For humans, dreams are a truly mysterious symbol and an expression of the unconscious. During sleep, the brain is constantly active, creating stories in the form of dreams, yet most people do not remember their content upon waking. Paradoxically, vividly remembering a dream is also evidence of not having slept deeply. This is because the afterimage of a dream remains stronger the more frequently one awakens during the REM sleep stage. As such, dreams are deeply related to the human subconscious and have been the subject of numerous studies, from Freud's psychoanalysis to modern brain science. Dreams, where the desires of reality are projected or suppressed anxieties are expressed, have been regarded as a strictly private domain that only the individual can experience.
A masterpiece that delved into this private realm of dreams and captured the public's imagination is Christopher Nolan's <Inception>. The film broke the boundaries of dreams through its innovative premise of infiltrating others' dreams to steal or plant ideas. The concepts of a dream within a dream and the 'Kick' to return to reality delivered a fresh shock to the audience, suggesting that the unknown world of dreams might not be just a simple nightly fantasy. While <Inception> dealt with the active act of 'intentionally' intervening in others' dreams, the movie <Dream Scenario> takes this a step further, unfolding an unimaginably bizarre phenomenon on the screen.
At the center of <Dream Scenario> is 'Paul Matthews,' an ordinary and timid university professor played by Nicolas Cage. He teaches evolutionary biology but suffers from an inferiority complex about his academic achievements and a craving for recognition. One day, he becomes the protagonist of an inexplicable phenomenon: he begins to appear in the dreams of countless people around the world. Initially, his appearance was purely passive. In the midst of disasters or horrific events in dreams, Paul was merely a bystander who watched the situation helplessly. This was an unprecedented event that occurred regardless of the dreamer's will and without his own intention.
This strange phenomenon soon becomes known through the media, turning Paul into a global celebrity overnight. For him, who had lived his whole life without being noticed, the flood of attention was both a bewildering and thrilling experience. Students flock to his lectures, people on the street ask for his autograph, and offers for various broadcasts and interviews pour in. In the face of fame gained without any effort or intention, simply for appearing in dreams, Paul gradually becomes conceited and starts to enjoy the situation. His family also feels a sense of pride in their husband and father's fame, adapting to their changed lives.
Paul's sudden rise is strikingly similar to the 'social media star' phenomenon of modern society. Like influencers who become stars overnight with a single video chosen by an unpredictable algorithm, without any special talent or effort, Paul also gained fame for reasons beyond his control. The public is enthusiastic not about his true self or achievements, but about the curious phenomenon of the 'man who appears in everyone's dreams.' Through this depiction, the film sharply satirizes the fickle and superficial nature of modern pop culture, which consumes insubstantial images and can switch from fervent admiration to indifference in an instant.
Even in a situation where he has no idea why he appears in people's dreams, Paul harbors the ambition to use this opportunity to publish his lifelong dream project, his book. When a famous agency approaches him with commercial offers like a Sprite advertisement, he asserts his pride as a professor and expresses his desire to be recognized for his academic value. This seems like his last struggle to protect his identity and seize control of the situation amidst uncontrollable fame. He finds himself in an ironic situation, trying to achieve his 'real' desires through the 'unreal' phenomenon of dreams.
However, the collective unconscious of the public begins to run wild, beyond Paul's control. One day, his role as a passive bystander in dreams begins to change. In some people's dreams, he appears as a fantastical being who fulfills sexual fantasies, while in the majority of dreams, he transforms into the perpetrator of nightmares, brutally attacking and murdering people. He is no longer an interesting spectacle but has become a source of potential fear and trauma. The real Paul has done nothing, but his dream image uncontrollably morphs into a violent one.
As his dream image becomes an object of fear, the public's view of the real Paul changes 180 degrees. Cheers quickly turn into criticism and hatred, and he becomes socially isolated. Students refuse to attend his lectures, the university forces him to take a leave of absence, and he is even denied entry to restaurants. As even his family begins to fear and distance themselves from him, he unwillingly becomes a 'national pariah.' This metaphorically shows the cruelty of 'Cancel Culture,' where one can fall from grace in an instant due to a single negative image, even without any wrongdoing.
Ultimately, through the brilliant premise of a 'dream scenario,' the film is a black comedy and social satire that starkly shows how modern society can deify and then easily destroy an individual. It chillingly portrays how an individual's identity can be distorted and consumed when the extremely private realm of dreams is publicly shared and spread like social media. Furthermore, the development of technology to insert advertisements into dreams using this phenomenon serves as a device to criticize the trend of capitalism attempting to penetrate even the deepest regions of the human unconscious.
The final scene of the movie, where Paul, having lost everything, goes to France and appears in his wife's dream, whispering, "I wish this was real," gives rise to many interpretations. While some criticize it as an abrupt ending that fails to fully resolve the brilliant initial idea, it actually leaves a deep, lingering impression. Having briefly become a special being in the grand illusion created by the collective unconscious, he now longs for that surreal connection and attention even after everything is over. Rather than presenting a clear answer, <Dream Scenario> reflects the sad self-portrait of modern people, adrift and losing their identity in the flow of an uncontrollable era, posing questions to the audience.
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