Question: After Ariadne falls off the building, why does Cobb wash up on the shore of Limbo again? Isn't he already in Limbo?
BaconIsMyBFF
1st Sep 2020
Inception (2010)
6th Feb 2019
Inception (2010)
Question: Just because Cobb knows how Mal's totem works, how does this mean her totem no longer works for her? Is it because Mal doesn't trust Cobb not to manipulate the spinning of her totem when they're in the same dream together? Or is it because somebody could manipulate somebody else's totem in a dream by accident just because they know how it works?
Answer: Cobb placed a thought in her head that her world isn't real. He intended for this thought to be applied to the limbo world they created, but instead it was applied to the real world. She simply cannot get the idea out of her head that she is still dreaming when in reality, she is awake. Nothing Cobb can say or do can convince her she is wrong, because the one safeguard they have (totems) has been broken because Cobb knows how it works. She simply thinks Cobb is the one with the problem, can't or refuses to wake up, and thinks Cobb is manipulating her totem to make her think she is awake when she is not. We never actually find out if she was wrong or right either :).
Answer: In order for a totem to work a person has to be 100% sure it wasn't manipulated by anyone else. If someone else knew what made the totem special you could never be completely sure someone else wasn't manipulating it. The spinning top itself is a bad choice for a totem anyway, since anyone who sees it being used should instantly tell what makes it special. Think about it like this: if you had to keep valuable information locked away in a safe and had to be sure that nobody could ever sneak into the safe, even someone you know and love, you would want a secure combination for that safe that nobody else could guess. If your combination was your birthday, how could you ever be 100% sure that nobody would ever guess the combination? Could you ever be 100% certain that nobody has looked in the safe?
25th Jan 2019
Inception (2010)
Question: Why didn't Mal use the totem to prove to herself she was back in reality instead of killing herself? Or why didn't Cobb spin the Totem in front of her to prove they were back in reality?
Answer: When Cobb used inception on Mal, the idea that her world isn't real and she needed to kill herself took over her mind. Mal made an error in telling Cobb how her totem worked before they ever went into limbo. Cobb was able to use her totem specifically to implant the idea in her head. Since he knows how her totem works, it can't work as a totem anymore. Spinning the top in front of her and having it fall over would not prove that she wasn't dreaming anymore. Ironically, Cobb makes the exact same mistake as he continues to use the totem even after he tells Ariadne how it works. As an important note, the spinning top itself is a poor choice for a totem, since the thing that makes it special (it never stops spinning in the dream world) can be easily observed by anyone else. The entire point is to have you, and only you, know what makes the totem special. Arthur's loaded die is a better choice because only he notices how the weight is uneven in his hand. Ariadne's totem is not described but it seems to have similar properties to Arthur's in that she has altered its balance in a specific way.
21st Jan 2018
Inception (2010)
Question: In real movie time how long did each dream last? The hotel dream time, the city dream, and the snow mountains dream. I don't buy it that they spent 8 years hiking in those mountains.
Answer: The dream is stated to last about 20 times as long as time in the real world, with the flight taking 10 hours. This means that the first level would be 200 hours (just over a week), the second level would be around 20 weeks (about 5 months), and the third level about 100 months (just over 8 years). However, that is the length of time for the entire dream, start to finish. That is not how long each person stays in the dream. They were not hiking in the mountains for 8 years, just a few minutes or an hour at the most. However, if they were to miss a kick on any level, they would either have to stay in that mountain base for the full 8 years or get kicked down to limbo for even longer, potentially.
6th Apr 2017
Inception (2010)
Question: When the team is twice under, I think, the bus, with all of them on it - the reality - is heading for water, it has been hit. But what I don't understand is how Cobb says, "When the van hits the water," how would he know this? He's dreaming, as they all are.
Chosen answer: When the van hits the water it will suddenly stop, giving a kick to the passengers. Cobb knew because driving the van off the bridge was always the plan.
Answer: He doesn't wash up on the shores of limbo a second time, he has been searching for Saito in limbo and wound up on the beach outside of the compound that Saito created. His exhaustion, haggard appearance, and confusion suggests that Cobb has been searching for Saito in limbo for years.
BaconIsMyBFF