Inception dream rules explained in full

Christopher Nolan Start took the world by storm in 2010 with its complex dream-based worldbuilding, and while some of the film's rules are still hotly debated to this day, certain pieces of canonical dream lore are more firmly established in the story. Although StartGoing's ending being so subjective in nature is a big part of why the film is still talked about today, there are also several ongoing conversations about the rules Nolan wrote that his characters had to obey while dreaming.

As one of Christopher Nolan's best films, Start it's also one of his most cerebral projects. StartNot only is the cast full of big names, but each star contributes to the gripping storyline with incredible performances. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand the logic of the film, especially in scenes that move at a faster pace than others. However, this does not mean StartThe writer/director forgot to explain certain events - even if these explanations are not always explicitly provided in the form of dialogue.

Time passes faster in Inception's dream world

Minutes in the real world can stretch into hours, weeks, months, years, or even decades in dreams

The passage of time in StartThe dream world is a fundamental mechanic for the story to make sense. In short, time passes by in dreams, although it doesn't seem like it to those who experience them firsthand. For example, Arthur explains to Ariadne at the beginning of the film that five minutes in the real world is equivalent to approximately one hour in the dream. However, some factors can alter this relationship. Things like sedatives and the types of compounds used to share dreams can increase and/or reduce the amount of time a dreamer spends compared to the real world.

Perhaps the most relevant thing to consider is how many deep dreams a person currently has. StartThe famous concept of a dream within a dream does not come without consequences. Just one level down, time roughly extends to something close to Arthur's initial explanation. When a dreamer enters a successive dream state, these five minutes on the surface can extend much longer. At the moment when Start character reaches Limbo - the deepest level possible - they can be trapped for what they consider decades - just like the time Mal and Cobb spent building their own world.

Why Inception characters have totems (and how they work)

Everyone's Totem in Inception is unique

The rules of physics only loosely apply during dreams. Start​​​​​​. That said, it can still be difficult to delineate between a dream and a reality – just like in the real world. To avoid getting caught up in a whirlwind of confusion, each character has a small, uniquely altered item called a Totem. How a Totem feels, weighs and balances should only be known by the owner. This way, they will know that there are differences if they find themselves in someone else's dream.

For example, Cobb's Totem - which once belonged to Mal - is a spinning top that only drops after a specific period of time known only to Cobb. If he suspected he was in someone else's dream, he could spin his Totem, and the dreamer's lack of knowledge of the item's unique quirks would result in behavior other than normal. If the Totem behaved normally, Cobb would know he was living his own dream - even though others were there too. Furthermore, the top spinning endlessly would provide a general explanation that he was dreaming.

What circumstances result in someone being stuck in limbo

Limbo can be difficult to return to for those who reach it

Limbo is the lowest level of dream Start. As mentioned previously, the minutes outside the dream span decades in Limbo, and the surrounding environment is underformed, lacking any real structure. Because of this, it can be manipulated much more easily - as proven by the huge (but unpopulated) city of Mal and Cobb. In a shared dream, anyone who ends up in Limbo will find what was left behind by anyone else who was there before in the dream. Interestingly, there is more than one way to get to the enigmatic scenario.

The simplest way - if there is such a thing - to reach Limbo is to voluntarily continue descending the dream levels. That's how Mal and Cobb got there. The other way is not really by choice – at least not always. With Cobb's team so heavily sedated to help them carry out their ambitious dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream plan, it is revealed that dying on any of the levels would not cause the dreamer to wake up - as it normally would. be the case.

Instead, they would end up in Limbo. Although it seems like it would be a pretty bleak way to spend so many years, Start provides a macabre exit. If a dreamer takes his own life in Limbo, he will wake up. While it makes the entire threat of Limbo feel a bit inert, the act that needs to be performed to free a character from their mind-bending prison proves to be an understandably difficult task. It's especially prevalent when Mal is no longer sure if she's dreaming or not, and taking her own life could result in actual death rather than waking up at home.

