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This chapter argues that dreaming is an important state of consciousness and that it has many features that complement consciousness in the wake state…

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Sleep and the processing of emotions - Experimental Brain Research

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Sleep and the processing of emotions - Experimental Brain Research

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https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00221-014-3832-1

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Abstract

How emotions interact with cognitive processes has been a topic of growing interest in the last decades, as well as studies investigating the role of sleep in cognition. We review here evidence showing that sleep and emotions entertain privileged relationships. The literature indicates that exposure to stressful and emotional experiences can induce changes in the post-exposure sleep architecture, whereas emotional disturbances are likely to develop following sleep alterations. In addition, post-training sleep appears particularly beneficial for the consolidation of intrinsically emotional memories, suggesting that emotions modulate the off-line brain activity patterns subtending memory consolidation processes. Conversely, sleep contributes unbinding core memories from their affective blanket and removing the latter, eventually participating to habituation processes and reducing aversive reactions to stressful stimuli. Taken together, these data suggest that sleep plays an important role in the regulation and processing of emotions, which highlight its crucial influence on human's abilities to manage and respond to emotional information.

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References

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Acknowledgments

M.G. and G.D. were FRS-FNRS Research Fellow at the time of writing this manuscript.

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Neuropsychology and Functional Neuroimaging Research Unit (UR2NF), Center for Research in Cognition and Neurosciences (CRCN) and UNI, ULB Neurosciences Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Avenue F.D. Roosevelt 50, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

Gaétane Deliens, Médhi Gilson & Philippe Peigneux

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Deliens, G., Gilson, M. & Peigneux, P. Sleep and the processing of emotions. Exp Brain Res 232, 1403-1414 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-014-3832-1
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Sleep and the processing of emotions - Experimental Brain Research

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How emotions interact with cognitive processes has been a topic of growing interest in the last decades, as well as studies investigating the role of sleep in cognition. We review here evidence showing that sleep and emotions entertain privileged relationships.

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processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions

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processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions

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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2009.00737.x

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Michael Schredl PhD, Schlaflabor, Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, Postfach 12 21 20, 68072 Mannheim, Germany. Tel.: ++49 621 1703-1782; fax: ++49 621 1703-1785; e-mail: michael.schredl@zi-mannheim.de

Summary

Research has shown that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect dream content, thus reflecting information processing of the sleeping brain. Olfactory stimuli should have a stronger effect on dream emotions because their processing is linked directly to the limbic system. Because selective olfactory stimulation does not increase arousal activity, intense olfactory stimulation is therefore a prime paradigm for studying information processing during sleep. Fifteen healthy, normosmic volunteers were studied by intranasal chemosensory stimulation during rapid eye movement sleep based on air-dilution olfactometry. For olfactory stimulation, hydrogen sulphide (smell of rotten eggs) and phenyl ethyl alcohol (smell of roses) was used and compared with a control condition without stimulation. The olfactory stimuli affected significantly the emotional content of dreams: the positively toned stimulus yielded more positively toned dreams, whereas the negative stimulus was followed by more negatively toned dreams. Direct incorporations, i.e. the dreamer is smelling something, were not found. The findings indicate that information processing of olfactory stimuli is present in sleep and that the emotional tone of dreams can be influenced significantly depending upon the hedonic characteristic of the stimulus used. It would be interesting to conduct learning experiments (associating specific odours with declarative material) to study whether this declarative material is incorporated into subsequent dreams if the corresponding odour cue is presented during sleep. It would also be interesting to study the effect of positively toned olfactory stimuli on nightmares.

Introduction

Whether and how external stimuli are processed during sleep has been studied mainly by two different paradigms: event-related potentials ( Bastuji and Garcia-Larrea, 1999) and incorporation into dream content ( Schredl, 2008). Whereas the first approach demonstrated that simple mechanisms such as detecting salient stimuli or deviance detection persist during sleep (for an overview, see Bastuji and Garcia-Larrea, 1999), the second approach is necessary to study whether conscious processes are also involved. The standard procedure is to present a stimulus during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wake the sleeper after a brief period of time to elicit dream content. The effect of various stimulus modalities on dream content have been studied and showed different incorporation rates: 9% (sinus tone; Dement and Wolpert, 1958), 11% (neutral words; Hoelscher et al., 1981), 25% (rocking of the bed; Leslie and Ogilvie, 1996), 31% (mild pain stimuli; Nielsen et al., 1993), 56% (electrical stimuli; Koulack, 1969) and 87% (pressure cuff on one leg; Nielsen, 1993). Overall, the dream studies indicate that some kind of information processing of external stimuli is present during sleep. Two issues have to be considered in this research. First, the stimuli must have an effect on the organism but not wake the sleeper ( Koulack, 1969). For efficient stimuli such as cold water spray on the skin (incorporation rate: 42%), more than 30% of the trials resulted in awakenings ( Dement and Wolpert, 1958). The second issue is to clarify how to score incorporation, i.e. whether only direct incorporations (see dream example below) or indirect incorporations (stimulus-related themes) were also coded. In order to take the variability of dream content into account, dreams stemming from control conditions without stimulation are necessary to compare the stimulated dreams. In the study by Nielsen (1993), for example, 25% of the control dreams included references to leg movement (compared to 82% of the stimulated dreams).

Using olfactory stimuli in this design is of interest because of two reasons. First, Carskadon and Herz (2004) have demonstrated that olfactory stimuli rarely woke the sleeper, and Stuck et al. (2007) showed that olfactory stimuli without trigeminal component such as hydrogen sulphide (H ₂S) do not cause arousals even at high concentrations. However, Stuck et al. (2006a) found that olfactory event-related potentials can be measured during sleep, indicating that chemosensory stimuli are processed by the sleeping brain. Secondly, olfactory stimuli were processed differently within the brain compared with auditory stimuli: this includes the predominantly ipsilateral processing of the olfactory stimuli, and the almost direct projection from the olfactory bulb to the amygdala (areas for the processing of memories and emotions) and the association to the hippocampus via the transitional entorhinal cortex (cf. Smith and Shepherd, 2003), Thirdly, the fact that olfactory information processing largely bypasses the spinal cord, the brain stem and the thalamus - in contrast to all other sensory systems ( Gottfried, 2006) - might explain the small number of arousals after stimulation which was comparable with non-stimulated sleep episodes ( Stuck et al., 2007) because thalamic reticular nuclei are involved in arousal generation ( McCormick and Bal, 1997).

Trotter et al. (1988) carried out a small pilot study with five participants to study the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content. The incorporation rate was 19% (79 successful trials in 22 nights). The following example was reported by a participant after presentation of a freshly cut lemon:

I dreamed I was in Golden Gate Park. I was walking by some gardenias. They were just opening. All of a sudden, I could smell the gardenias, but they smelled like lemons instead of gardenias. ( Trotter et al., 1988, p. 95)

No effect of the pleasantness of the stimuli (pleasant stimuli: coffee, peanut butter, roses, cinnamon, chocolate, lemon; unpleasant stimuli: wood alcohol, dirty ashtray, match smoke, mould, dog faeces, onion) on dream emotions was reported ( Trotter et al., 1988). For interpreting the results of this study, several methodological issues need to be taken into account. First, there was no control condition without stimulation. Secondly, the authors did not describe how the olfactory stimuli were presented without disturbing the dreamer, e.g. entering the room and hold a freshly cut lemon in front of the dreamer's nose. It is also not clear whether they were able to guarantee that the smell was not still present at the time of awakening. Lastly, the olfactory stimuli included a trigeminal component, which is processed differently by the brain compared with pure olfactory stimuli ( Rombaux et al., 2006). Because of this methodological issue, increased measurement error variance might have had a possible effect on the hedonistic tone of the olfactory stimuli on dream emotions.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether specific olfactory stimuli affect dream content by using sophisticated stimulation methodology (stimulation without disturbing the sleeper, no odour present at the moment of awakening, control condition). Regarding specific dream content, it was expected that pure olfactory stimuli are processed in higher cortical areas such as stimuli of other sensory modalities (see Stuck et al., 2006b regarding event-related potentials as response to olfactory stimuli) and, thus, incorporated at least partly into dreams. The only study in the area of olfactory stimulation ( Trotter et al., 1988) is inconclusive caused by severe methodological limitations (see above) and needs to be validated. Because of the direct connectivity of the olfactory bulb to the amygdala, we hypothesized - despite the negative findings of Trotter et al. (1988) in this respect - that the strongest effect will be found for dream emotions, i.e. a positively toned stimulus should result in more positively toned dreams compared with a negative stimulus or control condition. Similarly, negatively toned stimuli should result in more negatively toned dreams.

Methods

The study was conducted at the Sleep Disorders Center at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Mannheim. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics board of the Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg; written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Participants

Given that young females have demonstrated the best olfactory performance among human subjects ( Covington et al., 1999; Stuck et al., 2006b), 15 young healthy female volunteers were included in this prospective study (mean age 23.0 ± 2.1 years, range: 20-28 years). Exclusion criteria were actual/previous history of smell or taste disorders, use of any medication known to affect chemosensory function and a history of sleep disorders. At the screening visit, relevant nasal pathology, such as mucosal inflammation, significant septal deviation and nasal polyposis were ruled out via a detailed clinical examination, including nasal endoscopy. Patency of the nasal airways was ascertained additionally using active anterior rhinomanometry (Rhinomanometer 300; ATMOS Medizintechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Lenzkirch, Germany).

Psychophysical testing of olfactory function

All participants underwent olfactory testing using the 'Sniffin' Sticks' test kit to establish normal olfactory function ( Hummel et al., 1997; Kobal et al., 2000). Odorants were presented in odour dispensers similar to felt-tip pens. Testing involved assessment of n-butanol odour thresholds, odour discrimination and odour identification. In order to categorize olfactory function in terms of functional anosmia, hyposmia and normosmia, the sum of the three scores for odour thresholds, odour discrimination and odour identification was used [threshold-discrimination-identification (TDI) score; Wolfensberger et al., 2000].

Sleep recordings

The participants were admitted to the Sleep Disorders Center. Analogous to routine sleep studies, an overnight polysomnography was performed to assess nocturnal sleep. Monitoring included two electroencephalographic recordings (C3-A2, C4-A1), two electro-oculograms (left, right), two submental and two leg electromyograms (left, right). Sleep stages were scored according to Rechtschaffen and Kales (1968).

Chemosensory stimulation

For stimulation, a dynamic olfactometer based on air-dilution olfactometry was used (OM6b; Burghart Instruments, Wedel, Germany). This allows the presentation of odorous stimuli within a continuous airstream of 8 L min −1, which does not alter the mechanical or thermal conditions at the nasal mucosa ( Kobal, 1981). Moreover, this constant airstream ensures that the influence of breathing patterns on stimulus presentation to the olfactory epithelium is minimized. For specific olfactory stimulation the unpleasant H ₂ S, described typically as smelling like rotten eggs, was presented at 4 parts per million. The positive olfactory stimulus was phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA), described typically as smelling like roses, administered at 20% v/v (both stimuli are clearly above threshold). Stimulus duration was 10 s. Odourless stimuli were presented additionally as a control.

To allow sufficient mobility during sleep, a tube of approximately 60 cm length was used to connect the subjects' nostril with the olfactometer outlet. This ensured that changes in body position had little influence on stimulus presentation. The tube was secured with tape to the nostril. A curtain separated the subjects' bed from the olfactometer and the investigator. Earplugs were administered to dampen external sounds.

REM awakenings

The participants were awakened by the experimenter who asked: 'What was on your mind before I woke you up?'. After pauses in reporting, the experimenter prompted up to three times: 'Was there anything else?'. Lastly, the participant was asked to estimate positive and negative dream emotions on 4-point scales (0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong feelings). For determining the emotional tone, the negative score was subtracted from the positive score. The interview was recorded and transcribed later. All words not related to the dream experience and repetitions were excluded. Mean word count was used as a measure for dream length.

Dream content analysis

The following scales were adapted from Schredl et al. (1998): realism/bizarreness (1 = realistic, 2 = realistic but extraordinary, 3 = one or two bizarre elements, 4 = several bizarre elements) and positive and negative dream emotions (0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong feelings). These scales showed good inter-rater reliability ranged r =  0.642-0.825 ( Schredl et al., 2004). For the purpose of the study, two additional scales were developed: explicit mention of perception of smelling something (present versus not present) and dream elements which are associated normally with strong odour (present versus not present). Lastly, for each dream report the judges should make a guess as to what kind of stimulus (positive, negative, neutral) was applied.

Procedure

The participant slept for 2 consecutive nights in the laboratory. The first night served as adaptation to the setting including polysomnography and taped tube of the olfactometer. Stimuli (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral) were presented in a balanced order during the second night during each REM period. Stimulation (duration 10 s) was started after 5 min into the first REM period, 10 min into the second REM period and 15 min of all following REM periods. One minute after presentation, the investigator awakened the participant and elicited dream content and self-rated dream emotions. Dream reports were taped, transcribed, randomized in order and rated by two independent judges along the rating scales described above. The judges were, therefore, blind to the condition and also not involved in the collection of the reports. Emotional tone (positive emotions − negative emotions) was used as variable for statistical analyses.

Statistical analyses were carried out with sas version 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Data were submitted to analyses of variance for repeated measures with 'stimulus type' as within-subject factor. Contrasts were computed by dependent t-tests. Degrees of freedom are presented in brackets following the F-values and t-values. The alpha level was set at 0.05.

Results

All subjects were normosmic (mean TDI score 38.4 ± 5.1; range 33.5-45.0). No abnormalities were detected during the overnight sleep recordings of the first night. Because of the limited number of REM periods in several participants, 12 awakenings in the neutral condition and 13 awakenings in the positive condition could be carried out, whereas for the negative stimulus all 15 awakenings were performed. The time of night (measured as hours from midnight) was comparable across conditions and means were not statistically different (neutral condition: 4.37 ± 2.47 h, negative stimulation: 4.46 ± 1.39 h and positive stimulation: 4.02 ± 2.02 h). Dream recall was almost 100%; only one of 40 awakenings yielded no dream report, but for this participant the stimulation was repeated in the forth REM period.

In Table 1 and Fig. 1, the findings of the dream content analysis and the self-ratings of dream emotions are depicted. Because of missing values, anovas were computed for 10 participants supplying dream reports in all three conditions. In order to maximize statistical power, all non-missing values were included in the pairwise comparisons. Note that because of differences in the number of included cases, anova and pairwise comparisons might produce divergent results. Dream length did not differ significantly between the three conditions [ F(2,18) = 0.1, not significant (NS)]. Similarly, realism/bizarreness scores were comparable ( F(2,18)  = 0.0, NS).

Variable

Negative stimulus (n = 15)

Neutral Condition (n = 12)

Positive stimulus (n = 13)

Word count

111.9 ± 66.1

123.9 ± 99.4

92.5 ± 59.4

Dream content analysis

Realism/bizarreness

1.87 ± 0.83

1.75 ± 0.87

1.85 ± 0.90

Emotional tone

−1.00 ± 1.20

−0.08 ± 1.08

0.31 ± 1.38

Explicit olfactory perception (present versus not present)

0%

8.3%

0%

Activities that are likely to be associated witholfactory perception (present versus not present)

13.3%

0%

15.4%

Regarding externally rated dream emotions the statistical analysis yielded a marginally significant difference between the three conditions ( F(2,18) = 3.6, P <  0.07), but two contrasts were significant (neutral versus negative: t₍₁₁₎ = 3.1, P < 0.01; negative versus positive: t₍₁₂₎ = 2.5, P <  0.02). Analysing the self-rated dream emotions, the differences are more pronounced: F(2,18) = 6.2, P <  0.01, neutral versus negative: t₍₁₁₎ = 2.0, P <  0.04, neutral versus positive: t₍₉₎ = 2.7, P <  0.02, positive versus negative: t₍₁₂₎ = 2.9, P <   0.01).

Explicit olfactory perception in the dream reports was scarce; i.e. in only one dream did the dreamer explicitly mention smelling something. Being part of a longer dream, the participant discussed with the experimenter why she did not wake her up more often because she had the impression of having dreamed more often. One of these dreams included a grinning Chinese woman who also looked disgusted because they (dreamer and Chinese woman) smelled something rotten. However, this dream was reported in the neutral condition. The statistical analysis (Fisher's exact test) was non-significant ( P =  1.0). Four dreams included activities that are likely to be associated with olfactory perception in waking life: cleaning a toilet that was full of yellow liquid, eating a Kiwi fruit, eating potatoes with parsley and preparing a salad that included tuna, rice, corn and onions and being in a stuffy room. Again, the comparison between olfactory stimulation and control condition was not significant (Fisher's exact test: P <   0.25). The matching task where the raters should guess what stimulus was present prior to awakening was not successful: rater 1 matched 13 dreams correctly and rater 2 matched 15. Given that guessing randomly would yield on average 14 correct guesses (33.3% of 40 reports), this is a chance finding.

Discussion

Overall, the findings indicate that olfactory stimuli were processed by the sleeping brain and affect the emotions but were not incorporated explicitly into dreams. This is compatible with the model of specific processing of olfactory stimuli within the brain, i.e. the direct anatomical connectivity to the amygdala ( Gottfried, 2006). Direct incorporations as reported by Trotter et al. (1988) or for other stimulus types (see Introduction) were not found, thus indicating that olfactory stimuli are processed differently to other sensory modalities on higher brain levels. Maquet and Franck (1997), based on the high activation of the amygdala during REM sleep ( Maquet et al., 1996), proposed that the role of the amygdala is the processing of emotional memory. Given the direct connectivity of the olfactory bulb to this brain region, one might hypothesize that the emotional quality of the olfactory stimulus facilitates the processing of emotional memories with the same quality, i.e. the dream tone reflects the emotional tone of the stimulus but not the stimulus itself. Within this context, it would be interesting to pursue the idea studied by Saint-Denys (1982), who reported that olfactory stimulation yielded dream reports including memories which were associated with this specific odour in a more systematic way and tested the link between emotional tone of odour stimuli and declarative memory. In a presleep learning session, positively toned and negatively toned odour stimuli could be paired with words or other declarative material. One would expect that after olfactory stimulation dreams would include this associated material more often. This follow-up study would shed light on the psychological mechanisms underlying the present findings, i.e. whether the emotional tone of the olfactory stimuli might activate different sets of memories, including corresponding affects. Rasch et al. (2007) found that presenting a specific odour during slow-wave sleep probably reactivates mental content which was learned during the day while the same odour was presented. It would also be interesting to study the effect of the emotional tone of other stimuli, e.g. acoustic stimuli such as words, on the emotional tone of dreams. We would expect that the effect would be much less pronounced than for odour stimuli because of the specific processing within the brain, but a sufficiently large number of trials should also result in a significant effect.

The differences of our findings in comparison to the earlier study by Trotter et al. (1988) indicated clearly that sophisticated technology in presenting olfactory stimuli is necessary, i.e. a technique without affecting the mechanical and thermal condition of the nasal mucosa, and that ensures that the odour is not detectable at the time of the awakening. With regard to these shortcomings, the results of the Trotter et al. (1988) study have limited generalizability.

That the lack of incorporated olfactory stimuli is explained by methodological issues (e.g. forgetting this part of the dream because it happened 1 min prior to awakening) is unlikely, because the procedure of the present study was comparable with the designs of similar studies in the field that demonstrated an incorporation of stimuli of other sensory modalities (cf. Schredl, 2008). On the other hand, it was necessary to test whether manipulation of presentation length or repetition frequency could increase the possibility of incorporation of the pure olfactory stimuli. However, the Stuck et al. (2007) study indicates clearly that it is unlikely that an increase of stimulus intensity will produce stronger effects. In addition, the concentrations applied in the present study have been intense and clearly above threshold.

From a methodological viewpoint, it is interesting that the findings regarding dream emotions are more pronounced for the self-rating scales compared to the dream content analytical findings. Schredl and Doll (1998) have shown that external judges underestimate emotional intensity, particularly positive emotions, because of the fact that dreamers, even trained participants in dream studies, did not report all emotions experienced in the dream explicitly. This shift to more negative emotions in the externally rated emotions compared with self-ratings was also found in the present data. Schredl and Doll (1998) concluded that self-ratings are more valid measures of dream emotions than analysing dream reports, because of the selective underestimation of positive emotions by external judges.

Other methodological issues, such as the setting (olfactometer and experimenter in the same room with the sleeping participants), are unlikely to have affected the present findings, as these parameters did not change between the conditions (positive and negative stimulation as well as control condition) in this within-subject design. The subjects were not informed about the order of the different stimulus conditions, i.e. they were blind to the condition. Unfortunately, we did not ask them whether they were guessing regarding the stimulus. Previous studies with the same methodology showed clearly that the odour is not present at the time of waking the participant (1-min delay). The experimenter was not blind to the condition; by keeping the interaction between experimenter and participant to a minimum in an exact standardized manner, experimenter effects should be minimal.

We did not analyse the electroencephalogram (EEG) after presentation within this study because the previous study by Stuck et al. (2007), with a large number of stimulations, showed clearly that EEG measures are not affected by this type of olfactory stimulation (without trigeminal component). On the other hand, the number of stimulations in the present study is far too small to detect an effect on scalp EEG parameters (event-related potentials). Modern technology functional magnetic resonance imaging) might allow measuring the relationship between olfactory stimuli presentation and amygdala activation during REM sleep (cf. Wehrle et al., 2005).

The present study - as almost every other study in this field - was limited to stimulation during REM sleep. It would be interesting to study whether stimulation during non-REM (NREM) sleep is equally effective, even though the cost of these studies would be higher because of lower dream recall rates after NREM awakenings (cf. Nielsen, 2000).

To summarize, it was shown that the hedonic tone of olfactory stimuli are processed during REM sleep and affect dream content. In extension to previous work in the field, we showed the special status of pure olfactory stimuli in this context in contrast to other sensory modalities, i.e. a minimal effect on dream content and a strong effect on dream emotions. The minimal effect on dream content might be explained by the lack of arousals in poststimulation EEG, indicating clearly that pure olfactory stimuli are processed differently to stimuli of other sensory modalities. We hypothesized that the strong effect on dream emotions is due to the direct connectivity of the olfactory bulb (and not for other sensory modalities) to the amygdala processing emotional memory during REM sleep. Whether olfactory stimuli are presented directly in dreams is a question which has not yet been answered; it might be speculated that declarative material which is associated with the specific odour might be found more often. Studies with presleep learning sessions in which odour cues are associated with specific cues might shed light on memory processing and consolidation during sleep. In addition, it would be interesting to study nightmare sufferers, i.e. whether positively toned olfactory stimuli yield a significant shift in the emotional tone of nightmares.

Disclosure

This study received no financial support; no off-label or investigational use.

Summary

Research has shown that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect dream content, thus reflecting information processing of the sleeping brain. Olfactory stimuli should have a stronger effect on dream emotions because their processing is linked directly to the limbic system. Because selective olfactory stimulation does not increase arousal activity, intense olfactory stimulation is therefore a prime paradigm for studying information processing during sleep. Fifteen healthy, normosmic volunteers were studied by intranasal chemosensory stimulation during rapid eye movement sleep based on air-dilution olfactometry. For olfactory stimulation, hydrogen sulphide (smell of rotten eggs) and phenyl ethyl alcohol (smell of roses) was used and compared with a control condition without stimulation. The olfactory stimuli affected significantly the emotional content of dreams: the positively toned stimulus yielded more positively toned dreams, whereas the negative stimulus was followed by more negatively toned dreams. Direct incorporations, i.e. the dreamer is smelling something, were not found. The findings indicate that information processing of olfactory stimuli is present in sleep and that the emotional tone of dreams can be influenced significantly depending upon the hedonic characteristic of the stimulus used. It would be interesting to conduct learning experiments (associating specific odours with declarative material) to study whether this declarative material is incorporated into subsequent dreams if the corresponding odour cue is presented during sleep. It would also be interesting to study the effect of positively toned olfactory stimuli on nightmares.

Introduction

Whether and how external stimuli are processed during sleep has been studied mainly by two different paradigms: event-related potentials ( Bastuji and Garcia-Larrea, 1999) and incorporation into dream content ( Schredl, 2008). Whereas the first approach demonstrated that simple mechanisms such as detecting salient stimuli or deviance detection persist during sleep (for an overview, see Bastuji and Garcia-Larrea, 1999), the second approach is necessary to study whether conscious processes are also involved. The standard procedure is to present a stimulus during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and wake the sleeper after a brief period of time to elicit dream content. The effect of various stimulus modalities on dream content have been studied and showed different incorporation rates: 9% (sinus tone; Dement and Wolpert, 1958), 11% (neutral words; Hoelscher et al., 1981), 25% (rocking of the bed; Leslie and Ogilvie, 1996), 31% (mild pain stimuli; Nielsen et al., 1993), 56% (electrical stimuli; Koulack, 1969) and 87% (pressure cuff on one leg; Nielsen, 1993). Overall, the dream studies indicate that some kind of information processing of external stimuli is present during sleep. Two issues have to be considered in this research. First, the stimuli must have an effect on the organism but not wake the sleeper ( Koulack, 1969). For efficient stimuli such as cold water spray on the skin (incorporation rate: 42%), more than 30% of the trials resulted in awakenings ( Dement and Wolpert, 1958). The second issue is to clarify how to score incorporation, i.e. whether only direct incorporations (see dream example below) or indirect incorporations (stimulus-related themes) were also coded. In order to take the variability of dream content into account, dreams stemming from control conditions without stimulation are necessary to compare the stimulated dreams. In the study by Nielsen (1993), for example, 25% of the control dreams included references to leg movement (compared to 82% of the stimulated dreams).

Using olfactory stimuli in this design is of interest because of two reasons. First, Carskadon and Herz (2004) have demonstrated that olfactory stimuli rarely woke the sleeper, and Stuck et al. (2007) showed that olfactory stimuli without trigeminal component such as hydrogen sulphide (H ₂S) do not cause arousals even at high concentrations. However, Stuck et al. (2006a) found that olfactory event-related potentials can be measured during sleep, indicating that chemosensory stimuli are processed by the sleeping brain. Secondly, olfactory stimuli were processed differently within the brain compared with auditory stimuli: this includes the predominantly ipsilateral processing of the olfactory stimuli, and the almost direct projection from the olfactory bulb to the amygdala (areas for the processing of memories and emotions) and the association to the hippocampus via the transitional entorhinal cortex (cf. Smith and Shepherd, 2003), Thirdly, the fact that olfactory information processing largely bypasses the spinal cord, the brain stem and the thalamus - in contrast to all other sensory systems ( Gottfried, 2006) - might explain the small number of arousals after stimulation which was comparable with non-stimulated sleep episodes ( Stuck et al., 2007) because thalamic reticular nuclei are involved in arousal generation ( McCormick and Bal, 1997).

Trotter et al. (1988) carried out a small pilot study with five participants to study the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content. The incorporation rate was 19% (79 successful trials in 22 nights). The following example was reported by a participant after presentation of a freshly cut lemon:

I dreamed I was in Golden Gate Park. I was walking by some gardenias. They were just opening. All of a sudden, I could smell the gardenias, but they smelled like lemons instead of gardenias. ( Trotter et al., 1988, p. 95)

No effect of the pleasantness of the stimuli (pleasant stimuli: coffee, peanut butter, roses, cinnamon, chocolate, lemon; unpleasant stimuli: wood alcohol, dirty ashtray, match smoke, mould, dog faeces, onion) on dream emotions was reported ( Trotter et al., 1988). For interpreting the results of this study, several methodological issues need to be taken into account. First, there was no control condition without stimulation. Secondly, the authors did not describe how the olfactory stimuli were presented without disturbing the dreamer, e.g. entering the room and hold a freshly cut lemon in front of the dreamer's nose. It is also not clear whether they were able to guarantee that the smell was not still present at the time of awakening. Lastly, the olfactory stimuli included a trigeminal component, which is processed differently by the brain compared with pure olfactory stimuli ( Rombaux et al., 2006). Because of this methodological issue, increased measurement error variance might have had a possible effect on the hedonistic tone of the olfactory stimuli on dream emotions.

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether specific olfactory stimuli affect dream content by using sophisticated stimulation methodology (stimulation without disturbing the sleeper, no odour present at the moment of awakening, control condition). Regarding specific dream content, it was expected that pure olfactory stimuli are processed in higher cortical areas such as stimuli of other sensory modalities (see Stuck et al., 2006b regarding event-related potentials as response to olfactory stimuli) and, thus, incorporated at least partly into dreams. The only study in the area of olfactory stimulation ( Trotter et al., 1988) is inconclusive caused by severe methodological limitations (see above) and needs to be validated. Because of the direct connectivity of the olfactory bulb to the amygdala, we hypothesized - despite the negative findings of Trotter et al. (1988) in this respect - that the strongest effect will be found for dream emotions, i.e. a positively toned stimulus should result in more positively toned dreams compared with a negative stimulus or control condition. Similarly, negatively toned stimuli should result in more negatively toned dreams.

Methods

The study was conducted at the Sleep Disorders Center at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Mannheim. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics board of the Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg; written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Participants

Given that young females have demonstrated the best olfactory performance among human subjects ( Covington et al., 1999; Stuck et al., 2006b), 15 young healthy female volunteers were included in this prospective study (mean age 23.0 ± 2.1 years, range: 20-28 years). Exclusion criteria were actual/previous history of smell or taste disorders, use of any medication known to affect chemosensory function and a history of sleep disorders. At the screening visit, relevant nasal pathology, such as mucosal inflammation, significant septal deviation and nasal polyposis were ruled out via a detailed clinical examination, including nasal endoscopy. Patency of the nasal airways was ascertained additionally using active anterior rhinomanometry (Rhinomanometer 300; ATMOS Medizintechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Lenzkirch, Germany).

