Below is an interesting article on the generational divide between young adults and older generations of moviegoers regarding the new movie Inception. The article's author, Patrick Goldstein, seems to conclude that the film is beloved by younger generations who grew up on gaming and the internet, while it might be too complicated for older moviegoers.
Why is it that the older you are the more you can't stand 'Inception'?
I am not 100% sure I agree with Goldstein, but his article makes a fascinating grounding for discussion on how younger and older audiences react to movies today.
The more I have reflected on this column, I have thought that while Inception may be enjoyed by all ages, it may be a defining movie for some young adults, just as The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Rebel Without a Cause, Star Wars, and The Matrix were themselves generationally-defining films.
But what does that say about younger people? What does Inception say about the Gen Xers and Millennials that have flocked to this piece of cinema (just like those aforementioned films said a lot about their audiences)?
Perhaps Inception speaks to younger generations' internal struggles that they bury deep inside their subconscious because they're too busy to worry about that now. Or perhaps young adults are tired of old ideas of previous eras - but yearn to conceive of a new idea (an "inception") of their own, hoping it might change the world. Or maybe the whole concept of sleeping and dreaming just seems like a welcome experience for an over-stressed age?
Whatever it is, people may be talking about Inception for years to come. I look forward to that conversation...
Thursday, August 05, 2010
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1 comment:
I am a 25 year old and I guess I fall into the younger generation that is very much fascinated by the movie Inception. I think the surface exterior of the use of internet and gaming is very reactive to our generation but also the spiritual metaphors in the movie was quite interesting. Even though the advent of technology age always makes the younger generation seem like zombies wired to the internet 24/7, the deeper understanding of the mind, illusion, perception and lastly the importance of learning and understanding our subconscious to better our lives can also be derived from the movie.
The spiritual aspect does not have to be new agey or woo woo, but also grounded in scientific and psychological approach to how younger generations are viewing and trying to make sense of their lives by understanding how emotions and many memories and experiences in our lives are interconnected through dreams and reality. Overall, it is a movie that needs to be seen few times to gain new insights and perspective as it was said Christopher Nolan spent about ten years writing the screenplay.
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