Everyone's mind has pretty much the same way of hiding information

Starting characters hide their secrets in mentally designed safes and vaults

Over the years, Dream Extractors have noticed how people keep their secrets safe. In short, the mind manifests one of the most symbolically salient items possible. Start reveals that the Extractors' method of hiding certain secrets is to subconsciously store them in a mental projection of a bank vault or something similar. In this way, Cobb's team - and presumably other groups of Extractors in the world of Start - has to carry out what would otherwise be a fairly traditional heist.

The whole concept of Start can be very difficult to understand without solid, familiar images trust. Because of this, Nolan's inspired choice to use safes that represent a person's most personal and important secrets serves the film very well. It may seem a bit exaggerated, but with a film like Startnot everything can be left open to interpretation.

The environment outside of the dream can affect what is happening at lower levels

Gravity, weather and other factors can influence dreams

Dreams may seem like an independent reality within the world of the film, but the dreamer's immediate environment in the real world can directly impact what is happening in the dream. This is demonstrated a few times, but no example is more prominent than when Yusuf drives the bus off the bridge, and Arthur is left to operate without gravity in the dream below. Because it is Arthur's dream, and he is in the falling vehicle, the laws of physics at the hotel level obey the criteria imposed on him at the higher level.

Likewise, the hotel hallway spins when the bus goes out of control. However, it is not just the external environments that can be brought into the dream. A dreamer's mental state can also influence how a dream looks and feels. In the first dream this peculiarity can be seen in action when Yusuf's intense need to pee manifests as very heavy rain. He joked about it, but it's actually a great piece of world-building for the film.

Presumably, extractors stand on the shoulders of their predecessors, as defined functions have been established over time. Most of Cobb's team members in Start have a title, and it would stand to reason that they are not the only ones in the world who can do this job - although there are invariably different levels of skill and experience from person to person. Heists like those shown in the film would be almost impossible to carry out aloneso there is a lot of delegation from the team leader - Cobb.

DiCaprio's character is the Extractor. Simply put, he is the supervisor of each operation and usually the person who physically removes the idea or secret from a person's vault/mind. Arthur is the Point Man, who is essentially Cobb's second-in-command. Ariadne is hired to replace Cobb's former architectwith the role of responsible for designing the dream landscape. Tom Hardy's Eams is a forger, and his skill set revolves around impersonating people close to the target during their dream. Yusuf the Chemist formulates tailor-made compounds to make the operation possible.

Your dream host doesn’t have to stay the same across the board

Inception ensures that no character enters their own dream more than once

Going down more than one dream level seems to be a signature move for Cobb and his team. Normally, a squad like Cobb's would get into a target's mind, and it would be that simple. While going down another level is shown to be possible - and an ingenious development - Start never reveals what would happen if the dreamer's second dream were inserted while they are still sleeping.

Instead, a complex web of interconnected dreams is woven. The first dream (the city) is Yusuf's. From there, the rest of the team, in addition to Yusuf, enter Arthur's dream – the hotel. After Cobb's move by Mr. Charles, the team enters their brand's dream. Again, they leave Arthur behind. The film doesn't fully explore other combinations and possibilities, but it's fascinating to think about.

A dreamer's subconscious populates the environment with other people

Robert Fischer's militarized projections are a big problem for Cobb's team

Although Architects can design the physical environment of a dreamscape into Startit doesn't seem possible to generate people - fictional or otherwise. Instead, beings other than real people are unconsciously generated by dreamers. These characters - known as Projections - are rooted primarily in the mind of the main dreamer, but the others who share the dream also contribute to the "people" around them. Particularly strong memories of specific people can derail the mission, as proven by Cobb's inability to contain his distorted memory of Mal.

High-value targets like Fischer are always in danger of being subjected to Extraction, so there are countermeasures that people like him can take to reduce the chance of an Extraction team being successful. Cobb's team encounters almost immediate resistance from Fischer Projectionswhich were militarized due to Fischer's conditioning against such attempts in his subconscious. It is one of the most subtle and least explained facets of the Startof the canon, which is a shame, as it's also one of the most intriguing.