Psychophysical testing of olfactory function

All participants underwent olfactory testing using the 'Sniffin' Sticks' test kit to establish normal olfactory function ( Hummel et al., 1997; Kobal et al., 2000). Odorants were presented in odour dispensers similar to felt-tip pens. Testing involved assessment of n-butanol odour thresholds, odour discrimination and odour identification. In order to categorize olfactory function in terms of functional anosmia, hyposmia and normosmia, the sum of the three scores for odour thresholds, odour discrimination and odour identification was used [threshold-discrimination-identification (TDI) score; Wolfensberger et al., 2000].

Sleep recordings

The participants were admitted to the Sleep Disorders Center. Analogous to routine sleep studies, an overnight polysomnography was performed to assess nocturnal sleep. Monitoring included two electroencephalographic recordings (C3-A2, C4-A1), two electro-oculograms (left, right), two submental and two leg electromyograms (left, right). Sleep stages were scored according to Rechtschaffen and Kales (1968).

Chemosensory stimulation

For stimulation, a dynamic olfactometer based on air-dilution olfactometry was used (OM6b; Burghart Instruments, Wedel, Germany). This allows the presentation of odorous stimuli within a continuous airstream of 8 L min −1, which does not alter the mechanical or thermal conditions at the nasal mucosa ( Kobal, 1981). Moreover, this constant airstream ensures that the influence of breathing patterns on stimulus presentation to the olfactory epithelium is minimized. For specific olfactory stimulation the unpleasant H ₂ S, described typically as smelling like rotten eggs, was presented at 4 parts per million. The positive olfactory stimulus was phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA), described typically as smelling like roses, administered at 20% v/v (both stimuli are clearly above threshold). Stimulus duration was 10 s. Odourless stimuli were presented additionally as a control.

To allow sufficient mobility during sleep, a tube of approximately 60 cm length was used to connect the subjects' nostril with the olfactometer outlet. This ensured that changes in body position had little influence on stimulus presentation. The tube was secured with tape to the nostril. A curtain separated the subjects' bed from the olfactometer and the investigator. Earplugs were administered to dampen external sounds.

REM awakenings

The participants were awakened by the experimenter who asked: 'What was on your mind before I woke you up?'. After pauses in reporting, the experimenter prompted up to three times: 'Was there anything else?'. Lastly, the participant was asked to estimate positive and negative dream emotions on 4-point scales (0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong feelings). For determining the emotional tone, the negative score was subtracted from the positive score. The interview was recorded and transcribed later. All words not related to the dream experience and repetitions were excluded. Mean word count was used as a measure for dream length.

Dream content analysis

The following scales were adapted from Schredl et al. (1998): realism/bizarreness (1 = realistic, 2 = realistic but extraordinary, 3 = one or two bizarre elements, 4 = several bizarre elements) and positive and negative dream emotions (0 = none, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = strong feelings). These scales showed good inter-rater reliability ranged r =  0.642-0.825 ( Schredl et al., 2004). For the purpose of the study, two additional scales were developed: explicit mention of perception of smelling something (present versus not present) and dream elements which are associated normally with strong odour (present versus not present). Lastly, for each dream report the judges should make a guess as to what kind of stimulus (positive, negative, neutral) was applied.

Procedure

The participant slept for 2 consecutive nights in the laboratory. The first night served as adaptation to the setting including polysomnography and taped tube of the olfactometer. Stimuli (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral) were presented in a balanced order during the second night during each REM period. Stimulation (duration 10 s) was started after 5 min into the first REM period, 10 min into the second REM period and 15 min of all following REM periods. One minute after presentation, the investigator awakened the participant and elicited dream content and self-rated dream emotions. Dream reports were taped, transcribed, randomized in order and rated by two independent judges along the rating scales described above. The judges were, therefore, blind to the condition and also not involved in the collection of the reports. Emotional tone (positive emotions − negative emotions) was used as variable for statistical analyses.

Statistical analyses were carried out with sas version 9.1 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Data were submitted to analyses of variance for repeated measures with 'stimulus type' as within-subject factor. Contrasts were computed by dependent t-tests. Degrees of freedom are presented in brackets following the F-values and t-values. The alpha level was set at 0.05.

Results

All subjects were normosmic (mean TDI score 38.4 ± 5.1; range 33.5-45.0). No abnormalities were detected during the overnight sleep recordings of the first night. Because of the limited number of REM periods in several participants, 12 awakenings in the neutral condition and 13 awakenings in the positive condition could be carried out, whereas for the negative stimulus all 15 awakenings were performed. The time of night (measured as hours from midnight) was comparable across conditions and means were not statistically different (neutral condition: 4.37 ± 2.47 h, negative stimulation: 4.46 ± 1.39 h and positive stimulation: 4.02 ± 2.02 h). Dream recall was almost 100%; only one of 40 awakenings yielded no dream report, but for this participant the stimulation was repeated in the forth REM period.

In Table 1 and Fig. 1, the findings of the dream content analysis and the self-ratings of dream emotions are depicted. Because of missing values, anovas were computed for 10 participants supplying dream reports in all three conditions. In order to maximize statistical power, all non-missing values were included in the pairwise comparisons. Note that because of differences in the number of included cases, anova and pairwise comparisons might produce divergent results. Dream length did not differ significantly between the three conditions [ F(2,18) = 0.1, not significant (NS)]. Similarly, realism/bizarreness scores were comparable ( F(2,18)  = 0.0, NS).

Variable

Negative stimulus (n = 15)

Neutral Condition (n = 12)

Positive stimulus (n = 13)

Word count

111.9 ± 66.1

123.9 ± 99.4

92.5 ± 59.4

Dream content analysis

Realism/bizarreness

1.87 ± 0.83

1.75 ± 0.87

1.85 ± 0.90

Emotional tone

−1.00 ± 1.20

−0.08 ± 1.08

0.31 ± 1.38

Explicit olfactory perception (present versus not present)

0%

8.3%

0%

Activities that are likely to be associated witholfactory perception (present versus not present)

13.3%

0%

15.4%

Regarding externally rated dream emotions the statistical analysis yielded a marginally significant difference between the three conditions ( F(2,18) = 3.6, P <  0.07), but two contrasts were significant (neutral versus negative: t₍₁₁₎ = 3.1, P < 0.01; negative versus positive: t₍₁₂₎ = 2.5, P <  0.02). Analysing the self-rated dream emotions, the differences are more pronounced: F(2,18) = 6.2, P <  0.01, neutral versus negative: t₍₁₁₎ = 2.0, P <  0.04, neutral versus positive: t₍₉₎ = 2.7, P <  0.02, positive versus negative: t₍₁₂₎ = 2.9, P <   0.01).

Explicit olfactory perception in the dream reports was scarce; i.e. in only one dream did the dreamer explicitly mention smelling something. Being part of a longer dream, the participant discussed with the experimenter why she did not wake her up more often because she had the impression of having dreamed more often. One of these dreams included a grinning Chinese woman who also looked disgusted because they (dreamer and Chinese woman) smelled something rotten. However, this dream was reported in the neutral condition. The statistical analysis (Fisher's exact test) was non-significant ( P =  1.0). Four dreams included activities that are likely to be associated with olfactory perception in waking life: cleaning a toilet that was full of yellow liquid, eating a Kiwi fruit, eating potatoes with parsley and preparing a salad that included tuna, rice, corn and onions and being in a stuffy room. Again, the comparison between olfactory stimulation and control condition was not significant (Fisher's exact test: P <   0.25). The matching task where the raters should guess what stimulus was present prior to awakening was not successful: rater 1 matched 13 dreams correctly and rater 2 matched 15. Given that guessing randomly would yield on average 14 correct guesses (33.3% of 40 reports), this is a chance finding.

Discussion

Overall, the findings indicate that olfactory stimuli were processed by the sleeping brain and affect the emotions but were not incorporated explicitly into dreams. This is compatible with the model of specific processing of olfactory stimuli within the brain, i.e. the direct anatomical connectivity to the amygdala ( Gottfried, 2006). Direct incorporations as reported by Trotter et al. (1988) or for other stimulus types (see Introduction) were not found, thus indicating that olfactory stimuli are processed differently to other sensory modalities on higher brain levels. Maquet and Franck (1997), based on the high activation of the amygdala during REM sleep ( Maquet et al., 1996), proposed that the role of the amygdala is the processing of emotional memory. Given the direct connectivity of the olfactory bulb to this brain region, one might hypothesize that the emotional quality of the olfactory stimulus facilitates the processing of emotional memories with the same quality, i.e. the dream tone reflects the emotional tone of the stimulus but not the stimulus itself. Within this context, it would be interesting to pursue the idea studied by Saint-Denys (1982), who reported that olfactory stimulation yielded dream reports including memories which were associated with this specific odour in a more systematic way and tested the link between emotional tone of odour stimuli and declarative memory. In a presleep learning session, positively toned and negatively toned odour stimuli could be paired with words or other declarative material. One would expect that after olfactory stimulation dreams would include this associated material more often. This follow-up study would shed light on the psychological mechanisms underlying the present findings, i.e. whether the emotional tone of the olfactory stimuli might activate different sets of memories, including corresponding affects. Rasch et al. (2007) found that presenting a specific odour during slow-wave sleep probably reactivates mental content which was learned during the day while the same odour was presented. It would also be interesting to study the effect of the emotional tone of other stimuli, e.g. acoustic stimuli such as words, on the emotional tone of dreams. We would expect that the effect would be much less pronounced than for odour stimuli because of the specific processing within the brain, but a sufficiently large number of trials should also result in a significant effect.

The differences of our findings in comparison to the earlier study by Trotter et al. (1988) indicated clearly that sophisticated technology in presenting olfactory stimuli is necessary, i.e. a technique without affecting the mechanical and thermal condition of the nasal mucosa, and that ensures that the odour is not detectable at the time of the awakening. With regard to these shortcomings, the results of the Trotter et al. (1988) study have limited generalizability.

That the lack of incorporated olfactory stimuli is explained by methodological issues (e.g. forgetting this part of the dream because it happened 1 min prior to awakening) is unlikely, because the procedure of the present study was comparable with the designs of similar studies in the field that demonstrated an incorporation of stimuli of other sensory modalities (cf. Schredl, 2008). On the other hand, it was necessary to test whether manipulation of presentation length or repetition frequency could increase the possibility of incorporation of the pure olfactory stimuli. However, the Stuck et al. (2007) study indicates clearly that it is unlikely that an increase of stimulus intensity will produce stronger effects. In addition, the concentrations applied in the present study have been intense and clearly above threshold.

From a methodological viewpoint, it is interesting that the findings regarding dream emotions are more pronounced for the self-rating scales compared to the dream content analytical findings. Schredl and Doll (1998) have shown that external judges underestimate emotional intensity, particularly positive emotions, because of the fact that dreamers, even trained participants in dream studies, did not report all emotions experienced in the dream explicitly. This shift to more negative emotions in the externally rated emotions compared with self-ratings was also found in the present data. Schredl and Doll (1998) concluded that self-ratings are more valid measures of dream emotions than analysing dream reports, because of the selective underestimation of positive emotions by external judges.

Other methodological issues, such as the setting (olfactometer and experimenter in the same room with the sleeping participants), are unlikely to have affected the present findings, as these parameters did not change between the conditions (positive and negative stimulation as well as control condition) in this within-subject design. The subjects were not informed about the order of the different stimulus conditions, i.e. they were blind to the condition. Unfortunately, we did not ask them whether they were guessing regarding the stimulus. Previous studies with the same methodology showed clearly that the odour is not present at the time of waking the participant (1-min delay). The experimenter was not blind to the condition; by keeping the interaction between experimenter and participant to a minimum in an exact standardized manner, experimenter effects should be minimal.

We did not analyse the electroencephalogram (EEG) after presentation within this study because the previous study by Stuck et al. (2007), with a large number of stimulations, showed clearly that EEG measures are not affected by this type of olfactory stimulation (without trigeminal component). On the other hand, the number of stimulations in the present study is far too small to detect an effect on scalp EEG parameters (event-related potentials). Modern technology functional magnetic resonance imaging) might allow measuring the relationship between olfactory stimuli presentation and amygdala activation during REM sleep (cf. Wehrle et al., 2005).

The present study - as almost every other study in this field - was limited to stimulation during REM sleep. It would be interesting to study whether stimulation during non-REM (NREM) sleep is equally effective, even though the cost of these studies would be higher because of lower dream recall rates after NREM awakenings (cf. Nielsen, 2000).

To summarize, it was shown that the hedonic tone of olfactory stimuli are processed during REM sleep and affect dream content. In extension to previous work in the field, we showed the special status of pure olfactory stimuli in this context in contrast to other sensory modalities, i.e. a minimal effect on dream content and a strong effect on dream emotions. The minimal effect on dream content might be explained by the lack of arousals in poststimulation EEG, indicating clearly that pure olfactory stimuli are processed differently to stimuli of other sensory modalities. We hypothesized that the strong effect on dream emotions is due to the direct connectivity of the olfactory bulb (and not for other sensory modalities) to the amygdala processing emotional memory during REM sleep. Whether olfactory stimuli are presented directly in dreams is a question which has not yet been answered; it might be speculated that declarative material which is associated with the specific odour might be found more often. Studies with presleep learning sessions in which odour cues are associated with specific cues might shed light on memory processing and consolidation during sleep. In addition, it would be interesting to study nightmare sufferers, i.e. whether positively toned olfactory stimuli yield a significant shift in the emotional tone of nightmares.

Disclosure

This study received no financial support; no off-label or investigational use.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Information processing during sleep: the effect of olfactory stimuli on dream content and dream emotions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Michael Schredl PhD, Schlaflabor, Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, Postfach 12 21 20, 68072 Mannheim, Germany. Tel.: ++49 621 1703-1782; fax: ++49 621 1703-1785; e-mail: michael.schredl@zi-mannheim.de Research has shown that external stimuli presented during sleep can affect dream content, thus reflecting information processing of the sleeping brain.

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The neurobiology of the emotional adolescent: From the inside out

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The neurobiology of the emotional adolescent: From the inside out

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763416301609

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The neurobiology of the emotional adolescent: From the inside out

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Adolescents are commonly portrayed as highly emotional, with their behaviors often hijacked by their emotions. Research on the neural substrates of ad…

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Inside Out Tradition of the allegorical personality

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Inside Out Tradition of the allegorical personality

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https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/55293858/Dialogue-V4i1-Complete-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1639068961&Signature=Zs0-CE7E7cXYQ4Hd-PA2Mct1RAQjPhhoY5wtZP6MctPAv3HOYl0wOEVRkwz35HQo0jsBrI~zwXxIoNZI4t8YDFLcjN5G5IIRI2dGfsCiT~Ki8D8X8DKGZlycfDAt9kimg69pwkqEtWE0Md-gb5XMl7pE-m1dBF6uHSt~tdII1rClsV-FQT9W~uTfJ0uhir9IYNbUdF2VdLOMP9KQuM4CCean5PN5HV5yo3N6R4qY5V2XSPEvmRlnHsVN0Yi724NotnVG3s63TYitDrj6N2okXm1TPRSDPfWpZEz7l7wDB-h3IzqKnqONn9vl5vYnAO5PBYc5SVDMKQLhXwxWJr7EMg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

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https://ir.stonybrook.edu/xmlui/handle/11401/77589

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Heroes In Patrick McHale's Over the Garden Wall

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The presented Thesis asserts Patrick McHale's Over the Garden Wall as a Modern Epic. It identifies the piece as Dantesque in its structure of a journey through an underworld, while noting that Dante is not the hero of his own epic.

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https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=5tgpDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA10&dq=over+the+garden+wall+&ots=RDD2kwqM7K&sig=7WFqTb89dRtwH24j9RCk7KHaCtM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=over%20the%20garden%20wall&f=false

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Venture into the Unknown! A complete tour through the development and production of the Emmy-winning animated miniseries Over the Garden Wall, this volume contains hundreds of pieces of concept art and sketches, and a comprehensive look at the show’s breathtaking production art. From the original…

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Garden_Wall

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Over the Garden Wall is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest in order to find their way home, encountering a variety of strange and fantastical things on their journey. The show is based on McHale's animated short film Tome of the Unknown, which was produced as part of Cartoon Network Studios' shorts development program. Elijah Wood and Collin Dean voice the protagonists Wirt and Greg, and Melanie Lynskey voices Beatrice, a bluebird. Over the Garden Wall was broadcast throughout the week of November 3 to November 7, 2014.

The show was the first miniseries on the network. McHale first envisioned the show in 2004, and pitched it to the network in 2006. After working on other Cartoon Network shows including The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Adventure Time, the network expressed interest in McHale pitching a pilot. That pilot became the catalyst for Over the Garden Wall. Production of the show began in March 2014 and was largely done in Burbank, California, but many of the show's storyboard artists worked from other U.S. cities, while the program's animation was outsourced to South Korean studio Digital eMation. The series' environment evokes 19th- and 20th-century Americana, while its digital backgrounds are designed to resemble grisaille paintings.

The series was well received by television critics, who praised its atmosphere and characters. In 2015, the series won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. A one-shot comic book adaptation penned by McHale has been produced, with four further issues commissioned. This was eventually expanded into an ongoing series.

The series follows two half-brothers, Wirt and Greg (voiced by Elijah Wood and Collin Dean respectively), who become lost in a strange forest called the Unknown. In order to find their way home, the two must travel across the seemingly supernatural forest with the occasional help of the wandering, mysterious and elderly Woodsman ( Christopher Lloyd) and Beatrice ( Melanie Lynskey), an irritable bluebird who travels with the boys in order to find a woman called Adelaide, who can supposedly undo the curse on Beatrice and her family and show the half-brothers the way home.

Wirt, the older brother, is a worry-prone teenager who would rather keep to himself than have to make a decision. His passions including playing the clarinet and writing poetry, but he usually keeps these private out of fear of being mocked. On the other hand, Greg, the younger brother, is more naïve and carefree, much to Wirt's chagrin. Greg carries a frog ( Jack Jones) that he found; Greg's attempts to give the frog a name are a running gag. Stalking the main cast is the Beast ( Samuel Ramey), an ancient creature who leads lost souls astray until they lose their hope and willpower and turn into "Edelwood trees". Once they find Adelaide, Wirt discovers that she intends only to enslave the boys; outraged that Beatrice misled them, Wirt takes Greg and abandons her.

The penultimate episode reveals that Wirt and Greg are modern children who entered the Unknown after falling into a pond on Halloween. Wirt, attempting to take back an embarrassing poetry tape he made for a girl he is infatuated with, had followed her to a ghost story party in a graveyard, where a police officer scared him and Greg into jumping over the cemetery's garden wall. On the other side of the wall, they landed on a train track. To save Greg from being hit by a train, Wirt pulled him into a nearby pond, knocking them both unconscious in the process and sending them to a Limbo-like realm between life and death.

In the final episode, Wirt saves Greg from being turned into an Edelwood tree by the Beast. At the end of the episode, Wirt and Greg wake up in a hospital back in their hometown. As the scene ends, Greg's frog, which swallowed a magic bell in the Unknown, begins to glow, suggesting that their experience in the Unknown may have been real. The series ends with a montage of how Wirt and Greg affected the inhabitants of the Unknown.

Over the Garden Wall was first envisioned in 2004 with a scarier and more adventure-based storyline. Before working as a storyboard artist on The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, artist Patrick McHale pitched the show in 2006, then known under the title Tome of the Unknown. The series would follow two brothers-Walter and Gregory-who, after signing themselves into a Faustian deal with a devil named Old Scratch, journey across the Land of the In-Between to track down the pages of a book of forgotten stories.

McHale saw it as "a possible Halloween special", but had trouble adapting the premise with a larger story arc. After his work for Flapjack, McHale moved on to co-develop Adventure Time, where he served as creative director, and subsequently as a writer. The network later asked him if he had interest in developing a pilot, which led to him returning to Tome of the Unknown, polishing it and pitching it again to the network. After creating a pilot episode, Tome of the Unknown: Harvest Melody, McHale and the network settled upon the miniseries format for the ensuing series, as McHale felt that it would lead to "something that felt higher quality than what we could do with a regular series". McHale abandoned the original idea centered around chapters of a mystical tome and the series' title became Over the Garden Wall.

Production for Over the Garden Wall commenced in late 2013. McHale initially envisioned eighteen chapters in the series, but the episode count was brought to ten to accommodate budget and time constraints. Early drafts of episodes from the show's pitch bible included a skinless witch character and a villain who carves dice from the bones of kidnapped children, as well a running plot throughout four episodes in which Wirt and Gregory are transformed into animals (Gregory being a duck and Wirt being "either a bear or a dog ... Nobody can tell which").

The ten episodes marked the first miniseries on the Cartoon Network. The show features Wood and Dean (reprising their roles from the short), along with Lynskey as the main voice cast. McHale and his crew tried to maintain a balance between frightening imagery and "episodes that are just light and funny". For the music, McHale drew inspiration from "classic American, opera singing". Nick Cross served as art director and Nate Cash as supervising director; both worked with McHale alongside storyboard artists located in New York and Chicago. This distance proved difficult for McHale, who found it "particularly daunting considering the idiosyncratic nature of the production".

The series' art was inspired by a variety of sources, including the 1890s McLoughlin Brothers board game Game of Frog Pond, illustrations by Gustave Doré for Cervantes's Don Quixote, old illustrations for the Hans Christian Andersen story " The Tinderbox", the Cheshire Cat illustration by John Tenniel from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the " Dogville Comedies" short films. McHale referenced chromolithography, vintage Halloween postcards, magic lantern slides, and photographs of New England foliage to create the show's style.

McHale's original short, Tome of the Unknown, was screened at the 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where McHale earned the Bruce Corwin Award for best animated short film. It also received an honorable mention at the 2013 Ottawa International Animation Festival.

At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International, a preview of the show was screened along with various panels for other shows on the network. Episode 2 was previewed at the 2014 New York Comic Con, which McHale and the main cast attended. The show made its premiere on November 3, 2014 on Cartoon Network, and ran over five consecutive nights. The entirety of it was published on iTunes preceding its broadcast.

The series aired on Cartoon Network in Australia from December 15 to 19, 2014 and on Cartoon Network in the United Kingdom and Ireland from April 6 to 10, 2015.

Various melodies and songs based on pre-1950s music are heard throughout the series. Elijah Wood, the voice actor for Wirt, has said that "if this show were a record, it would be played on a phonograph". Songs from the series include "Into the Unknown", its title song, composed by Patrick McHale and sung by Jack Jones; "A Courting Song", composed by the Petrojvic Blasting Company and performed by Frank Fairfield; and "Come Wayward Souls", sung by Samuel Ramey as the Beast.

The majority of the series' songs have been officially uploaded to YouTube. On the DVD release they can be heard, along with visuals and without dialogue, in a special feature known as the Composer's Cut. An extended version of the soundtrack, featuring 32 tracks and totaling around 44 minutes in length, was released in the form of a 180-gram vinyl record by Mondo in August 2016. The extended soundtrack debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con, with a limited 1,000 copies, featuring a cover designed by Sam Wolfe Connelly. The extended vinyl is also available as a webstore exclusive from Mondo.

In September 2015, Mondo released an audio cassette tape titled "For Sara", based on the cassette tape labelled with the same name seen in the series. The cassette features over twenty minutes of poetry spoken by Elijah Wood (in character as Wirt) and music performed by the Blasting Company. In September 2017, Mondo released the cassette a second time, with the subtitle "(Back-Up Master)".

Over the Garden Wall (with the short film Tome of the Unknown) was released on DVD in Australia on July 8, 2015 by Cartoon Network and Warner Home Video and on September 8, 2015, in the United States. The DVD features all ten episodes of the show, commentaries, the original pilot, alternate title cards, and deleted animatics. Other extras on the DVD include a "Composer's Cut," an option wherein a viewer can watch the show with only the visuals and the background music; and the mini-documentary Behind Over the Garden Wall.

On April 6, 2016, Madman Entertainment released the miniseries on Blu-ray exclusively in Australia and New Zealand with the same bonus content as the DVD release. On March 2, 2020, Manga Entertainment will release it in the UK on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Over the Garden Wall was critically acclaimed. Preceding its premiere, Patrick Kevin Day of the Los Angeles Times called it "funny, creepy" and, from the premise, "not as simple as it sounds". In and also before the premiere, Megan Walsh-Boyle felt that the show's fictional universe "sounds like a world worth getting lost in". Meredith Woerner of called a preview of the show "amazing", "weird, and cute and great", reflecting "all the things we love about this oddball animation renaissance we are currently living in". Conversely, Amid Amidi of Cartoon Brew judged from the same preview that the animation was lacking. While not discounting its storytelling, music, and production design, he felt that production skimped on animation; he was still looking forward to the series.

Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "a little too folksy and fairy story" at times, but that its "contemporary strangeness wins out", and concluded that "it is throughout something to behold". Lloyd later wrote that it evoked "a kind of artisanal quality", both in its design and setting, and though the writing felt "a little too intent on its own folksiness", it became more enjoyable throughout. In The New York Times, Mike Hale also felt the writing was sometimes weak and the stories "perilously thin", but concluded that McHale developed an environment worth visiting.

Brian Moylan of The Guardian wrote that the visuals were "absolutely stunning", and that the stories contained "a certain darkness to it that is both mellow and twee at the same time, with a fair amount of anxiety creeping around the edges". Brian Lowry of wrote that Garden Wall was "an admirable experiment", but not one to sustain "the five-night commitment", calling it "slightly mismatched" while praising a departure from "the more abrasive characteristic" of the network's primetime content. Kevin McDonough of the Illinois Daily Journal criticized some of the writing, but summed it up as "an ambitious cartoon" for both younger and older audiences. Jason Bree of the website Agents of Geek called the miniseries "the greatest thing Cartoon Network has ever produced". Kevin Johnson of praised the series, giving it a grade of "A" and writing that "with such a perfect blend of mood, atmosphere, story, and characterization, Over the Garden Wall's 10-episode run will leave you wanting more, but like every great fairy tale, it's a story that knows when it's over."

A one-shot comic book adaptation of the show was announced in October 2014. Produced by KaBoom!, an imprint of Boom! Studios, the comic was released on November 5, 2014. The comic was supervised by McHale and was produced as an oversized special. The comic was illustrated by Jim Campbell, a writer/storyboard artist on the television series. A special variant cover, by McHale, was also released. The success of the standalone comic led to further issues being commissioned in May 2015 and began to be released in August 2015. According to McHale, the comic books would be similar to the one-shot comic, detailing the events that occurred in between certain episodes and would expand on the television miniseries. The success of the series of one-shots led to an ongoing series of comics, serving as both a sequel and prequel to the series, rather than telling adventures that happened between episodes. The stories are told parallel, with half the comic detailing Greg returning to mysterious dreamlands in his sleep. The other half chronicles the Woodsman's daughter, Anna, and how she became lost in the Unknown. After the ongoing series ended in November 2017, the Over the Garden Wall comics continued as a series of miniseries and original graphic novels.

Edgar, Sean; McHale, Patrick (2017). The Art of Over the Garden Wall. Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-1506703763.

Willsey, Kristiana (2016). "'All That Was Lost Is Revealed': Motifs and Moral Ambiguity in Over the Garden Wall". Humanities. 5 (3): 51. doi:10.3390/h5030051.

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Over the Garden Wall is an American animated television miniseries created by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network. The series centers on two half-brothers who travel across a mysterious forest in order to find their way home, encountering a variety of strange and fantastical things on their journey.

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https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Purcell,%20Krysta%20%202016.pdf

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https://www.americanscientist.org/article/when-the-answer-comes-in-a-dream

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The Fiction Film and Its Spectator: A Metapsychological Study

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The Fiction Film and Its Spectator: A Metapsychological Study

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https://www.jstor.org/stable/468615?casa_token=XTZWfxB0AeQAAAAA%3Au5MV5C9XqU4b6zuiQLk_oK4ou8k3u8FBbcofcBdP6enSgnOpC8bzGGo480IxNgPeVA3at3Gm28rwgiOGj8zVxke5SnToAmcnGt3halsVTtufuaMDphUH&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

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Publisher Information

One of the largest publishers in the United States, the Johns Hopkins University Press combines traditional books and journals publishing units with cutting-edge service divisions that sustain diversity and independence among nonprofit, scholarly publishers, societies, and associations. Journals The Press is home to the largest journal publication program of any U.S.-based university press. The Journals Division publishes 85 journals in the arts and humanities, technology and medicine, higher education, history, political science, and library science. The division also manages membership services for more than 50 scholarly and professional associations and societies. Books With critically acclaimed titles in history, science, higher education, consumer health, humanities, classics, and public health, the Books Division publishes 150 new books each year and maintains a backlist in excess of 3,000 titles. With warehouses on three continents, worldwide sales representation, and a robust digital publishing program, the Books Division connects Hopkins authors to scholars, experts, and educational and research institutions around the world. Project MUSE® Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content, providing access to journal and book content from nearly 300 publishers. MUSE delivers outstanding results to the scholarly community by maximizing revenues for publishers, providing value to libraries, and enabling access for scholars worldwide. Hopkins Fulfillment Services (HFS) HFS provides print and digital distribution for a distinguished list of university presses and nonprofit institutions. HFS clients enjoy state-of-the-art warehousing, real-time access to critical business data, accounts receivable management and collection, and unparalleled customer service.

