Dream invasion

A post inspired by 'Inception', you know, the movie that has been making all the buzz recently, creating major ripples on all sides of the pond.

First and foremost, a quick word on the film. It is a Leonardo DiCaprio starrer, and that friends, is a huge selling point for me, it is enough to have me absolutely convinced from the word go. The guy has an incredible talent for sniffing out good projects, he has made wise career choices, I have yet to watch a Leonardo DiCaprio movie that borders on being atrocious or an utter bore. Okay, so I have been rather smart in avoiding duds like 'The Man in the Iron Mask' but fact remains that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching his flicks, and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him. I rate him as an artist, he is a brilliant actor, and I know my humble opinion makes no difference whatsoever at all to the man himself but it is still very much a valid one. I am also, movie by movie, slowly finding myself strangely attracted to him. He used to be pretty in a really girlie way, now he's just pretty rough - he's slightly pudgy, his body is neither toned nor muscular but verging more towards flabby, and his straggly facial hair style is just plain revolting. It's fair to say age has caught up with our Leo - can I call him that, just Leo? Despite all this, I am beginning to find him real sexy, and it has me questioning my sanity. Physically he just doesn't do it for me. Like at all. I am not a huge fan of blond hair and blue eyes, I am all about dark features, especially a set of beautiful brown puppy-dog eyes. However there is just something about him, I find his talent immensely sexy but it's his silent, brooding demeanor, his mean and moody act that has got me hooked, I just want to uncover him, and I seriously didn't mean for that to come across as sexual. Yes, I know, enough already!

'Inception' does offer plenty proper eye-candy though - Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy. I remember seeing Gordon-Levitt quite recently in '500 Days of Summer' and I was like wow, he's grown up! 'Inception' just reiterates this for me. The guy is lush, a major cutie, and I hope this movie brings him the recognition he truly deserves - some even say that he steals the show here with his performance. I had a Gordon-Levitt appreciation day on Facebook the other day as I feel nobody cherishes him enough. I won't get into the particulars but I was just generally showing the guy a lot of love - interpret however you choose to. Anyway, back to the masterpiece, all I have to say is that Christopher Nolan took an idea and ran with it. Very far indeed. Yes, he overcomplicated it and created mass confusion but then I suppose that right there is a clever ploy - if he hadn't done so then there wouldn't have been so many questions and discussions, so many revisits to the cinema, and just generally so much hype. Seems like everybody has an opinion or theory on 'Inception' - mission accomplished Nolan, a big pat on the back for you sir. All I shall advise is that you watch it intensely focused, no allowing your mind to drift off and definitely no loo breaks, do so and you will be completely lost. The plot demands extreme concentration on your part. Even then you will walk out slightly baffled and quite eager to rush home in order to 'google' an analysis or explanation.

I love intelligent cinema - movies that are thought-provoking with their original, strong concept. And yes, I understand that they are fictional but the paranoid, over-analysing person within me ponders whether this is actually the case, or whether there is a huge conspiracy at play instead. And so 'Inception' has me wondering if there are indeed people out there trained to invade dreams. What a cool job that would be. Very MI5. Imagine having the ability to float into dreams and influence the victim's subconscious, that there is a superpower in itself, on the same realm as invisibility, shapeshifting and telepathy. Invading dreams, it's pretty much just technical, sophisticated witchcraft isn't it?

Can you fathom all that you could manipulate to your advantage - you can haunt the dreams of people you despise, you can stalk the dreams of the ones you fancy, you can brainwash the dreams of potential employers - the possibilities are endless. Dream hypnotism sounds like a life lottery to me.

A dream is like our very own mini motion picture where we are the leading actor, people who flit about our everyday lives become guest features, with daily events and thoughts forming the basis of the main plot. But what about those strangers that make an appearance from time to time? Do they really exist somewhere out there or have they just been concocted by our imagination? Or maybe they are a version of Dom Cobb and his team of experts who have secretly climbed into our subconscious? How much of a dream is really just the mind creating some form of entertainment? We have all woken from a vivid dream convinced that it had to be genuine and authentic, maybe the feelings that transpired had been too strong and honest to be dismissed as false but we never stop to think that perhaps it is a reality that has been carefully constructed. Okay, so it's rather far-fetched, and I must admit that there is probably no real reason to engineer such an elaborate hoax on the average being but what about individuals in positions of great power, you know, individuals who are ultimately capable of decisions that impact such a wide audience, can these decisions be controlled via a dream? The targets, one pressumes, would probably be dominant, prevailing figures in the world of politics and business. It's one way to beat your rival into submission. That or hire a hitman.

If you break down the idea of dream invasion you can come around to the understanding that perhaps it is not so absurd and way out there as you initially thought. A lot of people think it's a load of mumbo-jumbo but there are also many firm believers of therapies such as hypnosis, brain-wave, subliminal and transgression. Are these all not just a form of mind control? And what about white and dark arts? Spells, curses and voodoo dolls? Again, the mass population is probably skeptical yet there are those who truly believe. All, once more, just another method of mind control. So why is then dream invasion an idea so easily dismissed? Does it not border on the same principles? Sure, it wouldn't be as extravagant and extensive as that of Nolan's but I still choose to believe it exists out there in a more simplistic form.

And on that note, as I try to stifle yet another yawn, I'm off to hit the sack and indulge myself with a few visionary delights - goodnight folks, sweet dreams, sleep tight. And remember, "you musn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling".