on a different aspect (e.g. music) of the scene.
Be prepared to feedback after we watch the
scene.
Now we have watched the scene and you have
a deeper understanding of the scene, lets look
at the questions we answered at the start of the
lesson:
1. Why do you think Mal kills herself?
2. What effect does this have on Dom?
Physically? Mentally?
3. What genre do you think this scene portrays?
Why?
Think, Pair, Share
Now that you have a deeper understanding of
the text, you are going to use the think, pair,
share technique to answer your questions.
Think: 2 minutes
Pair: 3 minutes
Share: Be Prepared!
Mal’s Final Speech
You are waiting for a train, a train
that will take you far away, you
know where you hope this train
will take you, you don’t know for
sure, but it doesn’t matter because
you will be together.
Mal’s Final Speech
Discuss in your group how Mal’s Final
Speech further reveals the genre of this
scene.
Be prepared to share your answers.
Zero Gravity Scene:
let’s watch it
Another Gravity Defying Scene
We are now going to watch a clip from a film that
preceded Inception, and which would have
influenced the director.
• Matrix
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d14jRsAobtk
As you watch this clip write down the differences
between this and the Inception scene. Which scene
is the most effective and why?
This was filmed on a massive
rotating set – something like
a theme park ride which
gives the impression of
gravity being absent. Matrix
used wires because gravity
was always briefly defied.
In The Matrix a character can defy gravity if they
choose to do so. The fight scene in Inception
has no gravity to defy and Arthur (Joseph
Gordon-Levitt), the team’s point man, has to
figure out how to achieve his objective while
fending off projections. Watching a fight scene
without gravity is awesome!
• In groups you are going to answer questions
on the zero gravity scene.
• Each worksheet has questions focussing on
Setting, Camera Shots and Music.
• Answer the question in as much detail as
possible.
• We will play the scene a few times through
the lesson.
Remember our essay paragraph structure:
TEXAS or
Point
Context
Evidence
Detail
Analysis
You now have to write a paragraph including
each of the elements you answered questions
on:
• Setting
• Use of Camera Shots
• Music
Peer Assess
Each person will peer assess one other group
member’s paragraph.
Remember to give positive feedback and targets
to work on for redrafting.
Use this feedback for redrafting the paragraphs.
Jigsaw Lesson
Inception Key Scenes
Part One - Jigsaw task
LEARNING GROUPS:
• You will have 12 minutes in your groups to gather
the information.
In Your Groups you need to explain the genre your
scene portrays, have notes on each of the following:
• Mise en scene
• Use of camera,
• Characterisation
• Music
Part Two - Jigsaw task
TEACHING GROUPS:
You will now be organised into ‘teaching groups’ that
include a member from each of the ‘learning groups’
(so that there is someone one who has
knowledge/information from each area.)
Each person in the teaching group should share their
information so that everyone in the group has written
notes for each key scene.
Teaching Groups
You will teach the rest of your group about the key
scene you focussed on.
You will have 4 minutes each to teach the rest of
your group about your key scene and the genre it
portrays.
You need to explain each of your points clearly and
be prepared to answer any questions.
These notes will help you write your assessment.
Beginning the assessment
Select one excerpt from Inception that clearly
shows the director’s concerns and style. It can
be one of the four key scenes examined in the
groups, or it can be another self selected scene.
Refer to Resource B on the AS 3.9 NCEA task
sheet for additional aspects to examine for this
assessment.