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The Fiction Film and Its Spectator: A Metapsychological Study on JSTOR

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Publisher Information One of the largest publishers in the United States, the Johns Hopkins University Press combines traditional books and journals publishing units with cutting-edge service divisions that sustain diversity and independence among nonprofit, scholarly publishers, societies, and associations. Journals The Press is home to the largest journal publication program of any U.S.-based university press.

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The Concept of Narrative: An Analysis of Requiem for a Dream

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The Concept of Narrative: An Analysis of Requiem for a Dream

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https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/135485650401000305?journalCode=cona

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This article will discuss the concept of narrative and how this idea has been defined by writers from various academic specialisations such as film studies, literary studies, narratology and new media studies. This initial discussion of how narrative has variously been conceptualised leads to an analysis of several test case examples of 'official' websites from the films Donnie Darko (dir. Richard Kelly II, USA, 2001) and Requiem for a Dream (dir. Darren Aronofsky, USA, 2000), both still available at www.donniedarko.com and www.requiemforadream.com. The issue of establishing narrative in terms of its defining qualities and limits becomes important in assessing whether these particular test case websites qualify as narratives themselves and how they extend, supplement, reorient and supplant the cinematic texts. The analysis will apply various approaches and techniques from film/literary studies and narratology in an in-depth, close reading of the websites and films. In probing cases that are liminal in terms of the boundaries of narrative, the article suggests that some websites and films may be considered types of non-narrative assemblages that however still retain the emotionality and catharsis usually associated with narrative. The affective power of mainstream cinema and other media is usually assumed to be conveyed by patterns of narrative development through an arc-like, three-act structure and a highly-expected, final outcome, but this emotionalism may not be connected to narrative elements themselves. Lastly, the article will explore some of the methodological problems of analysing both film and computer media, as some writers tend to see the latter as ameliorating the supposed deficiencies of the former in way that instantiates and furthers a progressivist ideology and a technological determinism.

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The Concept of Narrative: An Analysis of Requiem for a Dream(.com) and Donnie Darko(.com - James C. Beck, 2004

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article will discuss the concept of narrative and how this idea has been defined by writers from various academic specialisations such as film studies, literary studies, narratology and new media studies. This initial discussion of how narrative has variously been conceptualised leads to an analysis of several test case examples of 'official' websites from the films Donnie Darko (dir.

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Screen Dreams:a practice-based investigation of filmic dream sequences, using the dream theories of Freud, Jung, Revonsuo and Hobson

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Screen Dreams:a practice-based investigation of filmic dream sequences, using the dream theories of Freud, Jung, Revonsuo and Hobson

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https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/141868/

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Glew, Billy (2020) Screen Dreams:a practice-based investigation of filmic dream sequences, using the dream theories of Freud, Jung, Revonsuo and Hobson. PhD thesis, UNSPECIFIED.

Abstract

This thesis is a practice-based investigation into the production of filmic dream sequences. The research aims to demonstrate how the dream theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Allan J. Hobson and Antti Revonsuo, incorporated into film-making practice, affects the production of dream sequences. The thesis asks: Which techniques denote a film sequence as depicting a dream and how closely do filmic dream sequences correlate with the dream theories of Freud, Jung, Revonsuo and Hobson? In support of answering this question, the thesis investigates what variations in styles of dream sequence are produced by using different combinations of dream-denoting elements. As part of the practice-research, I explore methods for incorporating representations of latent dream content. After reviewing and comparing the selected dream theories, I compare two opening film sequences with similar content, 8 ½ (Federico Fellini, 1963), depicting a dream, and Falling Down (Joel Schumacher, 1993), depicting waking reality, discovering eight dream-denoting film-making techniques. Building on these findings, I analyse a further 49 dream sequences, revealing four additional dream-denoting techniques. I then analyse the dream sequences for correlation with the selected dream theories, including to discover if latent content is ever explicitly represented. I use the findings from my analyses to inform the production of a series of filmic dream sequences, with each film incorporating one or more of the selected dream theories into each stage of production. The thesis addresses several gaps in theoretical and practice-based film research. In film theory, the thesis provides a structured, repeatable methodology for filmic analysis specific to dream sequences and summarises the form and content of dream sequences up to the present, identifying twelve dream-denoting elements. In practice, the thesis researches detailed methods for producing dream sequences in narrative film including representing latent content, by creatively interpreting and using different combinations of psychoanalytic and neurocognitive dream theories.

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Screen Dreams:a practice-based investigation of filmic dream sequences, using the dream theories of Freud, Jung, Revonsuo and Hobson - Lancaster EPrints

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This thesis is a practice-based investigation into the production of filmic dream sequences. The research aims to demonstrate how the dream theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Allan J. Hobson and Antti Revonsuo, incorporated into film-making practice, affects the production of dream sequences. The…

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https://offscreen.com/view/inception_dreams_freud

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Colin McGinn has written extensively and compellingly about the similarities between film watching and dreaming (192-3, 202-3):

Movies delve into our dreaming self, that submerged and seething alter ego that emerges when the sun goes down. In the cinema we relive the life of the dreaming self. Movies thus tap into the dreaming aspect of human nature. Moreover, they improve upon our dream life. They give us the dreams we yearn for. It is a rare individual who is not fascinated by his own dreams, with their raw ability to reveal, their magical expressiveness, movies partake in this fascination. The impact of movies stems, then, at least in part, from the primal power of the dream. To be sure, the dream component of the movie experience is augmented by the special qualities of the medium, but the primary emotional hook originates in the evocation of the dream... The best directors - Luis Buñuel, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, and others - seem to me to recognize the essentially dreamlike character of the movie world, and they trade upon it in their films. What is A Clockwork Orange but an audacious dream adventure insidiously combining nightmare and wish fulfilment? [1]

Dreams are also of particular importance in psychoanalytic thought. Freud famously described them as being "the royal road to the unconscious".

This then creates an interesting three way relationship between film, dreams and psychoanalysis with the latter having been among the most dominant forces in film theory and criticism for the past few decades.

Christopher Nolan's Inception manifests and coalesces these three things. It is filmmaking on a huge scale with the very best production values of modern Hollywood which takes as its subject matter the interrogation of dreams and whose emotional narrative (as opposed to the functional narrative about corporate espionage) is essentially the working through of the psychoanalytic process.

For a filmmaker within the Hollywood system, Christopher Nolan is unusually pre-occupied with psychological human states to the degree that they often act as the primary theme of his films. Memento's narrative structure is built around the short term memory limitations of its protagonist. Insomnia explores the affects of extreme sleep deprivation as its lead character struggles to function in a state in which he is never fully awake or asleep, throwing into question his ability to interpret events accurately or remember them fully. Even Nolan's Batman films are, at their core, concerned with creating a representation of the psychological state of someone who we can believe would turn himself into a vigilante and dress up as a bat. The Prestige sits somewhat outside of this theme but also shares similarities with Inception in its playing with the dichotomy between perception and reality.

Christopher Nolan does a few things very well in terms of his deployment of certain aspects of film grammar and technique, particularly cross cutting. With Inception Nolan spends the first hour setting up the premise of having the characters simultaneously occupy multiple levels of dream space which then allows him to play out all of these together using this technique. His confidence and competence in this regard is crucial to ensuring that the audience is free to follow what might be a very complicated concept and concentrate instead on the ever more complex plot machinations.

In Inception, Cobb (Leonardo Di Caprio) describes one of the interesting aspects of dreaming that allows the characters to infiltrate a subject's dream world, "in a dream we create and perceive simultaneously." [2] McGinn reminds us that this simultaneously active and passive process is analogous to the experience of film watching (p155), "We passively receive, through our sense organs, the images that populate the screen... But we also interpret what we see: we employ our imagination to construct the characters and story line, and this is an active business. This kind of imaginative seeing is an amalgam of active and passive, construction and reception." [3] Nolan cleverly acknowledges this parallel as Ariadne (Ellen Page) actively manipulates the world around Cobb on the streets of Paris at one point creating two large mirrors that she makes face each other to reveal the infinite reflection within a reflection (symbolic of the infinite complexity of the unconscious mind perhaps, paralleling the notion of dreams within dreams). The camera draws attention to itself in this scene by its very absence where it should have appeared in the reflection (removed via camera trickery or CGI). Although not explicitly 'breaking the fourth wall' by revealing the camera and ruining the suspension of disbelief, the 'fourth wall' is implicitly broken and Nolan reveals himself to be creating the world of the dream within the film as Ariadne is.

A lot of what has been written by critics about Inception has focused on its originality. I too think the film is original in some ways but not in the same ways that most critics have proposed.

Inception is an amalgamation of various genres and heavily references and pays homage to other films throughout. Cobb's relationship with his ex-wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), is hugely reminiscent of Clooney's character's journey in Steven Soderberg's Solaris for example. The film's action and globetrotting scenes have been openly discussed by Nolan as an attempt to recreate the scale and sense of the early Bond films, in particular On Her Majesty's Secret Service, with its snow set base and ski chase sequence. Echoes of The Matrix abound as characters simultaneously 'plug in' to the same dream space and fight in gravity defying environments. Inception at times feels like a pure heist movie in the vein of Ocean's Eleven, or with an espionage twist à la Mission: Impossible. The shoot-out on the streets of Yusuf's (Dileep Rao) dream is highly reminiscent of Heat (unsurprising given Nolan's openness about sighting Michael Mann as an influence on The Dark Knight). The chase scene in Mombasa recalls The Bourne Ultimatum's Tangier based segment. Tangiers actually stood in for Mombasa as a filming location in Inception. The opening of the film in Saito's dream world is very similar to Rhas Al Ghul's mountain side lair in Batman Begins, and the room in which Robert Fischer approaches his dying father in Eame's dream has an air of the design of 2001: A Space Odyssey (another of Christopher Nolan's favourite films apparently). These examples are just a few of the many similar references throughout the film.

The fact that Nolan's film does not feel like a patchwork of the best sequences of other people's films is a testament to his skill as a filmmaker and his approach to referencing which acts in the service of his film rather than being plagiaristic or gratuitous.

In thinking of how the film is original, critics have tended to focus on how Inception problematizes our knowledge of what is real and what is a dream. Whilst this intellectual investigation may in itself be philosophically worthy, Inception does not seem at first sight to add a lot more to this notion that has not already been done before in numerous other big budget films such as Total Recall, Vanilla Sky, The Matrix, et al.

What I think is original about Inception is rather its integration of the psychoanalytic process into the very fabric of the narrative. There have been a number of films in which psychoanalysis is used as central to character development, Ordinary People or Good Will Hunting for example, and many more that explore psychoanalytic themes or which lend themselves highly to psychoanalytic interpretation ( Vertigo, Psycho, Eyes Wide Shut, to name just a few). Inception does something different , however, which I will address by invoking some of the fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis.

1. At its core psychoanalysis posits the notion that all of us have a part of our mind which is unconscious whose contents are unknown in any explicit sense to us. The unconscious is made up of feelings and desires, some of which we may never have been aware of and others which we have repressed as either a defence mechanism or for purposes of social compliance. The unconscious mind of the individual is a mass of contradictions and by definition remains uncontrolled and unordered.

Inception takes as a given the existence of the uncontrolled unconscious world of the subject which is best exemplified by the scene in which Ariadne and Cobb navigate through his dream world and he cannot prevent aspects of his own mind from attacking her (culminating in Mal stabbing her) despite his conscious desire to prevent this.

2. Psychoanalytic theory argues that during sleep the barrier weakens and the unconscious bubbles out, albeit often in disguised form. "A dream is recognised as a form of expression of impulses which are under pressure of resistance during the day but which have been able to find reinforcement during the night." [4] As such, elements of our repressed feelings and wishes reveal themselves, now only partly concealed, in our dreams.

We see this notion very early on in Inception when Mal, who we find out to be dead in the real world and just a representation in Cobb's subconscious, enters into the shared dream world in which Cobb, who cannot prevent her appearance, and team are trying to conduct an extraction from Saito's mind, much to the annoyance and subsequent endangerment of Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

3. Another foundation of psychoanalytic thought is the overwhelming significance of the child's relationship with its parents. These primal relationships are burdened with largely unconscious problems which in turn affect all subsequent relationships with everyone the individual encounters.

In the film, when brainstorming as to how to execute the Inception of a business strategy into the mind of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), the team soon agree that this can only be done by tampering with the unconscious relationship with the father, as this will be at the cornerstone of the subject's sense of self identification.

4. The unconscious self has a huge impact on how we interact with the world and with others. Typically it has a more powerful effect on how we react to people and how we feel about our relationships with others than our actual conscious selves. "The unconscious must be assumed to be the general basis of psychical life. The unconscious is the larger sphere, which includes within it the smaller sphere of consciousness." [5] Neurosis and psychosis are expressions of the dominance of the unconscious in our lives. These conditions can only be significantly improved by identifying their unconscious causes and by the process of uncovering and understanding them. To a large extent this is exactly what psychoanalysts do. They help their patients by employing techniques to facilitate this self realisation process.

This seems to me to be clearly the emotional core of Inception. Cobb is unable to function effectively in the real world, even from a practical perspective, in that his job is negatively affected and impacted, until he can delve into his own unconscious and reconcile himself with his feelings and memories of his deceased wife. These feelings include disappointment with her and guilt for his complicity in her being damaged mentally and emotionally. His uncovering of all this then allows him to return to the world cured of his neurosis and able to re-engage in a meaningful relationship with his (and her) children again. The fact that the practical barriers to him seeing his family are removed simultaneously is cleverly interwoven by Nolan as the emotional narrative (Cobb's self reconciliation) and functional narrative (the corporate espionage heist which includes Saito providing the necessary authority for Cobb to re-enter the country on successful execution of the inception) run in tandem, culminate and merge together. This process of two seemingly unrelated concepts being brought together to create shared meaning is, Freud tells us, one of the aspects of dream creation and furthermore, if dream world and the real world are confused with each other, the "real and imaginary events appear in dreams...as of equal validity." [6]

5. Psychoanalytic theory has also provided us with important insights into human fantasies (most notoriously and controversially the Oedipal fantasy). This does not necessarily refer to fantasies as we might usually think of them as more or less conscious constructions, but rather addresses fantasies which are more unconscious, which are intertwined with our view of ourselves and the world and, crucially, which we do not recognise as fantasies. The psychological pull of the fantasy is all the greater when we perceive it as simple reality.

Inception explicitly discusses the desire to live in the fantasy world and the simultaneous rejection that the fantasy is not reality. Think of the room full of dreamers which Cobb and team come across in Mombasa, who yearn so desperately for the fantasy world that it has become their 'real' world. Actual reality is the nightmare they want to escape. Here, the film comes close to exploring Jungian ideas of collective unconscious as Juan Galis-Menendes notes. [7] More central to the film even than this is Mal who yearned so badly for the fantasy that she refused to believe real life was not a dream and killed herself in order to return to this reality which never existed other than in her shared unconscious with Cobb. Cobb too is tempted by the fantasy to return to a life with his wife which can exist only in his dreams. The film charts the emergence of his psychological maturity in which he is able to recognise it for what it is.

Inception is at its core the symbolic rendering of the psychoanalytic process through the representation of the dream world, which in a manifest form, functions as the narrative of the text and is the very architecture and location of the world(s) Nolan creates. It turns psychoanalytic ideas into a tangible narrative in order to explore them in a new way. In doing this it loses a good degree of the nuance, complexity and psychologically challenging aspects of psychoanalytic theory, but nevertheless Nolan produces a rather compelling case for the concepts of Freudian theory via such a creative, clever and ambitious work.

In terms of functional narrative, like Memento, Inception suffers from being a bit too obscure and clever for its own good/sake. It wraps itself in knots and leaves much unexplained, leaving audiences eager to unravel the plot. This is a never ending task and effectively amounts to the equivalent of a game of Sudoku, a bit of a workout for the brain, but one which is ultimately an exercise lacking meaning. However, as I have attempted to argue, Inception has a greater payoff than Memento for those wanting to engage with it as a more serious work.

Understanding important aspects of the human condition often involves grappling with ideas which are obscure and ambiguous. This can lead to obscurity masquerading as intellectualism. I would argue that obscurity and ambiguity are not valuable in and of themselves. They are valuable only when they help us to understand the nuances of reality. I initially interpreted the final shot of Inception as a pretty meaningless and somewhat clichéd touch designed and employed to keep the eager Sudoku players ever guessing and unravelling the intentionally obscure. Indeed, this final shot of the film is not the first time we are given visual reasons to question whether we are watching reality or not. The overhead shot of Cobb running away from his pursuers in Mombasa creates the very maze/labyrinth that he had Ariadne draw for him in training for dream architecture creation. In the same chase he must squeeze through a narrowing wall, clearly a visualisation of the stuff nightmares are made of. However, I have come to appreciate the note on which the film finishes, not because I think it is important to wonder whether Cobb was actually still in a dream at the end but rather because it addresses the limitations of human perception in which our fantasies colour our perception of everything. The human condition is such that we are imprisoned in our subjective selves. We are destined never to know reality as it simply is, but only as we perceive it. As our perceptions are soaked with our own theories and fantasies, determining absolute reality will forever be beyond our grasp. Separating dream, or fantasy, from reality is in fact not so easy as it might at first appear. Indeed what is this last shot other than the dream (Cobb's wish to see his children again) becoming reality? The two worlds of fantasy and reality have coalesced. Indeed, for the individual, they are never really fully separate.

It is genuinely difficult to make a film (or indeed write a song or paint a picture) in which important intellectual issues are addressed and make it have a positive message. Most works of art that are genuinely thoughtful, demanding and revealing of the human condition are not upbeat. Intellectual import and insight is more often than not synonymous with poignancy and melancholy. What is upbeat is usually superficial. It is for this reason that what I consider to be the very best films are often not my favourites in the usual sense of the word in that I do not have a desire to re-watch and re-experience them regularly. Nolan works a bit of magic with Inception, creating the dream blockbuster - it manages to be fantasy fulfilment for our less discerning selves; it has a creative and thoughtful examination of psychological elements of the human condition for our more critical and mature selves; and it executes an emotionally satisfying and, crucially, positive storyline.

A pleasure then, and not even a guilty one.
Endnotes Essay submitted August 2010

Leon Saunders Calvert works in a financial information media company in London. He has a BA Hons from the University of Essex in Philosophy and Literature, including film studies, and an MSc in International Management from the University of Reading. He believes that the study of philosophy and culture can be fundamental to providing us with a better understanding of the world we live in and the ways in which it can be improved, rather than undertaken as a kind of intellectual workout, as is so often the case. Leon has published reviews in Film International and The Film Journal.

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Colin McGinn has written extensively and compellingly about the similarities between film watching and dreaming (192-3, 202-3): Movies delve into our dreaming self, that submerged and seething alter ego that emerges when the sun goes down. In the cinema we relive the life of the dreaming self.

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https://stephanieca97.wordpress.com/unit-6/investigating-visual-production-and-technology/research-and-context/dreams-visualised-through-media/

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A Simple Way to Make Dream Sequences and Flashbacks Work 

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A Simple Way to Make Dream Sequences and Flashbacks Work 

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https://screencraft.org/2018/05/08/simple-way-to-make-dream-sequences-and-flashbacks-work/

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Dream sequences and flashbacks are often considered taboo in screenwriting books, articles, courses, and panels - along with their equally taboo cousin, narration. And all too often, rightfully so. But can screenwriters utilize them effectively without succumbing to the very misuses that made them so taboo in the first place?

Dream Sequences

The problem with this screenwriting "tool" is that screenwriters and studios have turned to utilizing them as a crutch - a way to solve a problem that they can't otherwise solve through good 'ole cinematic storytelling. Even the ending of was a studio answer to their fear that the audience wouldn't be able to accept fantasy elements of the film's overall story and events, instead deciding to make it all something that Dorothy dreamed.

Screenwriters use dream sequences for a number of lackluster reasons.

How many horror films have showed lead characters being suddenly murdered or attacked, only to reveal that it was all just a dream? The writers con us into thinking that what we are seeing is real, only to shock us with a sudden attack or death and then cut to the lead character waking up suddenly.

It's an easy scare tactic, but a fake-out nonetheless. One that tries to make it appear that the stakes have been raised, only to con us by not making it count by the end of the dream. It's a frustrating tactic.

Other lackluster dream sequences are written to showcase inner feelings of characters, or as a way to communicate a blunt and obvious explanation of character and story arcs.

Whenever a dream sequence is used as filler to accomplish something that the writer can't otherwise communicate within the narrative of the story, there's an issue.

Flashback Sequences

Much like the case of dream sequences, plenty of films and television series have utilized flashbacks effectively - , , , , , and television series like .

Unfortunately, writers have turned to flashbacks to attempt a visual form of exposition.

Bad exposition is usually present in the form of dialogue within a screenplay, whether it's to explain plot points, heighten the stakes, or to offer character background. Too many screenwriters mistake this type of exposition for plot development or character depth. And sometimes this is a direct result of script notes and feedback telling the screenwriter that they need higher stakes and more character development and depth. So they mistakenly turn to bad exposition in the form of dialogue dumps.

But then they read, remember, or are reminded that in screenplays, it's a vital rule to show rather than tell. So what do they do? They turn those bad exposition dialogue dumps into flashbacks, thinking that they've solved the problem of that show versus tell conundrum.

Thus, bad and unnecessary flashbacks are born, used as a storytelling crutch that often results in nothing more than filler - visual information dumps, as opposed to dialogue dumps. Regardless, they are one in the same.

So How Do You Write Great Dream Sequences and Flashbacks That Work?

In the case of dream sequences, we mentioned the crutch of using them as ways for cheap scares that con the audience into thinking the lead character is in true danger. Well, utilized this very "crutch" within its narrative.

Cut to Ripley waking up in a sweat. A cheap scare? A screenwriter con? Not necessarily so.

Ripley is plagued by nightmares throughout the whole film as a direct result of the horrors she faced during the events of the first film. This is a specific character attribute that applies to her whole character arc throughout the film. She's haunted by what she experienced and constantly warns the crew and military unit of what they refuse to accept - that they are walking into a nightmare that they will have no control over, no matter how much firepower and bravado they bring.

Furthermore, we constantly see Ripley struggle with nightmares and sleeping throughout the story. That initial dream sequence gives us a peek into her psyche and into those nightmares. We've seen the type of nightmares she has, and it resonates with us every time she awakens from her sleep, holding her chest.

In , the fantasy sequences accentuate the lead character's attraction and obsession with his daughter's friend. It's a stylistic choice to convey that information and help us understand how utterly obsessed he is with her. It's a truly vivid attraction and obsession. It gives us context to what is going on in his mind every time his daughter's friend appears in his life. It adds to the creepiness of it.

If you use dream sequences to convey themes and character arcs in that manner, there certainly is a place for them in your screenplay.

However, in a much broader aspect, dream sequences work best when they are woven into the structure of the story, as is the case with movies like , , and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. When dream sequences are married to the structure you use to tell your cinematic story, they are no longer a tool - they are a part of the structure as a whole.

The protagonist in is struggling to ascertain what is real and what is not. The audience begins to see the story through his eyes in that respect as we question the same reality. It's not a simple one-off to misdirect, convey an inner emotion, or offer a cheap scare. It's part of the story.

When dream sequences are used as part of the structure, they are legitimized - as long as they play by the rules set up in the opening act and aren't used as constant misdirects. If you're trying to convey a theme, tone, and atmosphere of questionable reality or a unique relation between reality and dream, it can be an effective way to offer an original type of story and structure.

With flashbacks, the same notion applies. When you use them simply as a crutch for exposition or character "depth" you're creating nothing more than filler that usually doesn't pertain to the direct story you're trying to tell. It can derail any story momentum.

However, when you weave flashbacks into the structure, you're creating a unique or stylistic narrative.

was masterful at using the flashback - and later the flash forward and flash sideways - as a structural mold. The present-day sequences always introduced thematic and character-driven elements to the story and then used the flashbacks to accentuate those themes and character arcs. The episodes didn't just shift to a simple flashback to explain something. The flashbacks were organically shifted into and out of the present day story, always book-ended by a question being raised and a question being answered, and then later applied to the present day events upon the narrative return to that timeline.

Don't use dream sequences or flashbacks as cheats. If you're going to implement them, use them as a way to tell your story - as opposed to using them as an explanation for a character or story point.

Weaving dream sequences and flashbacks into the structure of your screenplay's story is the most simple way to make those otherwise taboo screenwriting "tools" work.

You won't be accused of using them as filler. You won't be guilty of bad visual exposition or conning the audience with cheap stakes and scares.

When they become part of the structure - throughout the whole script, mind you - you'll only be "guilty" of employing a different way of telling a cinematic story. And in Hollywood, when you're trying to stand out from the rest, "different" is good.

Don't use them as a crutch. Don't use them to solve a plot hole. Just use them as a way to tell your story.
Read ScreenCraft's 10 Screenplay Structures That Screenwriters Can Use! Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures. He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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A Simple Way to Make Dream Sequences and Flashbacks Work - ScreenCraft

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Dream sequences and flashbacks are often considered taboo in screenwriting books, articles, courses, and panels - along with their equally taboo cousin, narration . And all too often, rightfully so. But can screenwriters utilize them effectively without succumbing to the very misuses that made them so taboo in the first place?

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https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-write-dream-sequences-in-film/

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Example of a dream sequence * Terminator 2

This dream prompts her to try and prevent this event from happening. Not only can these dreams be a tool for foreshadowing, they prompt actions in characters. Because this dream is a part of a cause and effect sequence, it effectively advances the plot and moves the story forward.

Another way dream sequences advance a plot is by incorporating them into the structure of your screenplay. Dream sequences literally become plot points that move a story forward.

Illustrate a character's desires

Dreams in films tend to reflect the psyche of a character. Therefore, they often reflect what a character wants. Dreams that show characters achieving or obtaining what they desire perfectly show the audience very clearly what their internal or emotional goal is.

In this scene from Dumb and Dumber, Lloyd's day dream wanders off as he thinks about the best case scenario when finally meeting Mary.

Dumb and Dumber * Example of a dream sequence

The dream is a hilarious moment that also informs the audience on Lloyd's desires as well as expectations. This effectively raises the stakes for when Lloyd finally meets Mary.

Portray internal conflict

Some dreams, however, don't portray future events in the best case scenario. Some dreams reflect a character's fears as well. These dream sequences effectively illustrate a character's internal conflict as they weigh the possible outcomes of their decision, both good and bad.

A great example of this type of dream sequence can be found in . When Seth walks into a grocery store to try and buy liquor as an underage teenager, his mind wanders as he weighs the possible outcomes.

Superbad * Example of a dream sequence

While these dream scenarios are hilarious, they all capture Seth's fears and internal conflict in buying the booze. Rather than seeing him walk in, look around and walk out, we get a glimpse at what he is thinking that led to his final decision.

Remember, these are only a few ways to define the purpose of your dream sequence. Whatever the purpose of your dream sequence may be, make sure you can define the specific way it serves the story of the film.

How to write dream sequences in film

Determine the logic of the dream

After defining the purpose of your dream sequence, it's time to determine the rules it plays by. Dreams, as they occur in our own lives, can be either uber realistic or incredibly far-fetched.

Dreams in a film can also behave in either way.

It's important to determine what type of dream your sequence will be. What logic is the dream founded in. Is it so realistic that the character and/or the audience thinks it is reality? Or is the dream so surrealistic that it draws attention to the fact that it is a dream?

Surrealistic

The surrealistic dream is so illogical that it makes the audience aware of the dream state of the sequence. This can be used to create intriguing imagery that portrays a character's subconscious.

This dream sequence in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World increases the levels of surrealism through a seamless transition from reality to a dream state. We brought the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World screenplay into the StudioBinder screenwriting app to take a better look at how it was written.

Notice how the slug line even says "DREAM HIGH SCHOOL" drawing attention to the obvious dream state. The final cut of this scene even uses sound design and production design to further elevate the surrealism of the dream sequence.

Scott Pilgrim VS. the World * Zelda Fairy Fountain Dream Sequence

Realistic

On the other side of the dream sequence is the realistic dream. These dreams play by the same logic as reality and can therefore be mistaken as reality. Realistic dreams can be tricky because you don't want to outright mislead the audience for the sake of a twist (more on this later).

But realistic dreams that appear to be reality can be an important thematic point or plot point that plays into the story. Few examples of this effect are better than the final scene in , one Christopher Nolan's best films.

The entire plot and structure of Inception is based on dreams and many of them tend to veer toward surrealism. However, the final scene of the film utilizes the "realistic " dream so well that many still argue whether the final scene was a dream at all. We reviewed the various interpretations of Inception's dream vs. reality debate in another post. (Spoilers ahead)

Inception * Ending Scene Full

Walking the line of misleading the audience versus intrigue the audience can be difficult. But as Nolan shows, the payoff can be incredible. We brought the Inception script into the StudioBinder screenwriting app to analyze how Nolan introduces the dream world to a story's characters as well as the audience. In fact, Nolan does it in the very first scene.

Planting the idea (no pun intended) of dreams is critical in the beginning of the film as the plot unfolds.

Because dream sequences are a matter of walking a narrative line, it's also important to talk about the things to avoid when writing a dream sequence.

