Meaning of a Dream

Inception's writer and director, Chris Nolan, had long wanted to make this movie based on his own experiences of lucid dreams. He knew what he was talking about. And yet, there are a number of lucid dreaming myths in Inception.

Perhaps this was why Nolan chose never to use the term "lucid dreaming" in his movie. In doing so, he allowed himself the flexibility to create his own dream mythology, centered around the act of consciously entering other people's dreams and stealing / planting secrets.

Nonetheless, the central theme of being able to consciously create and navigate the dream world is impossible to ignore - this is lucid dreaming in its essence.

Even non-lucid dreamers made the association; Google searches "lucid dreaming" shot through the roof in the months surrounding Inception's release.

So where does Inception's mythology deviate from the truth of lucid dreaming?

To draw the line between fact and fiction, I wanted to highlight the three biggest myths of Inception and contrast them with the reality of lucid dreaming.

Spoiler alert: if you have been living under a rock and are yet to catch this movie, the following does contain spoilers... Check out Inception on DVD first!