Inception and the Minotaur

What most of you know is that Inception is an amazing movie that deals with our dreams and how they could be manipulated. It deals what we perceive as reality and whether or not what we see in front of us is real. This is just on the surface though, as you look deeper into the narrative and story you could see underlying “components” that not only drive the story but make it that much more engrossing. One of these “components” is the similarities it has with the Greek myth, Theseus and the Minotaur. Basically the story of the Minotaur is about how Theseus must go inside King Minos’ labyrinth and slay the mighty Minotaur (Man/Bull). Before he could actually go inside the labyrinth the king’s daughter Ariadne immediately fall in love with him and is advise by the architect who built the maze, Daedalus, to help him by giving him thread and a sword. He eventually makes it to the middle of the labyrinth and slays the Minotaur and finds his way out of the labyrinth with the help of Ariadne’s thread.

Dominic Cobb plays the part of Theseus and Daedalus in Inception because he is the one who goes into the deepest part of the labyrinth, Limbo. Over the next 50 years he and Mal, his wife, created a city that they could control, changing the way it looked at the drop of a hat. They were the gods; they were the king and queen to their own personal Athens. This is where Mal begins her transformation into the Minotaur. In the myth the Minotaur is created when Poseidon curses Queen Pasiphae with uncontrollable lust for a white bull that he sent by Poseidon. In a way the idea that Cobb puts in Mal’s head, is the white bull. This idea he plants consumes her mind in not only the dream world, but in the real world as well. This idea forces her into believing that their world isn’t real and that the only way to “wake up” is to commit suicide. The guilt Cobb feels for the death of his wife is what completes her transformation into the Minotaur. He feels this guilt because he promised her that they would grow old together. This guilt transforms her into a being that occupies every dream he enters and puts whoever he goes into the dreams with in danger.

          The biggest similarity between Theseus’ story and Inception is the name Ariadne. Ariadne plays a huge role in helping the protagonist in either story. In the Minotaur Ariadne is gives Theseus the thread and sword. In Inception Ariadne not only acts as the architect who builds the labyrinth’s inside the dreams, but is the thread as well. In Inception Ariadne isn’t driven by love to help Cobb, but it seems like that she’s driven by her own curiosity and empathy she feels for Cobb. This curiosity allows her to follow Cobb into the deepest parts of his dreams and memories. She is the only one aside from Cobb himself that truly knows what he is going through.

Throughout the movie Ariadne is always can be seen beside Cobb at some of the movie’s crucial points, much like the thread tied to Theseus’ belt. This simile becomes true when she follows him to limbo to not only find Saito and Fischer but instead confronts his Minotaur, Mal. At this point of the story we find out that Ariadne also plays the part of the sword. In my opinion Ariadne plays the most important part in both stories. She is the one who gives Theseus the weapon he uses to kill the Minotaur, and gives him the thread to find his way back. She is also the one who shoots Mal and helps Cobb realize that he had fulfilled his promise of them growing old together and having the life that they had, literally, dreamed of. This realization is what allows him find his way back after finding Saito.

All these similarities that I have pointed out between Inception and the story of the Minotaur, lead me to believe that this movie is a modern day retelling of the ancient myth. I understand that there are probably a ton of people who thought of the same thing when they watched the movie, but I thought this blog entry would be fun to do because it allows me to re-watch the movie and catch up on a little bit of Greek mythology. I wasn’t trying to interpret whether the whole movie was a dream or not. I believe that the ending was left that way so the audience could create their own version of the story. Every time you watch this movie you notice little things that either reinforces your theory or makes you rethink it. I’m not going to tell you my opinion because to be honest I can’t make up my mind of it, all I know is that it’s a great fucking movie.