How to write dream sequences in film

Avoid the flashback dream

Exposition can communicate key information for audiences to latch onto and invest in a story. Executing exposition is one of the toughest things to do as a screenwriter. All too often, screenwriters utilize the flashback dream sequence to lay out exposition.

The problem with this technique is that it is rarely done well. Flashback dreams that serve as exposition are often on the nose and work as a crutch.

In other words, using dreams for exposition is often considered a lazy way to communicate to the audience.

If you're looking for better ways to lay out exposition in your screenplay other than the dream sequence, check out this video by Thomas Flight. The video is a supercut of exposition done properly. Note how none are a dream sequence.

Script dream sequence * In Praise of Exposition

If you're wondering whether or not your dream sequence is too on the nose as exposition, ask yourself "Is this the only purpose the dream serves?" If it is, try to find another way to lay out your exposition.

How to write dream sequences in film

Dreams shouldn't mislead the audience

An overarching mistake screenwriters make when writing dream sequences is intentionally misleading the audience. This is often done to raise the stakes of a story. While this may help get you to an exciting climax, it also leads to a lackluster ending.

Misleading dream sequences can get more and more consequential to get the audience more invested. But when the climax happens and these stakes are revealed to be grounded in a dream, audiences may have enjoyed the ride but they will hate how it ends.

An example of this can be seen at the end of Click (spoilers ahead). At the climax of the film, Michael finally faces the consequences of fast forwarding through everything he hates in life. However these consequences are merely wiped away when we find out they all occurred in a dream.

How to Write Dream Sequences in Film * Click Ending

Sure the film tries to tie the knot by saying it was really the Angel of Death that gave Michael another shot. The damage, however, is done. That emotional climax becomes less memorable when the audience realizes it wasn't real.

These misleading dreams are usually intended to fake out the audience into a more exciting climax. Ultimately, it leads to a subpar ending that leaves an audience feeling misled.

Human beings are naturally drawn to interpreting dreams, even if they belong to characters in a story. Using this to your advantage as a storyteller is a great idea. Executing this idea, however, can be tough. Hopefully this article has informed you on how to write a clever, story-based dream sequence that may end up being the most memorable scene in your screenplay.

How to write dream sequences in film

Dream sequence screenplay format

Once you've decided on the content of the dream sequence and dialed in on how it will contribute to your story, it's time to put it into the screenplay. Let's take a look at the Superbad screenplay of the scene we mentioned earlier.

As we look at the script in the StudioBinder screenwriting app, we can see how Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg formatted different dream sequences with slug lines. Within the script, it may be important to tell the reader that the scene that is about to occur is out of the context of reality. Goldberg and Rogen add "Fantasy" in the slug line of each dream sequence to make this clear.

Dream sequence screenplay format * Superbad

Learning how to write slug lines will give you the tools needed to bring your dream sequences to life. When it comes to screenplay formatting, remember, your script should create a visual of what the cinematic story will look like. However, it also needs to give clear context of a scene to the reader especially when writing dream sequences.

Dream sequences have created some of the most memorable scenes in cinema. However, they have also resulted in some of the worst scenes in cinema. Following these tips on how to write a dream sequence in a screenplay will guide you in the right direction of hopefully writing the former.

UP NEXT

How to write a montage

Writing a dream sequence in your next project? The montage might just be the ideal format, especially when dreams can jump between time and space so easily. Therefore, let's learn how to write a montage, including some pro-tips on formatting, spacing, and clarity.

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How to Write a Dream Sequence - Formatting and Story Tips

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Example of a dream sequence * Terminator 2 This dream prompts her to try and prevent this event from happening. Not only can these dreams be a tool for foreshadowing, they prompt actions in characters. Because this dream is a part of a cause and effect sequence, it effectively advances the plot and moves the story forward.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneiric_(film_theory)

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In film theory, the term oneiric ( oh-NY-rik; "pertaining to dreams") refers to the depiction of dream-like states or to the use of the metaphor of a dream or the dream-state in the analysis of a film. The term comes from the Greek Óneiros, the personification of dreams.

Early film theorists such as Ricciotto Canudo (1879-1923) and Jean Epstein (1897-1953) argued that films had a dreamlike quality. Raymond Bellour and Guy Rosolato have made psychoanalytical analogies between films and the dream state, claiming films as having a "latent" content that can be psychoanalyzed as if it were a dream. Lydia Marinelli states that before the 1930s, psychoanalysts "primarily attempted to apply the interpretative schemata found in Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams to films."

Author Douglas Fowler surmises that "images arising from dreams are the well spring of all our efforts to give enduring form and meaning to the urgencies within," seeing this as the reason why "the deep structure of human narrative is conceived in dreams and the genesis of all myth is dreams." Author Robert Eberwein describes the filmic experience as the merging of a viewer's consciousness with the projected consciousness of the screen's subject, a process whereby the viewer's prior experiences with dreaming "help to create a sense of oneness" with cinema, causing the gap between viewer and what is being viewed to narrow. Under this theory, no matter what is being shown on the screen - whether the literal representation of a character dreaming, or the fictional characters of a story going on about their fictional lives - the very process of viewing film itself "replicates activities associated with the oneiric experience."

Films and dreams are also connected in psychological analysis by examining the relationship between the cinema screening process and the spectator (who is perceived as passive). Roland Barthes, a French literary critic and semiotician, described film spectators as being in a "para-oneiric" state, feeling "sleepy and drowsy as if they had just woken up" when a film ends. Similarly, the French surrealist André Breton argues that film viewers enter a state between being "awake and falling asleep", what French filmmaker René Clair called a "dreamlike state". Jean Mitry's first volume of Esthétique et psychologie du cinéma (1963) also discuss the connection between films and the dream state.

Bächler, Odile. "Images de film, images de rêve; le véhicule de la vision", CinémAction, 50 (1989), pp. 40-46.

Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten. Films and Dreams: Tarkovsky, Bergman, Sokurov, Kubrick, Wong Kar-wai. Lanham: Lexington, 2009.

Burns, Gary. "Dreams and Mediation in Music Video", Wide Angle, v. 10, 2 (1988), pp. 41-61.

Cubitt, Sean. The Cinema Effect. Cambridge and London: The MIT Press, 2004, pp. 273-299.

Halpern, Leslie. Dreams on Film: The cinematic struggle between art and science. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., 2003.

Hobson, J. Allan. 1980. "Film and the Physiology of Dreaming Sleep: The Brain as a Camera-Projector". Dreamworks 1(1): pp. 9-25.

Lewin, Bertram D. "Inferences from the dream screen", International Journal of Psychoanalysis, vol. XXIX, 4 (1948), p. 224.

Marinelli, Lydia. "Screening Wish Theories: Dream Psychologies and Early Cinema". Science in Context (2006), 19: 87-110

Petrić, Vlada, Film and Dreams: An Approach to Bergman, Redgrave, NY, 1981.

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In film theory, the term oneiric ( oh-NY-rik ; "pertaining to dreams") refers to the depiction of dream-like states or to the use of the metaphor of a dream or the dream-state in the analysis of a film.

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Recap / Over the Garden Wall: Chapter 8 "Babes in the Wood

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Recap / Over the Garden Wall: Chapter 8 "Babes in the Wood

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https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/OverTheGardenWallChapter8BabesInTheWoods

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Wirt is in despair, convinced that they'll never go home. He apathetically lets Greg be the "leader" now, and as they both sleep, we see into Greg's dreams.

Tropes:

Creepy Jazz Music: The North Wind's Villain Song is done in an ominous-sounding jazz style.

Deal with the Devil: At the end of the episode, Greg makes a deal with the Beast to save Wirt.

Mood Whiplash: This is one of the bleaker episodes of the show, but it constantly cuts to Greg's rather zany and lighthearted dream about him saving a fantasy village in the clouds.

Overly Long Gag: Greg gets welcomed to Cloud City by no fewer than three separate welcoming committees in sequence, each one with their own little song. Gets Lampshaded when Greg asks if there's more.

Rapid-Fire "No!": Wirt, upon hearing the Beast singing in the distance and realizing where Greg went.

Selfless Wish: When the Queen of the Clouds offers Greg a wish, he wants to go home, but can't bring Wirt because he's already in the Beast's power. He wishes to meet the Beast so that he can save Wirt instead.

Shout-Out: The whole dream sequence harkens back to a lot of 20s and 30s cartoons with Greg's arrival being an extended reference to the first of the Alice Comedies.

Snow Means Death: It starts snowing while the brothers are asleep and when Greg makes a deal with the Beast to save Wirt.

Sugar Bowl: Cloud City is populated by cute, cheerful talking animals and angels, and three of the angels even sing a song about how "everything is fine all the time" there.

Wham Episode: Greg gives himself up to the Beast in exchange for Wirt's soul.

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Wirt is in despair, convinced that they'll never go home. He apathetically lets Greg be the "leader" now, and as they both sleep, we see into Greg's dreams.Tropes: Creepy Jazz Music: The North Wind's Villain Song is done in an ominous-sounding ...

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https://burdge.tumblr.com/post/102890416829/in-otgw-was-the-unknown-real-or-was-it-all-in

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Thanks for the ask! UuU I've been wanting to gush about this show (even more than I already have haha)

First and foremost, no, I don't think The Unknown was all in Wirt's mind, or that it was all a coma dream or whatever. This doesn't make sense with the content of the story. If it's all Wirt's dream, why does Greg know about everything too? Why is Jason Funderburker (the frog) still with them, and why does he still have the bell? Why do the other kids seem shocked to see the frog glowing from his stomach if it wasn't happening?

As many people have theorized already, The Unknown is most likely a form of Limbo; a place that lost souls teetering between life and death reside and wander around.

Depending on their choices they either make it back to the world of the living, make it to a heaven sort of place (like Greg reached in episode 8; he only returned because he didn't want to leave Wirt behind)

or are consumed by the Beast to be forgotten and lost

There's also the fact that for the majority of the show, they are in a wood that is in the middle of autumn, and by the end it has become winter time. Autumn is the time in-between summer (the time of most life) and winter (which tends to get associated with death).

Another constant is the half moon. Whenever we get to see the moon, it is in the middle of its cycle, which I interpret as another symbol of the state the boys are in.

It's even a half moon before they go over the wall and into The Unknown. This reinforces the symbolism because it's like time for them just... stopped.

And when you can't see the moon anymore, or even any of the sky, is when Wirt and Greg are closest to proper death; when winter has come, and it's started to snow.

I feel like the "pockets of story" that Wirt and Greg encountered are the people that have settled down, so to speak. They are the people buried in the graveyard, and so they have a place to stay. They don't have to wander through this wood of literal lost souls because they already have a designated home.

(One of the biggest examples people have brought up is Quincy Endicott. You can see his name on the gravestone that Greg is hiding behind)

The graveyard itself is called The Eternal Garden. The wall the boys jumped over could be taken as them going "over the wall" into what humans consider The Unknown - the place that is there when you die.

A bunch of other things have been brought up by others: the allusions to Dante's Inferno, the two cents being like the price to cross the river Styx, Pottsfield being a representation of a Potters Field and so many other clues and hints.

I highly, highly recommend a rewatch, because you will catch so many more little details. It's super satisfying to look at everything in this show!

The fact that Over the Garden Wall leaves you a lot of room for interpretation is one of the best parts, and it lets you keep thinking for hours or days afterward. It's really beautifully done, and I haven't seen a story do its telling as well as this little series has in a long, long time.

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Thanks for the ask! UuU I've been wanting to gush about this show (even more than I already have haha) First and foremost, no, I don't think The Unknown was all in Wirt's mind, or that it was all a coma dream or whatever. This doesn't make sense with the content of the story.

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Philosophies on the unknown in over the garden wall

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Philosophies on the unknown in over the garden wall

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Ever since the show first aired in 2014, fans of Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall have been trying to dissect the mysteries within the show's brief two-hour run time. Composed of fantastical characters and profound lyrical music, the show offered a surprising amount of information for viewers to think about. However, the one thing fans could never figure out was the mysterious land the show was set in: The Unknown.

Over the Garden Wall is about two brothers who get lost in The Unknown and must find their way home. The land possesses everything from forests of oil trees to talking animals, but the one thing the boys never find is answers about where they are. Some fans theorize that the brothers are stuck in purgatory, while others believe that the story's events are just a dream. However as they travel through The Unknown, the boyscome to the realization that The Unknown is not something to be solved, but something to be adapted to.

Over the Garden Wall, Cartoon Network, 2014

On their journey, the brothers met many characters that inhabited The Unknown, each one having a different way they coped with its mysteries. Some characters were more similar to Wirt, the elder brother, who anticipated the worst, while those closer to Greg viewed The Unknown as an opportunity for adventure. With a wide cast of characters, Over the Garden Wall created a spectrum of philosophies for approaching life's mysteries and showed the futility of trying to answer them all.

Wirt: Safe Yet Stagnant

On this spectrum of philosophies that Over the Garden Wall explored, Wirt sat on one end of the extreme. He feared anything he didn't know and anticipated the worst. Back in his hometown, his worries often got the better of him and led him to refuse new opportunities. It was only when Greg stepped in that Wirt's life gained new developments. His younger brother had a hard time letting a chance go to waste, and Wirt provided several for him to take.

Each brother carried their individual attitudes with them upon entering The Unknown, a land named after what Wirt feared the most. His immediate instinct was to distrust everything and navigate his way out as soon as possible. Even when Beatrice, a talking bird the brothers met after first entering the woods, offered to help them get home, he refused her. Fortunately, Greg took it upon himself to speak with her, that choice being the sole reason they progressed further on their travels.

Wirt approached uncertainty with safety and comfort as a top priority. He would rather stick to what he knew than throw himself into a foreign situation. However, it was this tendency to stand back that slowed him down on both his journey and personal growth. In Wirt's efforts to escape The Unknown, he poured his energy into finding directions, seeing those as the answer to his way out. But The Unknown was much different from the world he came from and his approach would need to change if he wanted out.

The Woodsman: A Haste For Answers

The first human that Wirt and Greg met in Over the Garden Wall was known as the Woodsman, a man who traveled the forest chopping down edelwood trees. His reason for being in The Unknown was a mystery, but viewers quickly learned that he needed the land to fuel a lantern he had an obsessive attachment to. According to the Woodsman, his daughter's soul was trapped inside the lantern by a creature called the Beast, and he would lose her forever unless he kept it lit with oil from the trees.

The boys' initial encounter with the Woodsman was brief, but he left them with a message that would stick with Wirt for episodes to come: "Beware The Unknown, fear the Beast, and leave these woods." Like Wirt, he feared this land. However, in order to ever see his daughter again, he had to rely on it. His venture into The Unknown was forced, but it was enough to push him slightly closer to Greg, the other end of the extreme, on this spectrum of philosophies. While Greg possessed a naive trust in the Unknown and it's inhabitants, the Woodsman's faith in the land stemmed from desperation. Using the Unknown's resources was his only chance for ever seeing his daughter again.

Once the Woodsman received an answer for what would happen to his daughter, he latched onto it. In his panic to solve the situation, any answer would do for him, even if that answer came from the one who caused the problem in the first place. Despite his warning to the boys, the Woodsman was placing his full trust in the Beast and never once questioned the answer he gave him. This desperation from the Woodsman led him down a path of wasted time, the answer he was chasing revealed as meaningless later on. The Beast was known for preying on children, but the Woodsman proved to be the villain's easiest target yet with his haste for answers.

The Dark Lantern: Seeking Definition

By Over the Garden Wall 's fourth episode, Wirt had finally trusted Beatrice to lead him and Greg home. The trio was on their way to visit Adelaide of the Pasture, a good woman who could supposedly help them, but the wagon they were stowing away in threw them off course. They stopped at a nearby tavern called "The Dark Lantern" to ask for directions, but found themselves getting distracted by the jovial patrons. Rather than going by names, the tavern people were referred to by their roles - the Tavern Keeper, the Butcher, even the Highway Man - and pushed for Wirt to go by his.

There is nothing more complex and nuanced than a human, but the tavern people stripped all that away by identifying with roles. In his attempt to find a role, Wirt declared himself as "The Hero," but the tavern people didn't buy it, instead dubbing him "The Young Lover" with all his talk of Adelaide. For Wirt, his fear had come from the mystery that was The Unknown. But for the tavern people, Wirt was the mystery that they desperately needed to define. Like the previous characters, it was their fear of uncertainty that drove their actions. However, this fear led to a simpler state of mind that discouraged personal exploration.

What set apart the tavern people's search for answers from Wirt's and the Woodsman's was that they didn't need an answer they liked, just an answer that made sense. Each of the patrons boasted their roles in song, letting the Highway Man, a thief admitting to his crimes, have his moment to shine too. The roles each of the tavern people played were defined by their place within their community, so those might not have been their true identities. Their identities could only be discovered by reaching outside of their comfort zone. But as long as there was some definition to attach to themselves, the tavern people were satisfied.

The Beast: A Fearsome Facade

While some viewed The Unknown as the brothers' greatest foe in Over the Garden Wall, it was the Beast who threatened to harm them. The Beast was a shadowy figure who travelled The Unknown, luring in children with his singing so he could steal their souls and turn them into edelwood trees. The boys knew to be wary of his evils thanks to the Woodsman, but it was the Woodsman who was unknowingly fueling the Beast's schemes all along.

In terms of the spectrum, the Beast was at a strange middle ground. Like the fearless Greg, he took control of The Unknown, using it as a tool for his schemes. But like Wirt, it was his fear of uncertainty that led him to doing so. Despite some fans believing that The Unknown was a cover for purgatory, some form of death was still possible in the mysterious land. If the Beast stole your soul, you were done for. But the Beast was not immune to death either, and that fear of what would happen after was what drove him to committing his evil deeds.

Over the Garden Wall, Cartoon Network, 2014

For the whole of Over the Garden Wall, the Woodsman had been wandering The Unknown to keep the lantern that the Beast bestowed upon him lit. The Beast constantly tormented the poor father, reminding him of what would happen to his daughter if the light went out. For his scheme to work, the Beast had to instill more fear within others than he held within himself, that way no one would question his words. However, in the show's finale, Wirt had noted that the Beast was more obsessed with the lantern than the Woodsman. In an instant, the Beast's terrifying facade crumbled, revealing that it was his soul in the lantern the whole time.

The Beast had no backstory or explanation as to why his soul was so vulnerable, but in his efforts to protect it, he turned his life into something meaningless. Since the uncertainty plaguing him was about his own life, he spent his days ensuring he could live it rather than actually doing so.

Beatrice: Taking Control

Beatrice was the final character forming Over the Garden Wall 's main trio. Wirt and Greg knew her as a talking bluebird promising to lead them home, but that was neither her true form nor intention. After throwing a stone at a bird one day, Beatrice and her whole family were turned into bluebirds as punishment. The only person who could change her back was Adelaide of the Pasture. But if Beatrice ever wanted that favor, she would have to do something for the woman of the woods in return.

Beatrice was the first character on the spectrum to lean closer to Greg than Wirt in her philosophy on The Unknown. While she didn't embrace it as Greg did, she certainly didn't fear it. Beatrice already had something to fear: her family's fate as bluebirds. Time and time again, the bluebird proved that she was a character who could take control of a tough situation and pull through. She was the one who pushed the brothers along on their journey, even when the going got tough. For Beatrice, uncertainty was far easier to control than the fate she already knew.

The biggest uncertainty that Beatrice faced was whether or not she could rope Wirt and Greg into her plan to become human again. If she wanted Adelaide to change her back, she needed to provide the old woman with child workers. It was risky to pursue with Wirt's initial distrust for her, but she eventually gained his confidence. Though by the time they were near Adelaide's, Beatrice, having grown close to the boys on their adventure, was prepared to back out of the plan and instead scour The Unknown for a different solution to her fate.

Up until arriving at Adelaide's, Beatrice wrestled with her eventual betrayal. She could either betray the boys to change her family back into humans like she promised, or she could betray her family by keeping the boys safe. Beatrice's identity as a bluebird brought its own shame, but whichever option she chose would bring even more. Later on in Over the Garden Wall, Wirt would encounter her avian family and learn of their wish to see her again, human or not. Because she was so eager to change her fate, Beatrice never checked in with her family's feelings on the matter. If she had, she would have learned that she never needed to head into The Unknown in the first place.

Pottsfield: A Life In The Unknown

In the second episode of Over the Garden Wall, the trio came across their first form of a society within The Unknown: a surprisingly normal-looking town called Pottsfield. It had homes, farms, and shops, giving them hope of a way out soon. On the day they arrived in Pottsfield, all of its inhabitants, people with pumpkins for heads, were having a festival in the barn. They were friendly at first, until Wirt got into some trouble and landed him and Greg a couple hours of community service.

The people of Pottsfield were the most comfortable with The Unknown. They had developed their own economy, holidays, and government, and led normal lives despite being in such a strange land. Rather than trying to uncover The Unknown, the people of Pottsfield used what the land had to offer to make something of it. The brothers experienced this first hand as they fulfilled their community service, picking their carefully planted cornfields and pumpkin patches. The final task Wirt and Greg had to do for their sentence was dig holes, but the bones they soon found at the bottom sent them into a panic.

While Wirt thought the citizens of Pottsfield had him digging his own grave, what he was really doing was digging up more members of their community. The pumpkins, it turned out, were just bodies for the skeletons that lived underneath. There was no explanation as to how the skeletons got there, but it didn't matter to them as long as they could lead the lives they wanted to. With that as their main goal, they discovered that even the mysterious Unknown could sustain such a thing. And so rather than wasting time to question what all was going on, they partied their days away.

By using The Unknown to create a regular life, the people of Pottsfield gave themselves a simple purpose to follow. They didn't have to discover or define anything, they just had to exist within their community in whatever way they chose. This was the key difference between Pottsfield and Over the Garden Wall 's other community, The Dark Lantern. The tavern people tried to create a purpose for themselves by picking a strict personal path to follow, and deviating from it meant an unfulfilled life. Pottsfield solved this unnecessary pressure by creating a simple, flexible purpose to follow. With a purpose as easy as existing, the citizens of the town were guaranteed a fulfilling life.

Greg: Adventurous Yet Vulnerable

While Wirt was on one extreme of the spectrum, Greg was on the other, having total faith in his ability to survive a new situation. To him, uncertainty wasn't something to fear, but something to explore. Back in the brothers' hometown, just before they wound up in The Unknown, it was Greg taking the opportunities that Wirt let go. In one night, Wirt had given up on delivering a gift to his crush, going to a Halloween party, and hanging out with his classmates. And in that one night, Greg took on all those opportunities.

Even if The Unknown was a completely foreign land, it was still an opportunity for exciting adventures with interesting people for Greg. However, his love for exploration instilled an unhealthy amount of trust towards The Unknown within him. Of the trio, Greg was the member that got them into the most trouble over the course of the show by being careless. In just the first episode, he knocked out the man trying to help him and destroyed a mill by fighting with a wild animal. Despite the trouble this got him in, he continued to follow his impulses for most of Over the Garden Wall.

Greg's approach to uncertainty was optimistic. As long as he was having fun, there was no hurry to leave his situation. But as much as he enjoyed his time in The Unknown, he also wanted to return home. In the last third of Over the Garden Wall, Greg had an attitude change. As the calm autumn weather they had grown used to was fading into winter, the chance of returning home was slimming. The guilt of his reckless decisions had caught up with Greg and he realized that he had only slowed them down, so he decided to adopt a new approach to The Unknown and paid a visit to the Beast.

While his mischief was certainly fun and often beneficial to the fear-filled folks he met, throwing himself into uncertainty wasn't teaching Greg anything. The majority of the other characters could only grow by stepping out of their comfort zones and facing their fears, but Greg didn't have any fears to begin with. At least, not any that The Unknown itself could offer. With all these new adventures Greg went on, Wirt was his only constant (well, and his pet frog George Washington/Kitty/Jason Funderburker). But as soon as he realized that he was a burden to Wirt, the risk of losing him set in, meaning the time they spent together would have been pointless and he would be more vulnerable than ever.

Overcoming Futility

With Wirt and Greg being so different, one would think that the brothers could easily make up for each other's weaknesses. It was clear that their own weaknesses were slowing down their journey home, so they should have easily fixed that issue by playing to their strengths. However, it wasn't until they were exposed to the philosophies of others that they began to take responsibility for their individual weaknesses. This eventually became the key to returning home.

Where Wirt slowly grew into the hero who foiled the Beast's plans, Greg's growth was due to a sudden decision to adopt a new approach to The Unknown. With winter on its way, he knew he had to do something to take charge of the situation and get him and Wirt home. With some encouragement from the Beast, Greg decided he would need his help if they wanted to leave The Unknown. Taking on an attitude like Beatrice's and desperation like the Woodsman's, he was open to anything by this point.

The Beast of course had no intention of helping him and only wanted his soul, but if Greg hadn't gotten tangled in his schemes, Wirt would have never had his hero moment, completing his arc once and for all. Ready to let go of the fearful philosophy he had been living by, Wirt jumped into the action and challenged the Beast. He had seen the sad state the Woodsman was left in by listening to the Beast and refused to let himself end up that way. After exposing the Beast's image of an all-powerful being, he removed Greg from the edelwood encasing him, and the brothers left The Unknown together.

Real Change

Over the Garden Wall ended with Wirt and Greg arriving at a hospital after nearly drowning in a river. By now, they were home and far from any beasts or talking animals. Whether The Unknown had been purgatory, a dream, or something else entirely wasn't clear, but the change in philosophy that each brother underwent was certain. Not only did the boys get to witness a wide array of philosophies on the unknown during their travels, but they also got to leave knowing they could take on any uncertainty life had in store for them.

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Philosophies On The Unknown In Over The Garden Wall - The Daily Fandom

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Ever since the show first aired in 2014, fans of Cartoon Network's Over the Garden Wall have been trying to dissect the mysteries within the show's brief two-hour run time. Composed of fantastical characters and profound lyrical music, the show offered a surprising amount of information for viewers to think about.

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Over the Garden Wall: slapstick for the kids, existential dread for the adults

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Over the Garden Wall: slapstick for the kids, existential dread for the adults

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https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/nov/03/over-the-garden-wall-slapstick-kids-existential-dread-adults

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What's the name of the show? Over the Garden Wall

When does it premiere? Monday 3 November at 7pm ET, on Cartoon Network. The first episode is currently on YouTube.

What is this show? This is Cartoon Network's first mini-series, airing two 15-minute episodes each night for five nights. It tells the story of two brothers, the neurotic Wirt (voiced by Elijah Wood) and fun-loving Greg (Collin Dean), as they wander through the woods called the Unknown trying to find their way home. As the pilot says, "Somewhere lost in the crowded annals of history lies a place that few have seen. A mysterious place called the Unknown where long forgotten stories are revealed to those who travel through the wood."

So is this like an animated version of Into the Woods? No, the source material isn't so obviously cribbed from fairytales, though it does seem to be interested in the stories we tell and how that impacts our understanding of the world.

What's the show's pedigree? Patrick McHale, a former writer and creative director on Cartoon Network's critical and popular favorite Adventure Time, created it based on a short film he made.

If this is from one of the people behind Adventure Time does that mean people are wearing funny hats? Wirt wears a red dunce cap like David the Gnome and Greg wears a silver teapot on his head. So, yes. What is up the Adventure Time guys and crazy hats?

What happens in the premiere? Greg and Wirt are looking for their way home when they come upon a gruff woodsman (Christopher Lloyd) who tells them he will help them find their way home if they wait for him to finish his work. While waiting in the house the kids are attacked by a beast they must defeat. While victorious, their triumph comes with its own consequences.

Is the beast scary? It sort of looks like the old Honeycomb mascot. So, yes.

Is this show any good? Cartoon Network is probably best known to adults for its late-night Adult Swim block of surreal programming, which is perfect for those delirious on being up too late (or intentionally delirious due to something the audience has consumed). Over the Garden Wall is more proof that its more general content can be appealing to both children and the adults that either watch it with them or are enjoying it on their own. Like Adventure Time, there is enough slapstick silliness to keep the kids guffawing and enough subtext to get parents thinking - or in this instance, fretting with existential dread.

But this is different from Adventure Time, which is what a post-apocalyptic future would look like if Pedro Almodóvar imagined it while on magic mushrooms. Over the Garden Wall looks like a million Arcade Fire album covers come to life. It has a certain darkness to it that is both mellow and twee at the same time, with a fair amount of anxiety creeping around the edges. Between its aesthetic and the Americana invoked by the original songs, it's like this cartoon was made for those who buy artisanal pickles at the Brooklyn flea market. It has that same sort of fetishisation of the past that many who know the meaning of the word hipster do as well.

Over the Garden Wall isn't necessarily scary, but it is creepy. As each story progresses, fear for our simple protagonists grows, but the source of the danger is always shifting. Just as you think the woodsman is going to kill them, he offers to help them, but the audience is still unsure of his motives as he bottles strange black liquid in his mill. The same thing happens in the second episode where a race of pumpkin people vacillate between threatening and endearing about a half-dozen times before the episode ends. This back and forth creates a profound uneasiness that is hard to shake.

Yeah, but will kids like it? They going to love Greg, who is constantly pulling candy out of his pants and trying to find a name for his new pet frog (who, in grand WB tradition, can sing). They're not going to understand the moodiness, but there is plenty of mystery and whimsy to keep them engaged.

Which characters will you love? Greg, duh. The boys also enlist the help of a bird, Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey), who is just bitchy enough to appeal to adults.

Which characters will you hate? You're not going to hate Wirt, but he's a bit of a pill in the Woody Allen sense. At one point he actually lies down on a couch like he's about to have another session of analysis.

What's the best thing about it? The visuals are absolutely stunning. The woods seem to be at their autumnal peak with the vibrant colors subdued by the aura of passing into a darker season. Yes, it's still cartoonish, but in the way of Hayao Miyazaki, where a dream can change into a nightmare faster than you can say Mickey Mouse.

What's the worst thing about it? I mentioned original songs that seem like they could be played by one of the buskers from Once, right? If they're not Under the Sea, original songs are always a little hard to take.

Should you watch this show? Yes, especially if you enjoy certain recreational pastimes that are currently only legal in Colorado and Washington. And invite the kids, if you have them. They might not know what to think of the show, but you're not going to be able to get your teapot off their heads for weeks.

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Over the Garden Wall: slapstick for the kids, existential dread for the adults

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What's the name of the show? Over the Garden Wall When does it premiere? Monday 3 November at 7pm ET, on Cartoon Network. The first episode is currently on YouTube. What is this show? This is Cartoon Network's first mini-series, airing two 15-minute episodes each night for five nights.

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Dreams, Fears and The Unknown: ‘Over the Garden Wall’ at 5

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Dreams, Fears and The Unknown: ‘Over the Garden Wall’ at 5

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https://filmdaze.net/dreams-fears-and-the-unknown-over-the-garden-wall-at-5/

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In the five years since its debut, Patrick McHale's 10-episode miniseries, Over the Garden Wall, has become something of a codex for millennial anxiety. While it may seem like a strange candidate at first, the miniseries is a cultural oddity that synthesizes antiquated narrative conventions and contemporary animation sensibilities making it feel both arcane and modern. It is that strangeness that has given Over the Garden Wall ongoing cultural relevance. Age does not diminish its value because it is so untethered to the context of its initial release, November 3 rd-7 th, 2014.

That timeless quality is present from the miniseries' opening moments. The main theme, a crooning piano ballad titled 'Into the Unknown', plays over a montage of strange locations shrouded in mist and shadow. The tune has a vintage quality and the locations look hauntingly familiar, like a place you've been before but forgotten about it until now. That feeling, of finding the familiar in something that should be foreign, the gap between knowledge and memory, is called the uncanny. The term is defined by its opposition to the Scottish Word canny, which translates to "known". The word uncanny, therefore, literally means "not known" or, as it is more commonly called, "the unknown".

The Unknown is also the name of the mysterious forest in which Wirt and Greg, protagonists and half-brothers, find themselves lost. Children lost in woods are perhaps the most common of fairy tale conventions: Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, the list go on. Those forests are dark and deep, filled with anonymous dangers, and at their center lurks a malicious evil that must be confronted - a witch, a wolf, an evil fairy. When analyzing the cultural significance of this narrative recurrence, Jung said forests are "essentially culturally elaborated representations of the content of the deepest recesses of the human psyche". In literary analysis it is generally agreed that fairy tale forests represent unnameable fears with which we must reconcile to grow up; this is the case for The Unknown as well. However, where past forests have been a hub for tangible fears- stranger danger, the price of disobedience, the necessity of humility- The Unknown is representation of a more existential fear: uncontrollable and uncertain futures.

From the outset, The Unknown feels displaced from time, with objects and architecture from different eras of history co-existing despite centuries of cultural separation between them. In the penultimate episode, it is revealed that Wirt and Greg are not, as we are led to believe, pilgrims from the past but in fact late-20th-century teens who have fallen into a river where they are currently drowning. The Unknown is a mutual hallucination, a transitional purgatory between life and death. The Unknown's collage of history is merely what Wirt and Greg know history to be, objects and imagery- an oil lantern, a may-pole dance- things that are familiar but in the most emotionally-detached sense, the uncanny.

Yet even as Wirt and Greg fall backward into a pastiche of the past they also move forward. The historical heritage of each location they encounter on their journey tracks a linear progression towards the present. In episode two, "Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee" they stumble into Pottsville, a 17th-century pilgrim village. Episode four, "Songs of the Dark Lantern" sees them in an 18th-century tavern. A 19th-century Victorian-era mansion is the setting in episode five, "Mad Love". And finally, they ride on an early 20th-century steamboat in episode six, "Lullaby in Frogland". Even though time in The Unknown is fixed in the past, Wirt and Greg still exist in the present, and the linear progression of the historical anomalies reflects that. They are moving toward a crux point where the former catches up with the latter.

The Unknown's temporal dissonance between past and present makes it a fitting place for Wirt and Greg to become lost, as they themselves are trapped in a tailspin of indecision. Wirt - the elder, teenage-brother- has a crush on a girl, Sara, but lacks the confidence to ask her out. Greg - the younger, kid-brother - has stolen a rock from an old lady's garden, and wants to give it back, but is afraid of being punished. To face their respective problems would mark the acceptance of an uncontrollable present, where their future lies in the uncertain hands of others. In refusing to face this reality they are effectively living as in the past, like younger versions of themselves, while the present occurs around them.

Their state of transition - Wirt from boyhood to manhood, Greg from innocence worldliness - is reflected constantly throughout Over the Garden Wall. The Unknown is slipping from Autumn (a transitional season) into Winter; Quincey Endicott's mansion - which, as Wirt notes, is another historical anachronism of French Rococo and Georgian architecture - merges into Margueritte Grey's; and their cursed talking bird-guide, Beatrice, seeks to transition back into her natural human form. In episode four, "Songs of the Dark Lantern", the tavern patrons declare Wirt the Pilgrim: a person who travels from one place to another.

But even the process of picking that title requires a transition. The patrons, via song, confidently announce their jobs (Butcher, Baker, Midwife, Master, and his Apprentice, Unhappy Tailor, and the Highway Man) before sizing Wirt up, and initially declaring him the Lover, a young man on an emotional quest to win the heart of a woman he pines for. They ask him to sing his story like they have just done, as a means of testing his readiness for the role they have bestowed upon him. Wirt botches it, his delivery is pitchy and tempo-less, a stark contrast to the charismatic song of the patrons, proving his lack of tenacity. While Wirt fits the criteria of the Lover by pining after Sara and is well suited for it because of his romantic tendencies, he lacks the gumption required to express how he feels. So, until then he is searching for the courage he needs, a Pilgrim.

It is in Wirt and Greg's pilgrimage that Over the Garden Wall soars as the urtext for millennial angst. Because while they are physically traveling, The Unknown is not a physical space, but rather a shared hallucination. In this way, their pilgrimage is not a literal journey, but rather emotional and internal. Wirt and Greg are traveling towards versions of themselves that they can reconcile with the future and their place in it, both the travelers and the destination. The essence, the driving force behind their journey is encapsulated in the lyric "If dreams can't come true, then why not pretend?" from 'Into the Unknown'.

If the world will remain ambiguous and deceptive Wirt and Greg will bury themselves in fictions of their own creation as a means of coping. Wirt, young and anxious, uses his literary and cultural knowledge to create an illusion of calm. He writes Frostian poetry, appreciates architecture, and plays music, fronting as someone who is more knowledgeable and assured than he is to hide his total absence of understanding and control. Greg, meanwhile, actively behaves childish and naïve to try and deflect harsh realities. Emblematic of this is his "rock facts", absurdist statements that he proclaims as truth to bring levity to dire situations like in episode eight, "Babes in the Wood" when in response to Wirt's despondence Greg says:

"Did you know that dinosaurs had big ears, but everyone forgot this because dinosaur ears don't have bones?"

Greg's reliance on these fictions and the fact that he tethers them conceptually to the rock which is the source of the guilt he is attempting to ignore is a manifestation of the question Over the Garden Wall is toying with. Greg feels he cannot atone for stealing the rock, so he invents rock facts to distract from that, dreaming turned into pretending.

There is something immediately relatable about Wirt and Greg's difficulty with accepting the uncontrollability of their circumstances. To live in the 21 st century is to grapple with an unclear future, the outcome of which is dictated by powers beyond any one person's control. Their behavior, shying from a tough reality in favor of a controlled fiction, is an encapsulation of the mentality that draws people to engage with media like Over the Garden Wall. However, on this topic, Mchale is very clear. To live via the dream of escapism alone is to effectively be in The Unknown, in a constant state of transition, always in a place between places. And if you are always are constantly between one place and another then you are in neither and thus nowhere at all.

However, this is the conceit upon which Over the Garden Wall is built. The miniseries plays out as an examination of the role of fiction as told through the lens of fiction. Disguises (themselves, a type of fiction) are an ongoing motif throughout the miniseries. In "Schooltown Follies" the monstrous gorilla turns out to be a man trapped in a gorilla costume. "Lullaby in Frogland" sees Wirt and Greg disguised as a frog to get passage on the ferry. Even Wirt and Greg's attire, what we believe to be period outfits initially, are revealed to be Halloween costumes, disguising their true identity to the audience.

On the topic of disguises, Jung said: "We meet ourselves time and again in a thousand disguises on the path of life". This statement could just as easily be a description of The Unknown, which, as a shared hallucination is effectively an extensive cognitive disguise for the internal tensions Wirt and Greg are experiencing over their shared fear of an uncertain future. However, every disguise is ultimately an uncanny self-portrait, a false attempt at expression. Functionally, it is like the historical dissonance of The Unknown, the unnatural played as natural. A disguise is always telling of the person who created it- Wirt's Halloween outfit, a human-gnome hybrid, reflects his diminutive self-worth and uncertainty. Meanwhile, Greg wears a teapot on his head and says he's an elephant, which is telling of his determination to remain detached from reality. Only when disguises are removed do conflicts get resolved in Over the Garden Wall. In some cases, such as "Schooltown Follies" and "Lullaby in Frogland" this means the literal removal of disguises. In other cases, such as Wirt and Greg's inner conflicts, this means the rejection of a self-propagated fantasy.

While this might make the final message of Over the Garden Wall seem clear-cut, that it does not do to pretend. However, the truth is more complicated. Wirt and Greg's pilgrimage comes to an end when they dispense with their disguises (their fictions), accept the future as the uncontrollable entity that it is, and find confidence in their ability to weather it. At the end of the series, Wirt admits he never had any confidence; he was just pretending. However, that admission removes the tension of being found out as a liar, the source of his debilitating anxiety. Without that tension he is able to become more confident, he was always the person he wanted to be, he just had to get out of his own way. Equally, Greg admits he stole the rock via a rock fact ("I'm a stealer", he says. "And that's a rock fact"), using the mechanism once designed to hide from the truth to illuminate it. No external factors change, only their perception of themselves; the uncanny becomes canny not through tangible changes but through a greater understanding of what was already present.

That Wirt and Greg discover it during their pilgrimage in The Unknown is revealing then of Over the Garden Wall's true intentions. The Unknown is a smaller fiction housed inside the greater fiction that is the miniseries holistically. McHale did not create the miniseries as an escape from reality but rather as a means to face it. Over the Garden Wall is short, ten-episodes long with a total running time of an hour and fifty minutes; it feels designed to end as quickly as it begins. By the time Over the Garden Wall comes to a conclusion there is little in the way of true closure, Wirt asks out Sara but what happens next is uncertain, Greg is growing up and will return the rock but what that means for him, and whether he will get punished, is a mystery. Their time in The Unknown has granted them an assuredness of self that they could not have found otherwise, from the fiction was birth a reality, from the uncanny, comes canny.

And in much the same way as Wirt and Greg find acceptance of the uncontrollable in The Unknown, millennial audiences find a feeling of peace in the un-reality of Over the Garden Wall. We gravitate towards it, many of us watching it annually, because of the fact that it does end, and that ending is messy. There's a comfort in seeing your own lack of control is reflected in fiction. Because, ultimately, that is its purpose, not to be an escape but an answer.

The series concludes with a reprise 'Into the Unknown'. As it plays, we are treated to a montage of locations, the same locations from the series' beginning. However, the places are no longer mysterious or uncanny, because each location was somewhere visited during the miniseries. Our knowledge of them strips them of the fear they may have once inspired, it makes them canny. The journey through them may have not been real, but the emotions and the things we took away from them are. Over the Garden Wall begins by positioning dreaming and reality are oppositional forces when really, they are one and the same. The former is just a tool to help massage our fear of the latter. Or, as they are characterized in 'Into the Unknown': "The loveliest lies of all".

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Dreams, Fears and The Unknown: 'Over the Garden Wall' at 5

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In the five years since its debut, Patrick McHale's 10-episode miniseries, Over the Garden Wall, has become something of a codex for millennial anxiety. While it may seem like a strange candidate at first, the miniseries is a cultural oddity that synthesizes antiquated narrative conventions and contemporary animation sensibilities making it feel both arcane and modern.

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https://www.netflix.com/watch/81062189?trackId=14277283&tctx=-97%2C-97%2C%2C%2C%2C

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Watch The Mind, Explained | Netflix Official Site

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Ever wonder what's happening inside your head? From dreaming to anxiety disorders, discover how your brain works with this illuminating series. Watch trailers & learn more.

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Sweet Dreams are Made on TV: How Dreaming is Represented in Television

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Sweet Dreams are Made on TV: How Dreaming is Represented in Television

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https://www.happybeds.co.uk/blog/sweet-dreams-are-made-on-tv-how-dreaming-is-represented-in-television

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Sweet Dreams are Made on TV: How Dreaming is Represented in Television

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Explore some of the best, and most memorable ways that dreams have been used in television. Check out our TV dreams round-up now!

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https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nZ--AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=how+dream+logic+influences+cinema&source=bl&ots=Eo2zEvdIjK&sig=ACfU3U0vinG1ORN-3yu66edOmTICUPea7g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjs5862wK30AhWWiVwKHfv-B9MQ6AF6BAgyEAM#v=onepage&q=how%20dream%20logic%20influences%20cinema&f=false

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Films and Dreams considers the essential link between films and the world of dreams. To discuss dream theory in the context of film studies means moving from the original, clinical context within which dream theory was originally developed to an environment established by primarily aesthetic concerns.

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cinema And The Unconscious Filmic Representations Of Dreams

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cinema And The Unconscious Filmic Representations Of Dreams

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Dreams and Movies: Tracking Back from “Inception”

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Dreams and Movies: Tracking Back from “Inception”

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https://www.indiewire.com/2010/07/dreams-and-movies-tracking-back-from-inception-227251/

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Dreams and Movies: Tracking Back from "Inception"

A few weeks ago I was watching the recent sci-fi action flick "Surrogates," which is set in a future when everyone avoids the real world by plugging their minds into physical, robotic avatars that go out as better-looking representations of their lazy and apparently too self-conscious counterparts in even the most mundane of circumstances. During one of the movie's chase sequences I realized an extra benefit to the concept: it allowed the filmmakers to have characters that don't conform to the physics real humans are bound by. The surrogates could leap like superheroes. How exactly, I'm not certain, but it doesn't matter. All that matters is that the movie could open up to so much more than a normal action flick is capable of.

I thought of this realization before going into "Inception." I knew the exciting thing about the film would be the benefit of having the plot set primarily in the dream world. Forget surrogates and even superheroes. Dreams are really where filmmakers can get away with anything. After all, we'd seen the trailer. We'd seen one of the film's great spectacles, a Paris neighborhood folding in on itself. How else to do that, outside of the most fantastical magician tale (no, I haven't yet seen "The Sorcerer's Apprentice"), than with dreams? Okay, but in a way movies are already dreams. "Inception" reflexively draws attention to this, though not too explicitly, in statements about how dream architects can make things that have never existed, that couldn't exist in the real world.

So what's the point of ever worrying about physics and plausibility when making films? Why not just have every movie end with someone waking up, revealing the whole thing to be a dream? Because for some reason, though we're fascinated by movies dealing partly with unconscious settings, we never ever tolerate, let alone appreciate, those movies that completely tell us nothing in the movie happened or was real. This, despite the fact that the majority of us understand that movies aren't reality. Still, what films other than versions of "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice in Wonderland" do we forgive for being just a dream? For me it's a cheap and redundant reminder of what movies are already to me. Every time the lights go up at the end of a movie I recognize that it's the end to the dream.

Of course the obvious difference between dreams and movies is that we don't really take part in and experience movies the way we do with dreams. Dreams can be rather passive, but not that much. And the moviegoer can't alter what's on the screen like she can potentially alter what's happening in the dream, as long as it's lucid. Film characters in dreams typically seem to know they're dreaming, so I love when they understand that they can do anything. There's a moment in "Inception" where one person tells another to dream bigger, acknowledging the miraculous possibilities allotted to you in the dream world. That first character is better than most, though, with such conjuring. He can also become other people by way of some kind of deceptive trick (I have been other people in my dreams but I've never been able to control it).

The magical power of a person lucidly dreaming has been explored many times in past films about dreams, particularly those that like "Inception" involve a collective unconscious. Though not as expressly about dreaming, "The Matrix" is an obvious and admitted influence on "Inception." When the first trailers for the film hit, many people brought up the similarities to "Dreamscape." Plot-wise, sure, though with its clever special effects and luscious production design, the newer film bears little resemblance to that '80s conspiracy thriller and its spare sets and Georgia O'Keefe-like tunnels into the dream world. Other films with similar dream-invasion plots include the anime "Paprika," about a machine that allows therapists to enter the minds of patients, and of course the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, of which I most enjoy the third installment, "Dream Warriors," for its take on role-playing within the dream as well as this concept of magic.

However, with the exception of elements of "The Matrix" films, none of those predecessors fully capture the correlations between movies and dreams as far as special effects, design, editing and even extras are concerned. Not that we ever - as far I know - have other people in our dreams with us to upset those extras. But the way the film reminds us of the way dreams play with time and distance is a perfect allegory for the way movie stories are told through cutting. Finally, for those of us film lovers who will never enjoy real life as much as we enjoy the movies, there is a certain and very large wink at the escapism factor of cinema. There have been plenty of times when I'd wished I could just get trapped inside the limbo of the film world, as is possible in the dream infrastructure of "Inception."

Another thing it does seemingly well is the idea of placing dreams within dreams like a matryoshka doll, which in terms of the film analogy is like watching a film within a film within a film within a film. For "Inception" it's watching a Bond movie inside a heist movie inside "The Matrix" inside a grief drama. There's no literal filmmaking storyline, though, so it doesn't have quite the same level of reflexiveness as, say, Tom DiCillo's "Living in Oblivion" does with its constant awakenings from dream sequences. And probably there are other similar explicit blurrings of dreams and moviemaking that I'm not remembering at the moment. Anyway, trying to trace and mention all the significant films dealing with the fine line between dreams and cinema would require going back very far. Dream sequences in film are as old as film itself (have you ever seen George Albert Smith's "Santa Claus," from 1898, for instance? If not, here you go).

I would like to wrap this post with a look at one film that I think captures the association between dreams and movies best: Buster Keaton's "Sherlock, Jr." It does this so directly in fact that it's almost redundant to have Keaton's projectionist character first fall asleep and then, in an effect that must have been like the folding Paris of its time, climb up into a movie. Couldn't he have simply dreamed that he was a detective, or alternatively just fantastically entered a film screen (a la the reverse of "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Last Action Hero"). No, he had to go through this double-layered trick, the opposite of what we all do when we go to see "Inception." First we let ourselves enter the world of the film and then we enter the world of the dream. I can't help but think it's a bit superfluous.

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Dreams and Movies: Tracking Back from "Inception"

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Dreams and Movies: Tracking Back from "Inception" A few weeks ago I was watching the recent sci-fi action flick "Surrogates," which is set in a future when everyone avoids the real world by plugging their minds into physical, robotic avatars that go out as better-looking representations of their lazy and apparently too self-conscious counterparts in even the most mundane of circumstances.

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DREAMS IN FILMS AND FILMS AS DREAMS: SURREALISM AND POPULAR AMERICAN CINEMA

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DREAMS IN FILMS AND FILMS AS DREAMS: SURREALISM AND POPULAR AMERICAN CINEMA

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https://www.jstor.org/stable/43673608

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DREAMS IN FILMS AND FILMS AS DREAMS: SURREALISM AND POPULAR AMERICAN CINEMA on JSTOR

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Les films ayant recours à des séquences de rêves étaient particulièrement nombreux au cours de la période transitoire. Dès 1915, ces films connurent une baisse ...

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David Lynch on random access, dream logic and feel-thinking

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David Lynch on random access, dream logic and feel-thinking

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2xT1rfjBWo

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David Lynch on random access, dream logic and feel-thinking

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If cinema reflects the collective dreams (or nightmares) of society, what does the present obsession with zombie and superhero films say about contemporary western culture?

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If cinema reflects the collective dreams (or nightmares) of society, what does the present obsession with zombie and superhero films say about contemporary western culture?

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https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/1hheyz/if_cinema_reflects_the_collective_dreams_or/

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What films reflect are not so much explicit credos as psychological dispositions - those deep layers of collective mentality which extend more or less below the dimension of consciousness.

Siegfried Kracauer ( From Caligari to Hitler)

Film is not just a text. It is also a cultural practice, and should be approached and studied as such. It is made under specific cultural crcumstances, and yet it also influences the curcumstances of culture. We allow, even crave, film to speak to us and for us.

Latham Hunter ( The Celluloid Cubicle: Regressive Constructions of Masculinity in 1990s Office Movies)

Analysis of film on a macroscopic level is something that's always interested me, and my first kind of forays into the history of cinema and its function as a mirror to society came through watching American Beauty and Fight Club in high-school, no joke. In addition to their somewhat hamfisted comments on society (that sixteen-year-old me loved), I think they both reflected this crisis of masculinity faced by the 1990s grey-collar man, and that opened up my eyes to the notion that films might be more than just stories, but rather a reflection of a 'cultural consciousness'. I'm not going to delve too deeply into Fight Club here because people will probably give me shit for it, but I genuinely feel there's an interesting subtext in those films (also present in Office Space and Falling Down) that a lot of people ignore.

The 'shared nightmares' approach to horror film analysis follows on from that line of thinking, and I feel that it's pretty spot-on at times. There are just too many elegant correlations for me to not buy into it a little bit. The basic premise is that successful horror films become successful because they tap into something that resonates with a lot of people, and scares them. Subsequently, successful horror film trends can be said to reflect the collective fears ('nightmares') of a society. Frequently, popular horror tropes have beared a close symbolic resemblance to social ills or geopolitical threats.

Take for instance the Kaiju genre (giant Lovecraftian monsters, like Godzilla) that was widely successful in post-WW2 Japan but never really caught on in any other time or place. The original Gojira (1954) is a pretty blunt recount of the war (albeit with a happier ending), and the destruction of Tokyo by an unstoppable foreign force bears obvious resemblance to the havoc wrought by US bombings only a decade previously. Subsequent monsters represent newer threats to the japanese populace, it's kind of like a schlockier Animal Farm (you can find a detailed writeup of kaiju history here).

On the other side of the pond, horror films were capitalising on fear of the atomic, and anything related to the meddling of science and it's disastrous consequences (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, The Fly, The Incredible Shrinking Man). Later, Hollywood would prey on the 'Red Scare', and the infiltration of radical ideology into American suburbia would manifest as alien invaders (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Man from Planet X, Invaders from Mars). I read an article wherein the author speculated that the Abu Ghraib scandal was to blame for the rise in 'torture porn' like Hostel, Wolf Creek, and Saw (I to VII, haha).

An important point to make is that this kind of 'cultural consciousness' talk doesn't necessarily imply that we're all part of some greater linked hivemind, in case anyone was reading it that way. It does sound a bit like mystical pseudo-science sometimes, when you put it like that. When a film or trend in film is successful though, it demonstrates that the antagonist or adversary in the film resonates with a large number of people, or a significant slice of society. Of course there are always going to be people who don't find kaiju scary and never will, but you can still draw conclusions about society as a whole based on the fears of a majority. Of course there are outliers too... Pacific Rim is a kaiju film coming out this month but it's existence (and presumably, it's success at the box office) doesn't mean that there's paranoia about nuclear armageddon. -Sometimes a throwback is just a throwback. Early horror films seemed to get by on having some creepy monsters and I can't see any particular sort of symbolic underpinning in werewolves or vampires, they're just scary entities that people eventually grew tired of.

Anyway, the big antagonists of horror right now are zombies. Consider the qualities of a zombie: mindless and lacking identity, infectious, slowly but steadily unstoppable, many in number, sometimes comical and sometimes vicious... As a disclaimer I'm going to quote /u/fourwordsbackwards when I say 'I'm half bullshitting for the sake of discussion, but are you feeling me?'. Let's discuss anyway:

What does the present ubiquity of zombie films reflect, in terms of our 'shared nightmares'? Overpopulation? Decline of individualism? Fear of immigrants?

Does the huge success of superhero films say something about the dreams and desires of society, or is their dominance simply attributable to the widely succesful Hollywood formula of rehashing known intellectual properties?

What do you think about this whole method of cultural analysis anyway? Is it just seeing correlations where none exist? In any case, tell me exactly how stupid and wrong I am below.

What other cinema trends correlate with historical events or the past or present zeitgest? Anything outside of horror?

Is anyone familiar enough with contemporary Asian horror cinema and Asian culture to be able to identify some of the trends and speculate on their origin? They seem to have a preoccupation with hair and drains that I've always found completely baffling.

edit: Thanks for the fantastic responses everyone!

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If cinema reflects the collective dreams (or nightmares) of society, what does the present obsession with zombie and superhero films say about contemporary western culture?

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What films reflect are not so much explicit credos as psychological dispositions - those deep layers of collective mentality which extend more or less below the dimension of consciousness. Siegfried Kracauer ( From Caligari to Hitler) Film is not just a text. It is also a cultural practice, and should be approached and studied as such.

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Does Time Actually Pass Slower in Dreams?

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Does Time Actually Pass Slower in Dreams?

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https://filmschoolrejects.com/does-time-actually-pass-slower-in-dreams-c89f9435d6e6/

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By Kevin Carr · Published on December 3rd, 2014

Warner Bros.

One of my favorite things to do as I've gotten older is to take naps. I am an expert nap-taker, even a better nap-taker than sleeper most nights. I never understood why children fight them so much, considering they have been a hobby of mine since college.

Four years ago, Christopher Nolan made one of the highest-profile films about sleeping. In the summer of 2010, did more for dreaming than films like 1985's Dreamscape ever did. Like his most recent film Interstellar, Nolan also brought to life on the big screen some concepts and possible misconceptions about dreaming. One of these was the idea that there is a sort of time dilation in dreams.

As the character of Arthur ( Joseph Gordon-Levitt) points out rather succinctly in the film: "Five minutes in the real world gives you an hour in the dream." In other words, it's a bit like the opposite of what happens to Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway while prancing around black holes in Interstellar.

Is Nolan simply obsessed with time dilation for his characters, or is he on to something? This got me thinking: Does time really move slower in a dream?

The Answer: We certainly perceive it that way, but it's not a source of eternity in limbo.

Part of what makes Nolan's Inception work the way it does is the dreams are regimented and controlled, often by outside parties who manipulate other people's minds into a shared dream state. In the film, the dream team uses tailored pharmaceuticals and a special machine to sync up people's minds so they can have a shared experience.

This technology, of course, does not exist. While there are some devices that can read and detect what's going on in someone's mind as they're dreaming, based on brain waves and other biological feedback, we don't have access to anything that will merge people into a single dream together. And we certainly don't have something that will allow a trained individual to build the dream world from the ground up and project other people into a shared dream.

The concept of shared dreaming does exist, but it falls in the realm of paranormal science rather than hard science and has yet to be proved with reliable scientific investigation.

Still, Inception is a movie, and its dream device is nothing more than a plot device to let things happen. Let's assume it works.

The added bonus to the dream time dilation is that it can happen again and again in different layers of a dream. Each time, the dreamers experience the five-minutes-to-an-hour time dilation, or they see time slow down by a factor of twelve. So, on the first level, time moves twelve times slower. On the second level, it's twelve times slower again, or slowed down by a factor of 144. On the third level, it slows by a factor of 1,728 from the real world. As deep as they dare to go in the film, the fourth limbo level, time has slowed by a factor of 20,736.

In other words, each second in the real world takes almost six hours in limbo. Each hour in the real world would take two years and four months in the dream state.

This is how Nolan set it up, but...

Is this how time really works in dreams?

In the documentary Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious, available on the Inception Blu-ray, Nolan himself says, "I've always felt that my brain was working even faster than it can do in waking life. It feels to me that time passes more slowly in a dream. I would drift off for ten minutes, but I would have an hour-long dream."

This is not an uncommon experience. Many people experience dreams that seem to be hours or days long in one dreaming cycle at night. It's also not uncommon for people to experience what Nolan describes, which is a long dream in a short micronap when someone dozes off. While difficult to scientifically prove from a perception and communication level, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of people experiencing this phenomenon.

There have been some studies to suggest that there is some truth to this. Certain studies involved waking people up in the middle of the dream cycle and having them accurately identify approximately how much time has passed. However, like everything with dreams, this all relies on perception.

Warner Bros.

Dreams are not the only time human beings perceive time dilation in the everyday world. As people get older, it is generally accepted that time appears to pass quicker. While it never seems abnormal as you experience it, it's common for young children to feel like they're waiting forever for something that takes only a short time for an adult, like driving for a couple hours.

There are several theories surrounding the time dilation related to age. The most obvious one is that an hour is a much larger percentage of his or her life than an hour is to a man in his forties. Other theories for are grounded in biology, suggesting that body chemistry is affected as metabolism slows with age and body temperature changes.

In Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious, Nolan stumbles into a possible explanation: "I think the simple cut in film grammar is one of the closest film tricks to the way the brain actually thinks, to the way you actually perceive the world."

In other words, part of the reason we perceive dreams as happening slower than our waking hours is because the mundane bits in the middle are edited out. Our minds simply cut from one point in the dream to another. It seems entirely natural in the dream, but it's part of the reason we may not remember all of even the most vivid dream, only the most emotional and impactful moments.

This is essentially how memory works, which is tied to dreams. There is a lack of the memory-enhancing neurochemical norepinephrine during dreaming, which helps explain why we forget our dreams within minutes after waking up. However, this also results throughout the day as our brains create our memories. Our thoughts and daydreams between essential moments in the day are not committed to memory any more than our dreams are. Case in point, try to remember exactly what you were thinking and exactly what was happening while you were doing something mundane several days ago. It's as difficult as remembering a dream.

Still if time really does seem to slow down in dreams...

Can we delve down to our own limbo for decades overnight?

Probably not. Again, it's all because of how our brains work while we dream.

The idea of a dream-within-a-dream is nothing new. In Dreams: Cinema of the Subconscious, Deirdre Barrett from Harvard Medical School points out, "Some people have chains of these." However, it is uncertain if they are actually dreams within dreams or a chain of dreams.

Waking up in a dream only to find yourself still in a dream state is more likely your brain trying to explain why you're not conscious yet. Because REM sleep, the dreaming state, occurs while your mind is preparing to wake up from unconsciousness, it's possible that your body isn't fully brought out of sleep when your mind is ready to surface. So, instead of actually having fallen asleep in your dream to have another dream, your brain just thinks your off to another dream. It's a chain in the same level of consciousness rather than the descending rabbit hole we see in Inception.

Even if you dream that you are dreaming, the time dilation would not happen again. Dreaming and sleep are physiological process as much as they are psychological ones. However, once you enter the dream state, you don't cross that physiological barrier again. In other words, your mind is already self-editing your dreams to take out the brain's deleted scenes.

So unfortunately, you can't just jump down the Inception rabbit hole to make your 20-second orgasm take place over four or five days, and you can't add decades to your life on the beach of your subconscious. Our minds just don't work that way. And it's a good thing, too, or we'd probably end up spending more time napping then ever before.

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Does Time Actually Pass Slower in Dreams?

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Warner Bros. One of my favorite things to do as I've gotten older is to take naps. I am an expert nap-taker, even a better nap-taker than sleeper most nights. I never understood why children fight them so much, considering they have been a hobby of mine since college.

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ON INCEPTION AND THE CINEMATIC DEPICTION OF DREAMS: “Are we still in the game???“ 

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ON INCEPTION AND THE CINEMATIC DEPICTION OF DREAMS: “Are we still in the game???“ 

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https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.689.6261&rep=rep1&type=pdf

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https://www.wired.com/2010/07/the-neuroscience-of-inception/

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What I like about this interpretation of Inception is that it also makes neurological sense. From the perspective of your brain, dreaming and movie-watching are strangely parallel experiences. In fact, one could argue that sitting in a darkened theater and staring at a thriller is the closest one can get to REM sleep with open eyes. Consider this study, led by Uri Hasson and Rafael Malach at Hebrew University. The experiment was simple: they showed subjects a vintage Clint Eastwood movie ("The Good, The Bad and the Ugly") and watched what happened to the cortex in a scanner. The scientists found that when adults were watching the film their brains showed a peculiar pattern of activity, which was virtually universal. (The title of the study is "Intersubject Synchronization of Cortical Activity During Natural Vision".) In particular, people showed a remarkable level of similarity when it came to the activation of areas including the visual cortex (no surprise there), fusiform gyrus (it was turned on when the camera zoomed in on a face), areas related to the processing of touch (they were activated during scenes involving physical contact) and so on. Here's the nut graf from the paper:

This strong intersubject correlation shows that, despite the completely free viewing of dynamical, complex scenes, individual brains "tick together" in synchronized spatiotemporal patterns when exposed to the same visual environment.

But it's also worth pointing out which brain areas didn't "tick together" in the movie theater. The most notable of these "non-synchronous" regions is the prefrontal cortex, an area associated with logic, deliberative analysis, and self-awareness. Subsequent work by Malach and colleagues has found that, when we're engaged in intense "sensorimotor processing" - and nothing is more intense for the senses than a big moving image and Dolby surround sound - we actually inhibit these prefrontal areas. The scientists argue that such "inactivation" allows us to lose ourself in the movie:

Our results show a clear segregation between regions engaged during self-related introspective processes and cortical regions involved in sensorimotor processing. Furthermore, self-related regions were inhibited during sensorimotor processing. Thus, the common idiom ''losing yourself in the act'' receives here a clear neurophysiological underpinnings.

What these experiments reveal is the essential mental process of movie-watching. It's a process in which your senses are hyperactive and yet your self-awareness is strangely diminished. Now here's where things get interesting, at least for this interpretation of Inception. When we fall asleep, the brain undergoes a similar pattern of global activity, as the prefrontal cortex goes quiet and the visual cortex becomes even more active than usual. But this isn't the usual excitement of reality: this activity is semirandom and unpredictable, unbound by the constraints of sensation. (This is usually blamed on those squirts of acetylcholine, an excitatory neurotransmitter, percolating upwards from the brain stem.) It's as if our cortex is entertaining us with surreal cinema, filling our strange nighttime narratives with whatever spare details happen to be lying around. Furthermore, the dreaming state is accompanied by an increase in activation in a wide range of "limbic" areas, those chunks of the cortex associated with the production of emotion. This is why even the most absurd nightmares cause us to wake up in a cold sweat. We care about what happens in our dreams, even when what happens makes no sense.

I'd argue that Inception tries to collapse the already thin distinction between dreaming and movie-watching. It gives us a movie in which most of the major plot points are simultaneously nonsensical - Why are we suddenly watching a thriller set in the arctic? Why are all the subconscious mercenaries such bad shots? Why don't Cobb's kids ever age? - and strangely compelling, just like a dream. And so we bite our fingernails even though we "know" it's just a silly movie. Thanks to the subdued activity of the frontal lobes and the excited visual cortex, we sit in our plush chairs munching on popcorn and confuse the fake with the real. We don't question the non-sequiturs or complain about the imperfect special effects or the shallow characters. Instead, we just sit back and watch and lose track of the time together. It's almost as if we're being manipulated by Dom Cobb himself, as he effortlessly travels deep into our brain to plant an idea. But this Dom Cobb - we'll call him Christopher Nolan - doesn't need a specially formulated sedative. He just needs a big screen.
Image: Screengrab from the movie trailer.

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This entire post is a spoiler. Stop reading if you have not seen Inception, because 1) I will reveal major plot points and 2) It will make no sense. The literary critic Frank Kermode famously argued that all successful works of art have the ability to inspire multiple interpretations.

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Dreaming of Cinema: Spectatorship, Surrealism, and the Age of Digital Media (Film and Culture Series)

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Dreaming of Cinema: Spectatorship, Surrealism, and the Age of Digital Media (Film and Culture Series)

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dreaming-Cinema-Spectatorship-Surrealism-Digital/dp/0231166575

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Video games, YouTube channels, Blu-ray discs, and other forms of "new" media have made theatrical cinema seem "old." A sense of "cinema lost" has accompanied the ascent of digital media, and many worry film's capacity to record the real is fundamentally changing. Yet the Surrealist movement never treated cinema as a realist medium and understood our perceptions of the real itself to be a mirage. Returning to their interpretation of film's aesthetics and function, this book reads the writing, films, and art of Luis Bunuel, Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Andre Breton, Andre Bazin, Roland Barthes, Georges Bataille, Roger Caillois, and Joseph Cornell and recognizes their significance for the films of David Cronenberg, Nakata Hideo, and Atom Egoyan; the American remake of the Japanese Ring (1998); and a YouTube channel devoted to Rock Hudson. Offering a positive alternative to cinema's perceived crisis of realism, this innovative study enriches the meaning of cinematic spectatorship in the twenty-first century.

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Dreaming of Cinema: Spectatorship, Surrealism, and the Age of Digital Media (Film and Culture Series)

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Buy Dreaming of Cinema: Spectatorship, Surrealism, and the Age of Digital Media (Film and Culture Series) Illustrated by Lowenstein, Adam (ISBN: 0000231166575) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

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https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/233574093.pdf

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https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/pah.2001.3.1.51

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https://walkerart.org/magazine/dreams-cinema-history-matt-levine

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https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/dreams-and-films-and-dreams

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Far Flungers

No one is certain about dreams. If they tell you they are, they're either fooling you or themselves. There isn't a universally accepted definition of dreams. The whole idea behind them isn't wholly understood. Even scientists aren't sure about the purpose of dreams. And most of us don't understand, or heck, even remember, our own dreams.

My moseying around different blogs and websites has brought me a bit of random knowledge about the subject. I read there are two kinds of dreams: Authentic and Illusory. Authentic dreams are those that reflect actual memories and experiences of the dreamer. I guess that would mean they stick to the laws of physics and stuff too. Illusory dreams, on the other hand, contain impossible, incongruent, or bizarre content. Dali-esque stuff, maybe?I guess my brain must be messily wired or something, as I have, or at least remember having, mainly illusory dreams.

In my dreams, people transform into one another and not much makes sense. I had a dream in which the world tilted and all the water on it flowed to one side. I had a dream one day in which I was admitted in a hospital and they served me stray dogs for meals. Interestingly, I was admitted in a hospital only a few days before I had that dream. Dreams, as you know, are stemmed from our experiences and memories.Aside from memories, I read that the drugs you take could affect your dreams too. And your health condition. And several other things. It seems you could reach an age when you can't dream anymore. I forgot where I heard this, but some people on this planet dream solely in glorious black and white.

(A side note. When my bladder is full, I have dreams that involve flowing water, rain, etc. Just a side note.)And let me ask you this: what causes dreams? Just some brain activity while asleep? A friend and I were talking about this. He pondered aloud, "Do you really think your dreams are just some biological reactions or processes taking place in your brain, in your head? Don't you think it might be something more?" Could be. And it might be more than just some memories too. Memories when awake aren't ever as vivid as your dreams, now are they? What could that mean? That dreams are more than just memories?

And what of dreams predicting the future? What about your fortune being interpreted from your dreams? Divination? I read in a book that if you dream about buckets, it forebodes an upcoming death. Of course it doesn't! I may not say the same thing after dreaming about a bucket and later learning of somebody's death, though. But what is a dream, anyway? I like this line from Wikipedia's page on dreams: "Dreams have been described physiologically as a response to neural processes during sleep, psychologically as reflections of the subconscious, and spiritually as messages from gods, the deceased, predictions of the future or from the Soul, for symbolism is the language of the Soul. "I'm not the most interesting or skilled conversationalist. Whether you start a conversation with me regarding your uncle's death or quantum physics, I will invariably steer the conversation towards movies. Don't ask why, I just do. Perhaps it's because I know more about movies than about anything else. Consider the topic at hand - dreams. I read a bit of this and a bit of that off the internet and I flipped through a few books and have garnered knowledge (possibly half-knowledge) on dreams. But my knowledge about dreams in the movies is certainly more than just half-knowledge. Movies have endlessly employed the 'dream sequence' trip, either for dramatic effect, for psychological exploration, or just for those goddamn cheap thrills. By cheap thrills, I refer to those corny horror movies in which a character gets stabbed by a creepy kook, only to wake up and find, 'Oh, it's just a dream!' These are dream sequences of the worst kind; just to induce momentary shudders, false alarms. I could mention the names of movies that have done this. I could mention them.

Horror movies can employ dream sequences effectively though, if they're clever enough. Take the example of " Rosemary's Baby," an excellent 1968 thriller ( Roman Polanski's Hollywood debut) in which the protagonist Rosemary is haunted by dreams that actually mean something to the story, including that terrifying dream in which she is raped by Satan. That kind of dream sequence plants the seed of doubt in your mind that keeps growing throughout the movie..."Did that really happen? Or was it just a dream?" It was obviously a dream. She wakes up safe and sound in bed. But why are there scars on her back? She wonders again if it really was just a dream. Her husband assures her it was; he was drunk last night, the scratches on her back are his fault. But the dream... she wonders. We wonder too. The film is surprisingly chilling for its time. Strike that - it's chilling for any time. Unfortunately, most horror movies rarely employ dream sequences worthily. Instead of taking inspiration from newer run-off-the-mill horror films, today's filmmakers should take a look at the classics like 'Rosemary's Baby'.

A newer horror film that utilized dreams cleverly is " Shutter Island," Martin Scorsese's latest film. Here, the dream sequence is applied to show the audience flashbacks and incidents from the characters' past. Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Teddy, experiences hallucinations and dreams which at first seem incoherent, but by the time the climax hits you, you'll realize that all the little pieces of dreams and visions form the pieces of a bigger puzzle. It was a very powerful movie, and I admired the dream sequences in it; they were so much like real dreams, they were bold, memorable images, and they all had some meaning. Second or third viewings of this underrated film will bring new insights...you'll realize little details in the dreams and hallucinations that all hint at the revelation at the climax of the film. If you haven't seen 'Shutter Island' yet, I urge you to.

Another thriller that effectively and prominently uses the flashback dream sequence is Alfred Hitchcock's 'Spellbound' (1945), a film I saw only recently. I really liked the movie as it keeps you guessing throughout. I shall not get into the workings of the plot; all you need to know for now is that it is the story of a man who is suffering from memory loss and a guilt complex, and there's a scene in which two doctors interpret one of his dreams to find some hints about his past. I thought the way they doctors discover vital clues to the mystery of the man's past solely from his dreams was ingenious. And oh, how wonderfully the plot works as well; the film is a true mystery.

The dream sequence in " Spellbound" was designed by renowned artist Salvador Dali, so you can imagine how beautiful and surreal the whole sequence was. It was extremely effective, and had the real feel of a dream. (Dali is one of my favorite artists, so to see a version of his art in motion was a delight). My only problem with "Spellbound" is a problem I also had with " Vertigo" - the love plots in both are ridiculous. Of course, you might beg to differ. Apart from movies that have dreams in them, there are movies that are about dreams themselves. A friend of mine recommended a movie 'Waking Life' to me, simply because it was created using a process known as rotoscopy, by which real-life footage is made to look like animation. It's somewhat like the 2-D artist's version of the 3-D artist's motion capture technique.

" Waking Life" is one of the best looking films I've seen. The images are memorable and very dream-like, with characters' features constantly shifting and evolving. The film follows a man who's in a constant lucid dream-state. A lucid dream is simply one in which the dreamer knows he's dreaming. So this man keeps meeting people in his dreams who converse with him. The film doesn't have any plot...it's simply these conversations with strangers (or are they?) and friends in his dreams that keeps the film going. And most of these conversations are absolutely fascinating. The conversations flow into each other, covering various aspects of philosophy, psychology and the human mind. And though some of these conversations don't make sense at first, repeat viewings will clear all the clutter. There are some interesting ideas presented in this most experimental film. They say you can't adjust light levels in your dreams. And that if you know you're dreaming, then you can control your dreams and do anything. "The trick," says one of the characters in the film, "is to combine your waking rational abilities with the infinite possibilities of your dreams. Because, if you can do that, you can do anything. The worst mistake that you can make is to think you're alive when really you're asleep in life's waiting room. Did you ever have a job that you hated and worked real hard at? A long, hard day of work. Finally you get to go home, get in bed, close your eyes and immediately you wake up and realize...that the whole day at work had been a dream. It's bad enough that you sell your waking life for minimum wage, but now they get your dreams for free."

There was a point of time I was obsessed with the film. I would watch segments of it repeatedly, trying to completely understand all the ideas presented in the film. It took me some time to realize that that isn't the way this film isn't meant to be experienced. "Waking Life" is not a textbook. It's a painted canvas. You aren't supposed to comprehend every syllable of the conversations; you're supposed to let the conversations wash over you and get you thinking. It doesn't matter if you didn't completely get all the new ideas presented to you - the point is to get some new ideas. I advise all thinkers out there to watch it. Do note: most people who have fed on pulp fiction, blockbusters and certain transforming automobiles might find it pretentious and boring. Then there's another film, " The Science of Sleep," which analyzes the nature of dreams. I haven't seen the whole film yet, but whatever I saw of it is quite interesting. The film follows an imaginative man who dreams a bit too much, if you ask me. The opening lines of the film grabbed me instantly: We are shown the main character, Stephane, as he hosts a cookery show in his dreams.

Hi, and welcome back to another episode of "Television Educative". Tonight, I'll show you how dreams are prepared. People think it's a very simple and easy process but it's a bit more complicated than that. As you can see, a very delicate combination of complex ingredients is the key. First, we put in some random thoughts. And then, we add a little bit of reminiscences of the day ... mixed with some memories from the past ... Love, friendships, relationships ... and all those "ships," together with songs you heard during the day, things you saw ... Okay, I think it's done. This film was directed by Michel Gondry, who also directed the excellent " Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," another high concept psychological film. Speaking of high concept psychological films...When you read the words 'Dreams' and 'Film' in the title of this article, you were asking for " Inception," weren't you? Of course you were.

My whole interest in dreams was recently renewed by 'Inception,'a film that took the 'dream sequence' and applied it to its plot unlike ever before. Sure, " The Matrix" also has several people in a shared virtual world, but that was a computer programme...this is a dream. And when you talk about dreams, you're talking about endless possibilities. That's why films employ dream sequences so much -- you can do anything to your characters, or show anything your audiences, in a dream sequence.'Inception,' as you should know by now, follows a group of thieves who extract information from the subconscious mind of their targets while they all dream. I won't go into the details of the plot as they are too tedious to explain. Besides, you must already know them by now. Since the film takes place in the world of dreams and involves characters going layers and layers in and out of labyrinthine dreams, you can never be too sure about any of your theories about the plot. Try sorting out how many possible theories there are. Once you get to a number, watch the movie again. What's the bet your number increases?

I loved the film's theories on dreams and several of their applications...the theory about dream time running faster than real time as your mind works faster when asleep. The theory about changes in the real world affecting the dream, like splashing water. The idea behind the totems. The idea behind people bringing projections of their subconscious into the dream space. I enjoyed how they applied impossible architecture and physics into the film too...especially the Penrose steps and the bending of Paris. Oh, how could I forget? That excellent hotel corridor fight.

The film challenged audiences to keep track with its dream-in-a-dream-in-a-dream-in-a-dream-and-so-on plot. And it begs the question..."How do we know we're awake? What if we're still dreaming?" What if? That being said, I have slight problems with 'Inception's...rule-bound nature. Somehow, I've always figured dreams to be senseless, incoherent mash-ups of ideas and images. 'Inception' is too straight to be about dreams. But maybe that's just me.On re-reading what I've written so far, some last minute thoughts strike me. I spoke about lucid dreams in this article (a dream in which the dreamer is aware he or she is dreaming). As you're dreaming, are you aware that you're dreaming? No matter how outrageous the content of your dream, it seems plausible and almost completely natural at that point of time, right? In that dream in which I was served stray dogs to eat at the hospital, it seemed commonplace to me as it happened. But I have had one lucid dream in my entire life. I was flying through a corridor...and a thought suddenly struck me. "I'm dreaming." Then I saw a signboard on the wall of the corridor. I tried to read it, well aware of the fact that you can't read in a dream. And for that little instant of time, I was certain I was dreaming. And I felt a strange sense of triumph. "According to 'Waking Life,' I should be able to control my dream now," I actually thought. And then, quite sadly, I woke up. I've never dreamt lucidly since. Another thought: I wrote that dreams are based on a person's past experiences and memories. Isn't interesting to wonder what a baby dreams about in all its hours of sleep? Maybe it dreams of its experiences in the womb? The music the mother listened to while pregnant? Race memories? I don't know. But then again, who knows for sure? One last thought: I read on Wikipedia that at least 95% of all dreams are not remembered. So you might think you remember your dreams, but most probably, you've forgotten most of them.So what did you dream about last night? Are you sure? Food for thought.

Drawing at top by Krishna Shenoi. Drawing of dripping figure by Aniruddh Menon.

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Dreams and films and dreams | Far Flungers | Roger Ebert

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No one is certain about dreams. If they tell you they are, they're either fooling you or themselves. There isn't a universally accepted definition of dreams. The whole idea behind them isn't wholly understood.

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https://www.123helpme.com/essay/The-Correlation-Between-Film-and-Dreams-187637

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When you stop to think about it, our ability to understand what goes on in a typical Hollywood film is shocking. Images jump from one to the next with little to no linearity. Perspectives jump around as if a person is spinning and floating around, and music and sounds emanate from nowhere and everywhere at once. The lights dim. Your body shifts about to get comfortable. It's not bed time however. It's time for a movie! The strong correlation between our film watching setting, and our dream making setting is too closely tied to be considered mere coincidence. Colin McGinn, author of The Power of Movies, in chapter four titled "Dreams on Film", says "A child has to learn to read before a literary narrative can be processed, but watching a film requires nothing much beyond the capacity to dream" (113). McGinn argues that the reasons we are able to understand film so easily and readily, is because of our ability to dream. In dreaming, we create visual fantasies that seem to reflect memories and images we experience in our own lives. We might wake up in a heavy sweat, a confused state of mind, or a smile on our face, and it is these same emotions that can be brought about by film. Our ability to create and consume film stems from our innate ability to imagine and understand dreams. Robert Rodriguez's film adaptation " Sin City" is a perfect case study of how film and dreams are interrelated.

To understand the connection between dreams and film, one must first understand what dreams are. Neurobiologically, dreams are visual spatial thoughts and images that are played out during the unconscious period of sleep. The forebrain is active, while a person remains unconscious. It is contested whether or not dreaming starts before the age of f...

... middle of paper ...

.... Jackie-Boy's blue car. The Yellow Bastard. Each image draws our attention and stirs up an unknown or minor feeling within.

In conclusion, Domhoff states that "...it needs to be stressed that there is little to no systematic evidence that dreams make use of the vast system of figurative thought available in waking life..." (13). It is at this point where he and I part ways. Though there has been no direct scientific study done, I would argue that movies are in fact dreams that make use of "the vast system of figurative thought available in waking life". Through the expressions of directors and film makers like Rodriguez, a vast array of our collective psyche is expressed and exposed. Each moment of surprise, lust, joy, et cetera, is capable of being captured in our two hour filmic experiences. Film is where our reality meets fantasy and our dreams become corporeal art

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When you stop to think about it, our ability to understand what goes on in a typical Hollywood film is shocking. Images jump from one to the next with little to no linearity. Perspectives jump around as if a person is spinning and floating around, and music and sounds emanate from nowhere and everywhere at once.

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An article linking dream to literature, includes some interetsing points

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An article linking dream to literature, includes some interetsing points

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"In world culture, folklore and literature, sleep is often equated with temporary death. Literary scholars view the dream as a second world, as an event that should happen or has already happened [...] and finally, as divine providence [...]. Thus, sleep is another world."

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https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-about-dreaming

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On the eve of World Sleep Day, we drift off into some of the cinema’s most hypnotic films about dreams.

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The Synergy of ‘Inception’ and ‘Paprika’

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The Synergy of ‘Inception’ and ‘Paprika’

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https://filmschoolrejects.com/inception-paprika-synergy/

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By Ciara Wardlow · Published on March 2nd, 2017

If you Google Christopher Nolan's (2010)and Satoshi Kon's (2006), you will find a number of articles and blog posts either wondering whether the former is a rip-off of the latter or flat-out accusing it of being so.

For different reasons, both of these approaches are flawed.

The problem with questioning the connection is that it's hardly a question. Though some sources claim Nolan has been quoted admitting Paprika's influence, I could not track down said quote from the director in my research. However, looking at Inception itself is sufficient proof of Paprika's influence ‐ just as Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) says in the film, "the subject can always trace the genesis of an idea." From the focus on dream-sharing technology to Ariadne's wardrobe to references to Greek mythology, physics-defying hallways, significant dream-elevators, and the choice of having a Japanese businessman (Saito) be the one to hire Cobb and the dream team, among other things, either Nolan was influenced by Paprika or it's the most remarkable case of artistic multiple discovery in cinematic history.

It is not difficult to understand where those calling Inception a rip-off of Paprika are coming from. Nolan and company should have been more forthcoming about their influences ‐ especially in light of Kon's death shortly after Inception's release. Similarly, the way that many, including a number of professional film critics, greeted Inception as some sort of paragon of originality would be understandably aggravating for those who knew better.

As a general rule of thumb, claiming originality tends to be a poor choice. People have been telling stories for thousands of years; if you've never encountered anything like it before odds are that reflects your limited experience as opposed to anything else. But more importantly, meaning comes through repetition: if you ever encountered something truly original you would have no idea what to make of it. When people say "original" they sometimes mean something more along the lines of creative, thought-provoking, or innovative ‐ all things which Inception could easily be called without disregarding Paprika 's significance.

But while I understand the irritation that inspired people to write about Inception as a Paprika rip-off, the way such an argument flattens the relationship between the films into terms of who-did-this-first and who-did-that-better belittles not just Inception, but Paprika. As is usually the case, there is more insight to be found in a thoughtful discourse than a screaming match. Through patterns we can infer greater meaning; putting the two films in dialogue provides an opportunity to understand more about both movies than looking at either independently.

To start looking at the significance that can be found by putting the films in dialogue, it is necessary to introduce a third player ‐ Surrealism. The most fascinating element of the relationship between Inception and Paprika is not their obvious similarities, but how these similarities can exist while the films are so fundamentally different: Inception is a film aesthetically inspired by Surrealism, while Paprika is a Surrealist film. If André Breton, the author of both Surrealist Manifestos, were still around today, he would likely respond to Paprika with tears of joy, and Inception tears of horror. While the term "Surrealism" today generally brings images to mind visual works of art ‐ perhaps by Dalí, or something that looks like it might as well be ‐ Breton's first Manifesto, published in 1924, actually specifies that Surrealism has no aesthetic. He defines the term thusly instead:

"[P]ure psychic automatism by means of which one intends to express, either verbally, or in writing, or in any other manner, the actual functioning of thought. Dictated by thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, free of any aesthetic or moral concern."

He similarly speaks of his belief in, "the future resolution of these two states, seemingly so contradictory, of dream and reality, in a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, so to speak."

Paprika visualizes just such a scenario in which dreams and reality have fully merged. Watching a parade of giant-sized idols and inanimate objects passing by, Detective Toshimi Konakawa asks, "Am I still dreaming?"

"Yes, the whole world is," one of two digital/dream bartenders (it's complicated) ‐ voiced by director Satoshi Kon ‐ answers calmly, appearing behind Konakawa out of nowhere just before two parking meters and a mailbox hop by. While this merging of dream and reality proves perilous for several characters ‐ protagonist Dr. Atsuko Chiba (a psychiatrist who enters her patient's dreams as her alter ego, Paprika) attempts to jump a fence in a dream and accidentally almost jumps off a balcony in real life, just as her supervisor Dr. Shima actually did earlier in the film. She is saved by colleague Dr. Morio Osanai, later revealed to be a co-conspirator with the evil Chairman, who is ultimately shot by Konawaka in a dream and killed in real life.

However, in spite all of this, the question of "what is real?" is never the film's central concern (though it is, interestingly enough, Inception's). Much like Kon's other three films, the central concern of Paprika is, instead, identity. Konakawa is preoccupied with discovering the identity of a mystery criminal, the central characters are motivated by the search for a rogue agent using a stolen DC Mini (dreamshare technology) to drive people insane, and Chiba's fractured sense of self is not just integral to the narrative, but one of the elements that drew Kon to take on the project (the film is an adaptation of a 1993 novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui).

Even when Kon's films do not deal quite so extensively with dreams - Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers (to a much lesser extent), and his television series Paranoia Agent -  they are known for their extremely dream-like qualities, made in part possible by Kon's editing, which fluidly transcends time and space in a way that comes across about as effortless as breathing (if you haven't seen Kon's films, Tony Zhou put together a video essay that highlights some of his most ingenious editing). Film theorists have made several different arguments as to just how his films manage to feel so incredibly dream-like, pulling from theorists ranging from Gilles Deleuze to Sigmund Freud, but no matter what divergent paths their arguments take, they all agree on the dream-like qualities that permeate his work.

On the other hand there's Inception. Whereas Kon was a filmmaker known for his dream "logic" before even truly tackling the subject of dreams in a film, Nolan intentionally crafted a film that inserted logic into dreams. "[W]hat the film tries to do is keep it in the realm of science fiction ‐ to keep it in the realm of the mechanical and the relatable so it doesn't become abstract and incomprehensible. There are rules to the way the characters use dreaming, which defines reality, which defines the dreams they enter," Nolan explained in an interview with his brother and frequent collaborator, Jonathan.

In the first Surrealist Manifesto, Breton decries at length what he refers to as the "incurable mania for reducing the unknown to the known," and if he were around today he would definitely count Nolan as among the afflicted. Just in case there are any remaining doubts about whether the man who literally defined the movement would consider Nolan's work at odds with Surrealism, I shall point out that Nolan justifies Inception 's focus on architects and architecture as protection against succumbing to "chaos and anarchy" while Breton became a literal anarchist, and leave it at that.

Inception's rather remarkable achievement of being both about dreams and in direct conflict with the ideals of the Surrealist movement is ultimately neither a weakness nor a strength ‐ it just is. Kon worked in liminal spaces, and therefore his films are difficult, even impossible, to truly pin down. Nolan chose to define his terms, so to speak, in order to be able to construct an argument. Of course, in building a more solid argument, he left room for more criticism: it's a lot easier to criticize something definite than something that defies description. Indeed, many of the most common criticisms of Inception relate directly to its desire for structure and specificity, such as the assignment of specific temporal relationships between dream layers.

One thing about Paprika that has received surprisingly little attention is its use of Hollywood references. The first time I saw the film, I spent the first minute or so wondering if I had accidentally put on the dubbed version because the first line is in English.

While the film, just like all of Kon's work, shows global influence ‐ you would be hard-pressed to find a better visualization of convergence culture, albeit a decidedly feverish one, than Paprika's dream parade ‐ it uses Hollywood references in a specific fashion established in the very first sequence of the film: i.e., they come up in the most fantastical dream sequences. These sometimes shot-for-shot homages to films ranging from Roman Holiday to From Russia With Love are perhaps not particularly remarkable in themselves, and Kon did address his use of Hollywood references in interviews:

I was brought up during the rapid economic development period in Japan, after the war, and the United States occupied Japan for a time. Many Japanese people were dreaming about having a Japan that was as plentiful as the United States seemed to be. Many people worked very hard in order to make a country that would be as rich as the United States. Naturally, many of us looked to Hollywood movies. These were movies where things seemed very bountiful. So the image sources I rely on, time and again, are Hollywood movies.

However, considering a character in Paprika describes "implanting dreams into other people's heads" as "terrorism" and how Hollywood is on occasion referred to as a dream factory, one would not have to look too hard to see a potential criticism ‐ or perhaps questioning ‐ of Hollywood influence. But I repeat: potential. After all, one of the many dream-like qualities of Kon's films is that they invite not so much analysis as interpretation with a grain of salt.

Even so, the fact that, of Kon's films, it is Paprika which has had the biggest influence on a big-budget Hollywood film ‐ one that itself has already proven quite influential, from the visuals of films like Doctor Strange to that " BRAAAM" sound beloved by trailers and action movies everywhere (Hans Zimmer apologizes for that, by the way) ‐ has a certain poetic quality to it.

Related Topics: Animation, Anime, Filmmaking

Recommended Reading

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The Synergy of 'Inception' and 'Paprika'

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By Ciara Wardlow · Published on March 2nd, 2017 If you Google Christopher Nolan's (2010)and Satoshi Kon's (2006), you will find a number of articles and blog posts either wondering whether the former is a rip-off of the latter or flat-out accusing it of being so.

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https://jungplatform.com/article/animation-experiencing-images-as-alive

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In the process of Animation, you tend to dream images as more than signs pointing to a particular answer, as Freud said, or symbols representing an archetypal meaning, as Jung offered. In animating the living images of your dream you experience them as also phenomenal, like living animals, with presence, pulse, and body. As James Hillman, an archetypal psychologist and thought leader in the field of dreams describes: dream images actually "personsonify the soul." That is, dream figures are living inhabitants of our soul life.

In Hillmans way of looking at dreams, you go beyond association and amplification to a new process called animation. In animation, you look for ways of experiencing dream images in their living, embodied reality. For example, the lion, rather than just referring to childhood rage or the universal archetype of nobility, now takes on a physical existence, actually present in the room, on the prowl, roaring with its fanged mouth, lashing its tail and licking its huge, furry paws. Furthermore, this is not like watching a lion in a movie, because in animation we are able to actually interact with the lion in "imaginal play," talk to it, ask it questions, pet its fur, hear what it has to say, and follow it through its habitat. It's a full-immersion, interactive experience.

Dream Tending Methods of Animation are based on the idea that dream images are alive. Methods of Animation return vitality to the dream image that is inherent to the image to begin with. You use Dream Tending Methods of Animation to "re-animate" or "resuscitate" dream images, that is, to bring back to life images that have otherwise been reduced to the medium of narrative, description or explanation.

Unlike the Personal Developmental Methods of Association which link dream images to other, similar life events, or Archetypal Methods of Amplification which enhance dream images through investigating similar symbolic references, methods of Animation focus on the actuality of the image. These methods explore the dream image as a living phenomenon in and of itself. You experience dream images as active, embodied, imaginal entities, with presence and pulse.

You discover that information about the dream is generated, therefore, not through an interpretive method of image-linking, nor an analytical process of image enhancement, but through an animating process of embodied correspondence between you and the dream image.

Another example: an elephant appears in a dream. In addition to considering the dream elephant from the personalistic point of view (elephant as representing my animal instinct), or from the perspective of the collective (elephant symbolizing a sacred animal or deity), the emphasis here is on the living, breathing activity of the elephant as a "living image" of the dream. You use methods of Animation to enliven the field of consciousness that exists between you and the dream image in order that the embodied presence of the image can be experienced as alive existing in an imaginal way in the room along with you.
To find more about methods of Animation, enroll in Stephen Aizenstat's course Tending the Dream Image. This beautifully produced, step-by-step course assists you in relieving pain, reclaiming your purpose, and reaching your soul's potential.

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Animation: Experiencing Images as Alive | Jung Platform

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In the process of Animation, you tend to dream images as more than signs pointing to a particular answer, as Freud said, or symbols representing an archetypal meaning, as Jung offered. In animating the living images of your dream you experience them as also phenomenal, like living animals, with presence, pulse, and body.

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Surrealism and animation? They go together like a lobster telephone

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Surrealism and animation? They go together like a lobster telephone

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https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jul/13/surrealism-and-animation-they-go-together-like-a-lobster-telephone-bunuel-and-the-labyrinth-of-turtles

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Surrealism and animation? They go together like a lobster telephone

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Parallel dream worlds open up, inanimate objects come to life: as a new Buñuel biopic shows, there are no rules to the medium

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https://www.winnipegfilmgroup.com/films/museum-of-lost-dreams-the/

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Synopsis

Sometimes I think of ages past,And things to come.All on display,In a Museum of Our Dreams

ABOUT US

The Winnipeg Film Group is an artist-run education, production, exhibition and distribution centre committed to promoting the art of cinema.

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Winnipeg Film Group : Museum of Lost Dreams, The

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Synopsis Sometimes I think of ages past,And things to come.All on display,In a Museum of Our Dreams The Winnipeg Film Group is an artist-run education, production, exhibition and distribution centre committed to promoting the art of cinema.

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Analysis of Visual Representations of Dreams in Films With Focus On Animation (2009)

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Analysis of Visual Representations of Dreams in Films With Focus On Animation (2009)

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https://www.scribd.com/document/30087924/Analysis-of-Visual-Representations-of-Dreams-in-Films-with-Focus-on-Animation-2009

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(FH) an der Babelsberg Film School

Dreams and Films

Analysis of Visual Representations of Dreams in
Films with Focus on Animation

Vorgelegt von: Sadun Kal

Matr.-Nr.: DA 0603191

1.Prüfer: Prof. Angela Kern

2.Prüfer: Matthias Haase

Berlin, den 10.09.09

N©! 2009
No copyright, no copyleft, no nothing. Feel free.

Abstract

1. Introduction

This thesis is concerned with visual representations of dreams in films; their general properties and the potential
meaning of animation in relation to them. Introductorily some background information is given, a practical
definition of dreams and an overview of the planned approach is provided.

1.1. Imagination and Reality

1.2. The Purpose of This Thesis

There is currently relatively little research done on the connection between films and dreams, and the majority of the
existent information has little to do with the visual aspects. This text should function as an introductory source into
this unexplored topic in the future.

1.3. Defining Dreams

Also particularly dreamlike features of abstract or surreal works of art are within the boundaries of this
research due to the visual relevance. When appropriate and useful, such works will be examined in the same
light as a representation of the dreams of a dreamer who is not directly visible within the artwork itself.

1.4. Overview

Following that the focus is more intensely on animation. Different qualities of various animation techniques and
live-action with regard to dream depictions in films are discussed. A basic overview of the advantages,
disadvantages, limits and possibilities of the techniques are given with help from selected examples.

In the final chapter the meaning of the thesis and the conclusions reached are be summarized.
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 7

2. General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams

2.1. Logic and Nature of the Dreams in Films

In a way all fictitious art is created in the longing for something that doesn't really exist. So most films are an
extension of reality; going beyond the reality. This in itself frees the filmmakers from some of the constraints of
reality. Films often stretch things in certain directions to reach a desired effect. Even if films pretend to show
something out of our reality they do not hesitate to exaggerate things and risk being implausible. The audience is
often prepared to cooperate and comply with the required stretch of imagination, because they also want to lose
themselves in new adventures. In movies the laws of the universe are deemed to be flexible whenever it seems
necessary.

2.1.1. Regular Dreaming

Michel Gondry's Science of Sleep (2006) is a movie within which the nature of dreams has been intentionally
explored in an experimental fashion. The story takes place in the real world2, but it's a film rich with dream
sequences. Those sequences emphasize the irrational nature of the dreams occurring during sleep: For example at
the beginning of a dream the main character Stephane is shown as the host of his own nonsensical TV cooking show
in his dreams. In the bizarre studio the walls and all the technical equipments are made of cardboards and the walls
are covered with egg cartons. (Fig. 1) As the host of the cooking show he says that he'll show the imaginary
audience how dreams are prepared. He mixes things like "memories", "random thoughts", "reminiscences of the
day", which are represented in forms of food substances, and cooks them. Once the "dream" is done he goes towards
an opening in the studio -a blue screen- and disappears into the dream he just prepared. He goes from the first stage
of his dream to a deeper state. And the dreams can have a very associative, essentially irrational, chaotic structure.
People may speak in various non-existent languages with differing accents and their lips don't match the sounds
they make. The size, form and location of everything can change rapidly and the universal laws of nature seem
flexible. Lifeless objects can move on their own and the gravity isn't of much concern.

Similarly in another one of Gondry's films, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), the viewer follows the
main character Joel through a long, unusual dream-like process. In a depressed state Joel wants to forget all about
his girlfriend Clementine. So he seeks help from a company which offers such a service. He takes some sleeping
pills and after he falls asleep the technicians of the company arrive to begin the procedure: to erase his memories
which are related to his girlfriend. The audience witnesses what's going on in Joel's head during that process and
again it becomes clear that he is no longer in the "real world" of the movie. The locations and people suddenly
change. Joel sees himself from outside living the memories in his mind. As the memories are being erased one by
one things get quite bizarre: One of Clementine's legs disappear while she's walking, and then she disappears
entirely. And sometimes the faces of the people or any other object may disappear. At one point Joel runs after
Clementine. But paradoxically no matter towards which direction Joel runs to reach her, he seems to arrive at the
point where he started out from. Sometimes time progresses faster, slows down or is reversed. When the character
goes back to his childhood memories he becomes smaller but not younger; he's still the same middle-aged guy only
as tall as a child, and he behaves and is perceived by others in the memory like the child he was.

Figure 1: Science of Sleep (2006) - Stephane "cooked" a dream in his mind and he's entering a second stage of
dreaming through the blue screen. The screen to the left shows how the finished dream will supposedly look with a
background replacing the blue screen.

Even just these two examples clearly indicate that all kinds of rules can be flexible in dreams, or in other words
there aren't necessarily any objective rules. Only a subjective, very person-specific and loose logical structure seems
to exist.

Figure 2: Spellbound (1945) - The dream sequence from the film is designed by the surrealist painter Salvador Dali
and it's visually dominated by his artistic influence.

Apart from the usual sleep induced dreams or daydreams there are also various other kinds of dreams in films.
Dreams are not always the products of a sleeping mind, or a mind that can be considered "ill" or "insane". An
altered perception or altered states of consciousness can also drive a character in a film away from the film's reality.

2.1.2. Technological Dreaming

In Dreamscape (1984), The Cell (2005) and the animated feature Paprika (2006) technological devices enable
researchers to enter other people's dreams, instead of determining the content of the dreams. So basically these are

2.1.3. Supernatural Dreaming

This section is about the dreams which seem to be influenced by some forces which are not believed to exist by the
vast majority of today's scientific authorities. These too have certain characteristics which distinguish them from
regular dreams.

The science fiction film Minority Report (2002) has a trio of introverted psychics. They float all day long in an

isolation chamber and usually do nothing but try to foresee the future. Their visions are recorded by a high-tech
specialized police department in order to prevent murders before they can even happen. 6

All in all supernatural dreams are, in comparison to regular dreams, less about a fluid imagination activity and more
about interactions of supernatural kind.

2.1.4. Hallucinations and Delusions

This section is about imagination activities that take place even when the "dreamer" is awake and is not supposed to
be dreaming under common conditions. The uncommon conditions may be caused by various mind-altering
substances or they may be unusual mental conditions.

The science fiction A Scanner Darkly (2006) features also a group of drug addicts. The film starts with a character
obsessively trying to wash off illusionary insects from his and his dog's body. Similar hallucinations occur a few
times throughout the film.

Another interesting example is The Bear (1988) where a bear cub wonders off into the forest and naively eats a few
red mushrooms. It is briefly shown how his perception is altered as he lays down, freaks out and watches a colorful
mushroom fly and morph above his head.

An exception to that description may be the hallucination sequences in Blueberry (2004). The film features very

Then there are also deluded characters like Gollum in Lord of the Rings and Tyler Durden in Fight Club (1999) that
seem to have multiple identities. But in these films such delusions are shown from the perspective of the characters
and accordingly they aren't depicted any differently than the film's reality. For example when the characters talk to
themselves the film shows either two equally real looking characters talking to each other, which is what the
characters believe is happening, or the deluded person talking to himself, which is what's really happening. But both
scenarios don't result in any obvious visual distinctions between two personas, because one either believes in the
existence of both equally, or knows that one of them doesn't really exist. The place between two perspectives of
reality is mostly skipped and there are just jumps between the two. It's also similar in A Beautiful Mind (2001)
where the protagonist develops schizophrenia instead of a multiple personality disorder. This time the character is
once again talking to himself but the responses to him are only in his head, despite being presented differently
throughout the film. The imaginary people are indicated to be imaginary only later in the film when they seem to
appear and disappear or move from place to place without a rational explanation.

2.2. Themes and Narrative Roles

2.2.1. Dream as the Object of Interest

One reason may be that the dream's content alone is considered valuable enough to show even if it doesn't seem to
have any significant implication on the flow of the story that takes place outside the dream.

All the film adaptations of the novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll, 1865), like the famous
Disney version Alice in Wonderland (1951), are not interesting because of Alice's reality, but interesting because of
the fantastic adventure in Wonderland, which is just the product of Alice's dream.

In another animated film, The Triplets of Belleville (2003) there are a few dream sequences which are very short and
appear to be totally irrelevant to the plot: they're just interesting for other reasons. Similar examples can be found in
Big Lebowski and Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985).

8
The dreams in books and other forms of storytelling are also no different in that regard.
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 16

But of course dreams are not always that disconnected from a filmic narration of a fictional story.

2.2.2. General Narrative Purposes

much improvised and dependent on the characters' thoughts at the time of the telling. It is similar to a lucid
dreaming experience where the dreamer is aware that it is a dream, and can consciously manipulate the content of
the dream.

What follows will be a closer look at a few of the more specific and common themes that can be encountered in
filmic dreams. For example with all the freedom the dreamers have, it is common to see cases of wish fulfillment
and various fantasies in dreams.

2.2.3. Wish Fulfillment and Fantasy

One basic form of wish fulfillment is the act of flying and it's often seen in dreams. Since the laws of nature within
dreams are not necessarily the same as in reality, flight is a suitable choice for directly demonstrating that freedom.

Such examples indicate a sense of supernatural power -much like angels- and a certain convenience for the dreamer.
When flying they can see things from a much higher perspective and travel a lot faster and more freely than they
could've by foot.

In High Fidelity (2000) and Requiem for a Dream (2000) characters seem to briefly imagine committing acts of
absurd violence against someone they dislike when in fact they're just silently -but angrily- standing in front of the
disliked person.

Another unusual example for a wish fulfillment dream can be seen in one of Pixar's early animated shorts Red's
Dream (1987) where a unicycle dreams of being the star of a circus when it's actually just sadly sitting in a bike
shop and hoping to be bought by somebody.

In contrast with various forms of wish fulfillment, there are also the infamous nightmares; the fulfillment of fears in
dreams.

2.2.4. Nightmares

When the emotional outcome of a dream is clearly unpleasant for the dreamer then such negative dreams are usually
described as nightmares. Sometimes the discomfort reaches such a high degree that the dreamer wakes up from the
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 19

dream.

Today the most popular treatment of filmic nightmares is arguably with Freddy Kruger from A Nightmare on Elm
Street (1984) and all its sequels. The main premise of the movie is that the mysterious and scary "Freddy" character,
who is actually supposed to be a long-dead child murderer, surfaces in teenagers' nightmares, through which he can
somehow influence the real life and violently murder real people. Although Freddy doesn't directly represent his
victims' specific fears in their waking life, he is designed in a stereotypically horrifying way (disfigured psychopath
with a metal-clawed glove, odd abilities and unconventional tendencies). He doesn't have any difficulty scaring all
his victims "to death" even if they've never known him before, because his image and actions resonate with certain
universal fears present in humans. In an interview the director Wes Craven, creator of Freddy and the Elm Street
series, states that while designing Freddy's metal claw he was "looking for a primal fear which is embedded in the
subconscious of people of all cultures... the claw of an animal, like a saber-toothed tiger reaching with it's
tremendous hooks. I transposed this into a human hand."13 In other words it doesn't matter whose dream Freddy
haunts for the typical audience to be able to understand and relate to the victims' fears.

In comparison to that, the horror Pee-wee experiences in his nightmare in Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) in
reaction to what a few people in clown-like appearance do with a red bike would be harder to understand if one
doesn't know enough about what Pee-wee is like and what he went through.

2.2.5. Reality vs. Dream

A few examples for films that start with a dream only to later reveal the dream sequence for what it was are Total
Recall (1990), The Cell (2000), Paprika (2006), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Fellini's 8½ (1954) and
some of the films from the Nightmare on Elm Street series.

If the dream -or at least its beginning- is not visibly too contrasting to the reality of the film, or if the transition
between the two is smooth enough, a dream can also be introduced without warning at any point in the film and still
manage to confuse the audience, at least temporarily.

Films like Identity (2003) and Fight Club (1999) show things through the viewpoint of a character with dissociative

14
Except that it is arguably the dream of the real-world filmmakers.
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 22

identity disorder (multiple personality disorder), consequently many of the things shown are actually only in the
character's mind. But since this is not readily observable until the end of the film, it results in a false sense of reality.

In Total Recall, right at the happy end of the film, the audience is again forced to consider the possibility that the
whole adventure may have just been a dream when the last thing the protagonist says to his lover is "I just had a
terrible thought: What if this is a dream?".

In Waking Life (2001) what is real, or if anything at all is real, is even more unclear. The film ends like it all might
have been the lucid dream of the protagonist, but it's never clarified. It is rather a philosophical exploration of
various ideas and is not meant to have a logical, reality-like continuity and structure.

"The more she read the more she realized what she had in her hands was nothing more or less than her life
itself. That everything she experienced and thought was bound within these pages. There was no movie.
There was only... her... life."

So the film isn't only self-referencing while pretending to document the reality, it's also using this twisted structure

15
Wes Craven's line in the film while he's playing himself.
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 23

against the characters in the film -who are supposedly real people- to increase tension, and all of that is happening
through dreams or in dreams, within a film.

On top of all that, along with Wes Craven and Heather Langenkamp, also both Freddy Krueger and the actor Robert
Englund who always played Freddy are credited as having played themselves, as if Freddy Krueger is a real person.

All these examples demonstrate that the notion of dreams provide plenty of opportunities for coming up with
intriguing, thought-provoking premises in films. They help the viewers question and ironically understand the nature
of the reality better.

2.2.6. Other

What follows are a few unique cases which can't easily be put into categories but deserve mentioning. They are
interesting for different reasons:

In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), where the main character Joel's memories are being erased from
his mind while he's asleep and dreaming, his doctor earlier explains to him that by the time he wakes up in the
morning the targeted memories will be gone "as in a dream upon waking". 16 During the process Joel goes back and
forth between unconsciously living the dream and being consciously aware of the dream. He's jumping from one
memory to the other and watches the memories that are related to his girlfriend Clementine disappear one by one.
Eventually he comes to realize that some memories are just too precious to forget and regrets his decision. He wants
to cancel the erasure process, but unfortunately he can't wake up and tell the technicians to stop it. From that point
on he struggles to save a few memories of his girlfriend: At first he's in panic and all he can think of is to hold her
hand and to run to someplace else in his mind. But he only jumps from one memory with her to another. So the
computer, which has a map of all of his memories with Clementine in it, tracks them wherever they go and erases
the memory, along with Clementine. After a while, realizing that this strategy isn't working well, he stops to think.
In his dream he starts to chat with his girlfriend about the problem and she comes up with the idea 17 that she should
be hidden in a memory which actually doesn't have anything to do with her. So Joel takes her back to her childhood
memories, which, he assumes, should be safe from the erasing machine because they aren't a part of the electronic

The last example is from the animated feature Horton Hears a Who (2008). There is a scene in the film where
Horton the elephant seems to falsely believe that he's falling down a bridge when in reality he isn't moving at all.

2.3. Visuals

2.3.1. Transitions

Certain transition examples that seem to stand out from the majority will be mentioned below, in order to give a
general idea about the creative spectrum of dream-related transition techniques.

One of the classical methods used for a transition into filmic dreams is the tunnel-like fast motion effect, as if a long
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 26

Figure 3: Two examples of a tunnel-like transition into a dream. The frame on the left is from Dreamscapes (1984)
and the one on the right from The Cell (2000).

A similar effect can also be obtained by extremely fast editing. Showing flashes of distinctly different frames for
very short periods of time (i.e. 1/24 of a second) can visually overwhelm and absorb the viewer similar to tunnel-
like effects.

In Blueberry (2004) there are multiple transitions between various stages of the intense dream/hallucination the
protagonist experiences and the sequence features also a combination of various transition effects, starting with the
increasing superimposition of the animated hallucination layers onto the layer of the live-action footage.

Such transitions out of the dream, where the reality seems to leak into the dream right before the end, are usually
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 28

much less visual, and more sound-based instead.20

Figure 4: Two frames from "Stay". On the left side two characters standing on the bridge are visible. The hazy
stripes are already affecting the look of the scenery. On the right: the close-up of a character at the most dreamy
moment, right before the end of the dream.

This is a stylish combination of various effects and an impressive ending for the dream part. That the dream
becomes so dreamlike only at the very end creates a dramatic contrast too.

Otherwise stylistic morphs between distinctly different images as in Hulk (2003), where a combination of distortion,
dissolve and particle effects are used, are also visually significant.

2.3.2. Blur and Visual Vagueness

Usually dreams are regarded as being visually more vague and unclear than humans' perception of reality. This is
also reflected in films. Various blur effects can be commonly seen in dream sequences.

In fact it is apparently so common that in a 1963 interview Hitchcock says that he didn't want to "resort to the old-
fashioned blurry edged and so forth" look when shooting the dream sequences in Spellbound (1945) and he doesn't
sound like he's impressed by the look of John Huston's Freud (1962) where the blurry edged look was used during

dreamy flashback sequences. Instead, he says that he wanted to make his dream sequences "needle-sharp, compared
with the rest of the picture", which was "slightly diffused", so that he can create a "vivid dream". He also states that
he "wanted to work with Dali because of the architectural sharpness of his work." 21

A more extreme version of distortion can be seen in the dream sequences of the animated feature Paprika (2006),
where the objects themselves are clearly being deformed and not just the way they look. This directly affects the
characters interaction with the objects.

Another common method for creating what are considered dreamlike visuals is through combining multiple layers
of video in various ways.

An installation project by Lynne Sanderson called Lucid Touch, where a dream is simulated after the participant
touches a "bioreactive sculpture" 22, relies primarily on this technique: On top of a relatively stable base layer, there

Figure 5: On the left: Flatliners (1990) - A collage of female figures with 4 recognizable layers. On the right: Stay
(2005) - A more complex composited combination of various layers and effects.

2.3.3. Time and Motion

electrical energy controls video effects and sound." (Source: http://sustenance.va.com.au/LucidTouch/statem.htm

[Accessed on September 2009])
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 31

2.3.4. Fog and Clouds

Smokes, clouds or layers of mist are also often included to create a more paradisiacal look or to add a sense of
mystery to the dream by reducing what's visible in the distance.

In general, because the filmmakers often try to create an unusual atmosphere their dream sequences in various ways,
smoke-like atmospheric effects are relatively popular tools for emphasizing a certain mystery or supernaturalism.

2.3.5. Color and Look

In Living in Oblivion -a film about filmmaking- although as earlier mentioned the dreams are revealed to be dreams
only after the dreamer wakes up, general color shifts are used in an interesting way: The film starts in black and
white and continues that way as the dream of a film director, except for the parts where things are shown from the
camera's point of view within the dream. In those moments it temporarily switches to color but then continues in
black & white. After the director of the film -within the film- wakes up in his bed the film switches to color and it's
revealed that all that has happened on the set was just a dream. Then while it continues in color, although it is not
revealed to the audience, a second dream starts without any change in color. But the camera's point of view within
the dream is now shown in black & white. So the relationship between color and the filmed vs. apparent reality in
the two dreams are the opposite of each other. The film returns to the reality after the second dreamer wakes up.
This time no change in color occurs and the film continues in color. The camera's view in the first dream, the
second dream's reality and the reality of the film are in color while the first dream's reality and the camera's view in
the second dream were black & white. This tricky play with colors makes the film more intriguing. But an effect like
this wouldn't be appropriate for too many films. So this is a very film-specific visual strategy for depiction of
dreams.

Apart from such obvious changes in color, often more subtle changes in the visual appearance of hue, saturation,
brightness and contrast of the images create a distinction between the dreams and the reality of films. How the
difference is emphasized depends very much on artistic preferences, rather than a strict traditional logic.

Figure 6: On the left side is the real version of a key event in Twelve Monkeys (1995). On the right side how the
dreamer remembers the same event in his dreams.

24
In section 2.1.3. Supernatural Dreaming
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 34

Figure 7: What Dreams May Come (1998). After his death Chris (Robin Williams) finds himself in the 'painted
world'. While excitedly walking around he sinks into a pool of paint.

2.3.6. Contextual Design

The aspect of contextual design is actually where the animated dreams especially stand out in comparison to their
live-action counterparts, due to the artistic freedom of the animation. But the selected examples of certain animated
films are examined separately in a later chapter, and this section's focus is primarily on live-action films.

possible, and the dynamics in modern life (e.g. laws, reason etc.) actually prevent such things from happening.
Therefore it's something relatively new to the human eyes and attracts attention.

Figure 8: Left: The slices of the horse are pulled away from each other in The Cell (2000). Right: A jellyfish swarm
gently swimming in the air above a desert wasteland in Hulk (2003).

Tito: Why does my character have to be a dwarf?

Nick: He doesn't have to be.
Tito: Then why is he? Is that the only way you can make this a dream, to put a dwarf in it?
Nick: No, Tito, I...
Tito: Have you ever had a dream with a dwarf in it? Do you know anyone who's had a dream with a dwarf
in it? No! I don't even have dreams with dwarves in them. The only place I've seen dwarves in dreams is in
stupid movies like this! "Oh make it weird, put a dwarf in it!". Everyone will go "Woah, this must be a
fucking dream, there's a fucking dwarf in it!". Well I'm sick of it! You can take this dream sequence and
stick it up your ass!
General Characteristics of Filmic Dreams | 36

All in all dream sequences regularly feature figures, objects and events which stand out with their eccentricity,
improbability or implausibility, if observed objectively. Yet during the film these may invoke a sense of wonder,
surprise or horror.

A similar example can be seen in Brazil, where the real-life adventures of the protagonist are retold in his dreams in
a symbolic way with the protagonist represented as the angelic hero in knight armor, the difficulties he faces as huge
blocks of stone, strange creatures or a giant samurai.

25
In section 2.3.1. Transitions.
The Role of Animation | 37

3. The Role of Animation

In this chapter the meaning of animation in relation to the dreams in films is examined. Starting with its place in
live-action dreams, animation's advantages and disadvantages is briefly discussed. Following that some examples
for animation use in films are presented to establish the distinguishing qualities of 2D and 3D animation methods.

3.1. Animation and Live Action Dreams

Apart from that, traditional 2D animation can be seen on its own in the mostly-live-action nightmare sequence of
Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) used for depicting a surreally dissolving bunch of flowers right at the beginning of the
nightmare.

Both 2D and 3D computer graphics are integrated into the live-action-based dream sequences of films like The Cell
(2000), Blueberry (2004), Hulk (2003) and Watchmen (2009) in various ways, which enable the sequences to
acquire higher levels of surrealism.27

In addition to the apparent advantages of animation mentioned in the examples above, certain animation methods, if
truly detached from live-action, can give the artists a more special kind of freedom with benefits that are very
relevant to the art of depicting all kinds of dreams.

3.2. Advantages of Animation

All this indicates that animation is a very suitable medium when it comes to creating surreal and supernatural
imageries that are characteristic of dreams. But this freedom comes with a cost of course.

3.3. Disadvantages of Animation

Then there is also the challenging task of animating the character. Even if motion-capturing is used instead of
animating by hand, it's at the present usually still a complicated process with a lot of limitations and complications.

surreal fighting sequences in The Matrix Reloaded (2003) where multiple versions of a single character are supposed
to appear in the same scene doing extremely acrobatic moves.

With all that being said the potential of animation is still very valuable. And in the next chapter the consequences of
the freedom provided by it will be explored further in relation to the visual representations of dreams.

3.4. Selected Animation Examples and Further Discussion

When it comes to dreams, fantasies and other forms of surreal or abstract themes, the advantages animation offer
makes it a very interesting tool. Apart from time, budget and manpower the only thing that can limit what can be
done with animation is basically a lack of imagination.

An overview of a few striking examples of animation are given below in order to emphasize the advantages the
medium brings when it comes to dream representations:

Various forms of dream sequences can also be seen in 3D animation projects.

Figure 9: Two frames from the dream sequence in Kung Fu Panda (2008). The one on the right shows the Panda
just before falling down and waking up from his dream.

Such combinations of multiple techniques are not uncommon among animated 3D films.

Horton Hears a Who! (2008) from Blue Sky Studios also depicts the imaginary parts of the film in 2D: One
sequence in Japanese anime style and two very short sequences in a simple mostly black and white drawing style.

One of the significant examples would be the animated short 1001 Nights (1998) where CG is used for relatively
rigid structures while the rest of the fluid animation is hand-drawn and painted.

audience to let go of their most common assumptions to be able to relate to the characters' experiences throughout
all the dreams.

Figure 10: Paprika (2006) - The parade of combined dreams is marching through the real city.

This general analysis can help understand the dynamics behind artistic decision making related to the topic of
dreaming in motion pictures. Since the art of filmmaking is still relatively young in comparison to other art forms
like painting or writing, this work also inevitably reflects the cultural and artistic perspective of modern humans on
dreams, even though it didn't distinguish between examples from early 20 th century and 21st century. The way
modern films handle dreams is certainly very different from the interpretations in ancient writings.35 The artists'
approach to dreams is likely to continue going through dramatic changes in the future too, as indicated by films like
Science of Sleep (2006) with its elegant confusedness. As scientific researchers further our understanding of human
dreams and other activities related to imagination, as the minds' mysteries dissolve in time, the filmmakers will have
a hard time using the dream sequences as multi-functionally as they do today (See section 2.2. Themes and
Narrative Roles). For example the implausibility of supernatural dreams or dreams without fluent structures are
likely to increase. Dream sequences with significantly more illogical structures are likely to become more common
and significant scientific developments with regard to the visual characteristics of dreams also might occur. In that
regard it could be interesting to look back on this text years from now for observing the cultural progress throughout
time, and how that will be reflected in future art forms.

Apart from that, the role of animation has been emphasized because of its significance in relation to the depictions
of the imaginary. The difference of the level of creative freedom between live-action and animation is not to be
ignored. It is worth noting that the 2D traditional animation techniques are not advancing as significantly as 3D
animation technologies. The flexibility of 3D animation is likely to continue increasing and its costs decreasing. So
the freedom of 3D animation could eventually surpass the level of freedom offered by traditional 2D animation on
all levels and be affordable at the same time. In that case the imagination of artists can be set even more loose than it
is today, which would create more room for dreams in visual arts. As time passes, as much as some artists may aim
for photorealism, many are likely to stretch the boundaries of human dreams. And developing animation techniques
ease the process of bringing the craziest dreams to life. Whether or not the new creations will be sold as alternative
realities or dreams within those realities, the future of films will have more room for more imaginative, creative, and
therefore dreamlike content. In that respect it is important for artists to understand and effectively use the potential
animation has for depicting the imaginary, and of course the potential of the imaginary itself, which is the reason for
depicting it.

37
See for some basic information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction
47

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Chris Colombus, 2001)

Eragon (Stefen Fangmeier, 2006)
Dark City (Alex Proyas, 1998)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam, 1998)
A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater, 2006)
The Bear (Jean-Jacques Annaud, 1988)
Blueberry (Jan Kounen, 2004)
Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)
Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001)
Alice in Wonderland (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1951)
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
1001 Nights (Mike Smith, 1998)
Ten Nights of Dreams (Yoshitaka Amano, Kon Ichikawa, Akio Jissoji, Masaaki Kawahara, Suzuki Matsuo, Miwa
Nishikawa, Atsushi Shimizu, Takashi Shimizu, Keisuke Toyoshima, Yûdai Yamaguchi, Nobuhiro Yamashita, 2006)
The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet, 2003)
Pee Wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985)
Dreams (Akira Kurosawa, 1990)
Manchurian Candidate (John Frankenheimer, 1962)
Millennium Actress (Satoshi Kon, 2001)
The Big Fish (Tim Burton, 2003)
The Wild (Steve Williams, 2006)
The Fall (Tarsem Singh, 2006)
Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (Michael Radford, 1984)
Cinderella (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, 1950)
8½ (Federico Fellini, 1954)
Vanilla Sky (Cameron Crowe, 2001)
High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000)
Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998)
Red's Dream (John Lasseter, 1987)
Terminator 2 (James Cameron, 1991)
Terminator 3 (Jonathan Mostow, 2003)
| 50

Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009)

Braveheart (Mel Gibson, 1995)
Cars (John Lasseter, Joe Ranft, 2006)
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Hironobu Sakaguchi, Moto Sakakibara, 2001)
Jacob's Ladder (Adrian Lyne, 1990)
Stay (Marc Forster, 2005)
Identity (James Mangold, 2003)
Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, Original Release 1985, Director's Cut 1992)
Horton Hears a Who (Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino, 2008)
Sherlock, Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)
Fantasia (James Alga, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe, Norman Ferguson, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson,
Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, 1940)
Toy Story 2 (John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich, 1999)
Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
Hulk (Ang Lee, 2003)
Freud (John Huston, 1962)
City of Lost Children (Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
Los Olvidados (Luis Buñuel, 1950)
Twelve Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)
Slipstream (Anthony Hopkins, 2007)
Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton, 1999)
Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991)
Aliens (James Cameron, 1986)
The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)
Twin Peaks (David Lynch, TV series 1990-1991)
Fantasia 2000 (James Algar, Gaëtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Don Hahn,
Pixote Hunt, 1999)
Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen, 1941)
Ratatouille (Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, 2007)
Kung Fu Panda (Mark Osborne, John Stevenson, 2008)
Destino (Dominique Monfery, 2003)
WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
| 51

Eidesstaatliche Erklärung

Berlin, 10.09.09
| 52

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Analysis of Visual Representations of Dreams in Films with Focus on Animation (2009)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Analysis of Visual Representations of Dreams in Films with Focus on Animation Matr.-Nr.: DA 0603191 N©! 2009No copyright, no copyleft, no nothing. Feel free. Abstract 1. Introduction This thesis is concerned with visual representations of dreams in films; their general properties and the potentialmeaning of animation in relation to them.

# data[].attributes.headline
Satoshi Kon's Millennium Actress: A Feminine Journey with Dream-Like Qualities

# data[].attributes.subject
Satoshi Kon's Millennium Actress: A Feminine Journey with Dream-Like Qualities

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275477729_Satoshi_Kon's_Millennium_Actress_A_Feminine_Journey_with_Dream-Like_Qualities

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ResearchGate is a network dedicated to science and research. Connect, collaborate and discover scientific publications, jobs and conferences. All for free.

# data[].attributes.headline
THE DREAM SCREEN:AN ARTISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE REPRESENTATION OF DREAMSIN CINEMA

# data[].attributes.subject
THE DREAM SCREEN:AN ARTISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE REPRESENTATION OF DREAMSIN CINEMA

# data[].attributes.body
https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/34572/1/MisiaMormina_10120289.pdf

# data[].attributes.headline
Consciousness and Reality Through Animation in Satoshi Kon’s ‘Paprika’ (2006)

# data[].attributes.subject
Consciousness and Reality Through Animation in Satoshi Kon’s ‘Paprika’ (2006)

# data[].attributes.body
https://movies.mxdwn.com/feature/consciousness-and-reality-through-animation-in-satoshi-kons-paprika-2006/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Consciousness and Reality Through Animation in Satoshi Kon’s ‘Paprika’ (2006) -

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For over the last hundred years, the subconscious mind has been of interest to artists and scientists all over the world. From art movements like surrealism to the introduction of Freudian psychoanalysis, the relationship between the subconscious and conscious reality has been a heavily investigated…

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykBhVybQZIw

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-IcNvi2T0Q

# data[].attributes.body
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WesternAnimation/WakingLife

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Waking Life is a 2001 semi-animated film by Richard Linklater. The plot follows a young man walking through a lucid dream where he observes and enters into dialogue about lofty philosophical concepts and theories. The film itself was initially shot on digital video, and then drawn over by a team of animators. The resulting look is fairly unique, and manages to evoke dream-like imagery on a shoestring budget.

Despite lacking a traditional plot, visuals, or even trained actors, the film won a great deal of praise for its innovation and unique look. Roger Ebert would add it to his list of Great Movies in 2009.

This rotoscoped animation provides examples of:

Ambiguously Brown: The Dreamer, played by Wiggins.

Arc Words: "Dream is destiny."

All Just a Dream: Inverted. It's the point of the plot, not a plot point.
Played with by Speed Levitch:

Speed: And as one realizes... that one is a dream figure in another person's dream, that is self-awareness!

Armor-Piercing Question:

Louis Mackey: What are these barriers that keep people from reaching anywhere near their real potential? The answer to that can be found in another question and that's this: Which is the most universal human characteristic: fear, or laziness?

Author Appeal: Richard Linklater is very passionate about philosophy. He's also admitted that his lucid dreaming played a part in the writing. His last scene has him discussing Philip K. Dick's Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said. He would go on to adapt Dick's A Scanner Darkly, using the same rotoscoped animation.

Bookends: The beginning and end of the movie take place at the same house and the same car. Only in the end, the Dreamer is unable to hold onto the car door.

Call-Back: When the dream transforms into a nightmare, several characters reappear as different characters.

The Cameo:

Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play their characters from Before Sunrise and Before Sunset in one scene, also written and directed by Linklater.

As mentioned above, Alex Jones, the fringe political radio host, basically plays himself for one scene.

Two Creator Cameos; Linklater is the other hitcher on the boatship at the beginning and the pinball player that speaks with the main character near the end.

The woman who talks about her life in the past tense played Wiggins' mother in Dazed and Confused.

Steven Prince appears as the man with the gun talking to the bartender, best known for his associate with Martin Scorsese, and whose stories were "borrowed" by Quentin Tarantino for scenes in Pulp Fiction.

Cloudcuckoolander:

The old man on the telephone pole. Deconstructed by a group of characters who muse they're no better than the old man:

Man #1: Stupid bastard.

Man #2: No worse than us. He's all action, no theory. We'll all theory, no action.

Speed Levitch isn't acting in the film - he's as off-kilter in person as in the film. In fact, several hours were shot of Speed's rambling, and edited to make sense.

Contemplate Our Navels: Pretty much the whole point.

Creator Cameo: Linklater, twice. Lampshaded by The Dreamer.

Creepy Monotone: "I remember where I came from and how I became a human. Why I hung around. And now my final departure is scheduled. This way out. Escaping velocity. Not just eternity, but infinity."

Dead All Along: One interpretation, but by no means the only one. The Dreamer frets about it near the end, telling his fears to the pinball playing man.

TV Woman: All through the centuries, the notion that life is wrapped in a dream has been a pervasive theme of philosophers and poets. So doesn't it make sense that death, too, would be wrapped in dream? That, after death, your conscious life would continue in what might be called, "a dream body"? It would be the same dream body you experience in your everyday dream life. Except that in the post-mortal state, you could never again wake up, never again return to your physical body.

The waltzers near the end of the film seem to be engaged in a The Dead Can Dance: danse macabre.

Deranged Animation: Done specifically to emulate the feeling that you're dreaming.

Despair Event Horizon: When The Dreamer wakes up from a dream to find himself in another dream once too often, he despairs and starts to think he's already dead.

Dream Within a Dream: The entire film.

Empathic Environment: As The Dreamer grows depressed, and the subject starts to broach the subject of death, the world similarly becomes darker and more forboding, as the soundtrack starts to become more dissonant and threatening.

According to the pinball player, saying "yes" is Foreshadowing: One character says that to say "yes" to one instant is to say "yes" to eternity. death.

I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Steven Prince accidentally shoots the bartender to see if his gun's still loaded, complete with Written Sound Effect. The bartender gets him back.

Mind Screw: Much of the film, though one scene in particular is notable. The protagonist is discussing a woman's plan for a "real-life" soap opera when he realizes he's dreaming again. He then asks her what it's like being a dream, inflicting this on the woman (her dialogue becomes much less composed). She still challenges The Dreamer:

Soap Opera Woman: We seem to think we're so limited by the world and-and the confines, but we're really just creating them. And you keep trying to figure it out, but it seems like now that you know that what you're doing is dreaming, you can do whatever you want to. You're, uh, dreaming, but you're awake. You have, um, so many options, and that's what life is about.

Then, when he says that he'd been passive (in the first half of the movie), just listening to other characters orate:

Soap Opera Woman: It's not necessarily passive to not respond verbally. We're communicating on so many levels simultaneously. Perhaps you're-you're perceiving directly.

Mood Whiplash: All of the place. You go from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in bed dreamily discussing reincarnation to a red-bodied prisoner screaming about revenge to David Sosa calmly discussing free will to Alex Jones yelling about corporate slavery through a car bullhorn, for instance.

Nameless Narrative: Nobody in the film has a name, and everything is so random that you can't even give most of the people a nickname. The credits have to use pictures of the characters for identifying the actors. It's even a minor plot point that the main character can't remember his name (which is also pretty hard to do in your real dreams).

Red Body Take Warning: The prisoner's entire body is red, an external representation of his rage.

Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The prisoner fantasizes about this in very violent detail.

Rotoscoping: How the style was created. Mini DV footage was shot and a team of animators animated over it to give the feeling that you're dreaming along with the protagonist.

Schrödinger's Butterfly: The film is a series of psychedelic sequences which mostly feature the main character as an observer, and many of them segue with him waking up yet again.

Seinfeldian Conversation: Averted with great prejudice.

Sliding Scale of Free Will vs. Fate: One of the topics covered. When David Sosa brings up quantum mechanics, and how particles seem random, he proclaims, "Should our freedom just be a matter of probabilities, just some random swerving in a chaotic system? That just seems like it's worse. I'd rather be a gear in a big deterministic, physical machine than just some random swerving!"

The Singularity: Early in the film, the protagonist listens to a man give a lengthy rant on this topic.

Eamonn Healy: If you look at the time-scale that's involved here: two billion years for life, six million years for the hominid, a hundred-thousand years for mankind as we know it, you're beginning to see the telescoping nature of the evolutionary paradigm. And then, when you get to agriculture, when you get to the scientific revolution and the industrial revolution, you're looking at ten thousand years, four hundred years, a hundred and fifty years. You're seeing a further telescoping of this evolutionary time.

Speech-Centric Work: Various characters talking - indeed, in some cases ranting - for the duration of the running time. That's it.

Spiritual Sequel: Linklater's 2006 A Scanner Darkly adaptation. Both were shot in the same rotoscoped style.
Also, Waking Life itself to his first film, Slacker. Both go from character to character, discussing whatever's on their mind. Waking Life has slightly more plot, though.

Stealth Parody: Possibly used against Alex Jones. While he is yelling one of his monologues over a car loudspeaker, the animation slowly increases his skin hue to brighter, darker shades of red. This could just be a simple exaggeration used in many pieces of animation, or a reference to the imprisoned psychopath who is shown in the same way earlier in the movie.
However, it may just be because he is behind a windshield which has a severe glare; only the general features of Jones could be seen in the original Mini-DV video.

Theseus' Ship Paradox: One segment with two women taking about being in their fifties, and that how people have to make up stories about who they were when they were younger. They note that the human body is constantly regenerating cells, so they're both completely new people several times over since they were infants.

Transhuman Alien: Implied by the Creepy Monotone speaker.

Uncanny Valley: The entire point of the rotoscoping.

You Look Familiar: In-universe. Everyone from the first scene (in the "Boat Car") reappear again as different characters.

Super perfundo on the early eve of your day...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Waking Life is a 2001 semi-animated film by Richard Linklater. The plot follows a young man walking through a lucid dream where he observes and enters into dialogue about lofty philosophical concepts and theories. The film itself was initially ...

# data[].attributes.body
https://psycnet.apa.org/search/display?id=af545a8a-699d-3ecb-d154-61a3355a6532&recordId=20&tab=PA&page=1&display=25&sort=PublicationYearMSSort%20desc,AuthorSort%20asc&sr=1

# data[].attributes.headline
Filmed dreams: Cinematographic and story line characteristics of the cinematic dreamscapes of John Sayles.

# data[].attributes.subject
Filmed dreams: Cinematographic and story line characteristics of the cinematic dreamscapes of John Sayles.

# data[].attributes.body
https://psycnet.apa.org/search/display?id=af545a8a-699d-3ecb-d154-61a3355a6532&recordId=19&tab=PA&page=1&display=25&sort=PublicationYearMSSort%20desc,AuthorSort%20asc&sr=1

# data[].attributes.body
https://psycnet.apa.org/search/display?id=af545a8a-699d-3ecb-d154-61a3355a6532&recordId=18&tab=PA&page=1&display=25&sort=PublicationYearMSSort%20desc,AuthorSort%20asc&sr=1

# data[].attributes.headline
Correspondences in visual imaging and spatial orientation in dreaming and film viewing.

# data[].attributes.subject
Correspondences in visual imaging and spatial orientation in dreaming and film viewing.

# data[].attributes.body
https://psycnet.apa.org/search/display?id=af545a8a-699d-3ecb-d154-61a3355a6532&recordId=11&tab=PA&page=1&display=25&sort=PublicationYearMSSort%20desc,AuthorSort%20asc&sr=1

# data[].attributes.headline
The Role of Dreams in Protecting Psychological Well-being in Traumatic Conditions

# data[].attributes.subject
The Role of Dreams in Protecting Psychological Well-being in Traumatic Conditions

# data[].attributes.body
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/016502598384270

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class research journals

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Subscription and open access journals from SAGE Publishing, the world’s leading independent academic publisher.

# data[].attributes.headline
Animated Cartoons and Other Innovative Forms of Presenting Consciousness on Screen: The German TV Series Berlin, Berlin

# data[].attributes.subject
Animated Cartoons and Other Innovative Forms of Presenting Consciousness on Screen: The German TV Series Berlin, Berlin

# data[].attributes.body
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230501003_4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Animated Cartoons and Other Innovative Forms of Presenting Consciousness on Screen: The German TV Series Berlin, Berlin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When the German TV series Berlin, Berlinwas launched with 26 episodes in the spring of 2002, it was quite a sensation because of its innovative use of narrative strategies. The 20 episodes of the...

# data[].attributes.headline
Screening Interiority: Drawing on the Animated Dreams of Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue 

# data[].attributes.subject
Screening Interiority: Drawing on the Animated Dreams of Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue 

# data[].attributes.body
http://sphinx.murdoch.edu.au/~20100408/nass_uat/docs/m_rickards.pdf

# data[].attributes.headline
A deeper inquiry into the association between lucid dreams and video game play

# data[].attributes.subject
A deeper inquiry into the association between lucid dreams and video game play

# data[].attributes.body
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uRGJBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA231&dq=dreams+and+media&ots=P8lXPtpm9u&sig=9jVUfz3Ej3H0H_5hifYrROv1hss&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=dreams%20and%20media&f=false

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Lucid Dreaming: New Perspectives on Consciousness in Sleep [2 volumes]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The first set of its kind, Lucid Dreaming: New Perspectives on Consciousness in Sleep provides a comprehensive showcase of the theories, research, and direct experience that serve to illuminate how certain people can maintain conscious awareness while dreaming. The text is organized into two sections, covering science, psychology, and education; and religious traditions, creativity, and culture.

# data[].attributes.body
https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/30961475/Dreams_and_Video_Game_Play_Games_for_Health_Conference_2010-with-cover-page-v2.pdf?Expires=1637622494&Signature=PVHqwC76cHlLbiakwBuyliytu79YBqrTMdn24sgjmLFuu71uYan797o4-18oVY7ydYpqm3HrLDuB8RD1x-qkg6ZXSxf~6TFUvI-rwdTMvwUlg9ykCUG-Gv8J1LUB9~L6Q0na~YuIGd1XThQin54TWhgCQS04QNSjlE6CmkdBsKYGiiqm0kBi6NApu-cyHZSCD5QaVlbptW-mCW0DD79bfh5vIGt-8azAJ3K7Mncazt4iEQ1j328DuAjLCQPrTKOehrYZevIvpuZz~DqxuXqO8O28-I5cg3DNIxHADwvl~EP9TF7qxRqdOUqhpaYQyFt2LWw2EQPrTKoUFqTk9cXZqQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7uXAlXdTe4

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The science of imagination - Andrey Vyshedskiy

# data[].attributes.headline
Children's Reactions to Dreams Conveyed in Mass Media Programming

# data[].attributes.subject
Children's Reactions to Dreams Conveyed in Mass Media Programming

# data[].attributes.body
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/009365091018003001

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This experiment assesses children's reactions to dreams conveyed in mass media programming. A total of 120 children from two grade levels (kinder-garten and first vs. second through fourth) watched one of four versions of a frightening movie scene that were created by factorially varying the inclusion of a prologue and an epilogue. Both the prologue and the epilogue relied upon standard production techniques to convey that the story was a dream. Results revealed that both age groups who saw either the prologue or the epilogue were able to recognize the dream. Moreover, the prologue reduced children's negative interpretations of and emotional reactions to the program, whereas the epilogue had no such effects. The findings are consistent with research on children's comprehension of formal features and with the idea that formal features can activate schemata.

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Children's Reactions to Dreams Conveyed in Mass Media Programming - BARBARA J. WILSON, 1991

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This experiment assesses children's reactions to dreams conveyed in mass media programming. A total of 120 children from two grade levels (kinder-garten and first vs. second through fourth) watched one of four versions of a frightening movie scene that were created by factorially varying the inclusion of a prologue and an epilogue.

# data[].attributes.headline
Media Use and Dreaming: The Relationship Among Television Viewing, Computer Game Play, and Nightmares or Pleasant Dreams.

# data[].attributes.subject
Media Use and Dreaming: The Relationship Among Television Viewing, Computer Game Play, and Nightmares or Pleasant Dreams.

# data[].attributes.body
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2004-11640-005

# data[].attributes.headline
Dreams and Laughter: Interpretation of the Artistic Features of Cartoons

# data[].attributes.subject
Dreams and Laughter: Interpretation of the Artistic Features of Cartoons

# data[].attributes.body
https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-WYYJ200506013.htm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dreams and Laughter: Interpretation of the Artistic Features of Cartoons--《Literature & Art Studies》2005年06期

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Cartoon movies have their special mechanism of artistic genesis. In the formal constitution of their pictures, especially in their uses of abstraction, transfiguration and collage, cartoons have drawn much from caricature. The movement in the picture emphasizes shapes and rhythms. As for the selecti…

# data[].attributes.headline
What is Greg's dream about cloud city about?

# data[].attributes.subject
What is Greg's dream about cloud city about?

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.reddit.com/r/overthegardenwall/comments/5ib6tk/what_is_gregs_dream_about_cloud_city_about/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I've hear theories about the unknown and the kettle that live there, but I never understood cloud city. The stark difference in style, the bad wind guy and the queen. It's gotta be important bc that's a pivotal part of the show, and it affects the plot. I don't subscribe to the theory that it's heaven, it doesn't make sense to me unless someone can explain it. Thoughts?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
r/overthegardenwall - What is Greg’s dream about cloud city about?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
36 votes and 4 comments so far on Reddit

# data[].attributes.headline
How Media Affects Dreams | Quarantine Diary

# data[].attributes.subject
How Media Affects Dreams | Quarantine Diary

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS658tJU0rE

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Media Affects Dreams | Quarantine Diary

# data[].attributes.headline
The connection between dreams, storytelling, mythology, unknown and creativity | Jordan Peterson

# data[].attributes.subject
The connection between dreams, storytelling, mythology, unknown and creativity | Jordan Peterson

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NXClrUL4hs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The connection between dreams, storytelling, mythology, unknown and creativity | Jordan Peterson

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOrYKJVkreQ

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Pa4lyIgu0&t=1205s

# data[].attributes.body
https://over-the-garden-wall.fandom.com/wiki/Babes_in_the_Wood

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Babes in the Wood is the eighth chapter of Over the Garden Wall.

Wirt has lost all hope of ever finding the way back home and so, after hearing the sound of The Beast's singing, he decides they should just go to sleep under a tree. After they fall asleep, Gregory has a dream about The Queen of the Clouds and The North Wind. While Greg was dreaming, the weather turned from fog to snow. At the end of the episode, after Gregory trades himself to the Beast in place of Wirt using his wish from the Queen of the Clouds, Wirt tries to chase him and ends up falling into a frozen lake. This is another appearance of a lake, this one being a direct correlation to the next episode where we find out exactly how Wirt and Greg ended up in The Unknown.

In the beginning of the chapter, Greg, Wirt and Greg's frog are seen floating across a lake using an outhouse. The group hear the beast's singing which depresses Wirt. The outhouse then hits land and the crew gets out of the outhouse. Wirt comes to the conclusion that they are never going to home and tells Greg that he acts too childish. He then proceeds to go to sleep under a tree followed by Greg and his frog.

Greg then has a dream where he travels to Cloud City. In Cloud City, Greg is welcomed by the residents and they invite Greg to lead their song in order to teach him how to be a leader. During the song however, Greg is launched at the gate that holds back the North Wind and releases him and his minions.

Greg is chased by the North Wind where they then have a fight inside a house. Greg traps the North Wind inside a bottle. The Queen of the Clouds thanks Greg for saving her city and grants Greg a wish. Greg wishes for Wirt and himself to go home but the Queen of the Clouds says that can't be done because Wirt was already claimed by the beast. Greg then wishes for the beast to take him instead.

Wirt is then woken up by Greg saying good-bye to him and telling him to take care of his frog. Greg walks off with the beast, and when Wirt realizes what has happened, he chases after him. Wirt slips on a frozen lake hidden by snow and gets up and continues to run. The ice under him then breaks and he falls into the lake.

Beatrice and the Fisher Fish save Wirt using a fishing net. Wirt proceeds to pass out.

Characters

Much of Greg's dream has the look and feel of early 20th century cinema. In addition to the direct references to other movies listed below, the dream sequence utilizes other early film techniques.

An Iris is a small circle usually used as a transition between scenes. In early silent films, an iris was used to draw attention to or focus in on characters or objects. The Welcome Committees and other citizens are introduced via an iris.

The color palette is particularly evocative of primitive color films from the 1920s. The dream sequence is dominated by muted colors in red, turquoise, and shades of grey which recreates the look of Cinecolor and two-strip Technicolor.

While key members of Cloud City are animated in dynamic motions, some of the citizens are shown to move in a short, repeating range of motions, while others don't move at all. This appears to be a parody of Limited Animation, a time and money-saving process by which only a portion of a figure is redrawn to be animated rather than redrawing the entire cartoon.

References

The title, "Babes in the Wood," is an old children's tale about two children who get lost in the woods:

My dears, do you know
that a long time ago
Two poor little children whose names I don't know
Were stolen away
On a bright summer's day
And left in the woods
as I've heard people say?
And when it was night, so sad was their plight
The sun it went down and the moon gave no light.
They sobbed and they sighed and bitterly cried
Then the poor little things just lay down and died.
And when they were dead, the robins so red
Took strawberry leaves and over them spread.
And all the day long they sang them this song:
Poor babes in the wood, poor babes in the wood!

The Reception Committee seems to be inspired by the Welcoming Committee of Munchkin Land in the Wizard of Oz.

Many of the scenes in the Cloud City are directly inspired by Alice's Wonderland, the first of the Alice Comedies. There's also a mixture of Little Nemo in Slumberland and The Harveytoons Show.

The villain that Gregory fights off is called the North Wind; in Greek mythology, Boreas was the North Wind, part of the Anemoi, and was very violent. The song that the people of Cloud City sing is called "Forward, Oneiroi!" The Oneroi were the personification of dreams, sons of Nyx (Night), and brothers of Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death). While the title of the song refers to them as Oneiroi, however, the lyrics first call them "cherubs." The song also ends with an "amen," indicating that perhaps it is a hymn.
It should also be noted that in the Odyssey Oneroi were described (via a play on words) as giving either false dreams represented by a gate of ivory, or true dreams represented by a gate of horns. When looking at the lovely gates of cloud city it is possible to infer that this is to note that this is a false dream or an illusion of some sort.

References

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Babes in the Wood is the eighth chapter of Over the Garden Wall. Wirt has lost all hope of ever finding the way back home and so, after hearing the sound of The Beast's singing, he decides they should just go to sleep under a tree.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nqjpSWf5YU

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The Many MORE Inspirations of "Over the Garden Wall"

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The Many MORE Inspirations of "Over the Garden Wall"

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEAWV97fipk

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The Many MORE Inspirations of "Over the Garden Wall"

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critical analysis of over the garden wall

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critical analysis of over the garden wall

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIIMzWg8YXA

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Into the Unknown | A Critical Analysis of Over the Garden Wall

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https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DreamEpisode

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Dreams are weird. If a person can imagine it, they can dream it, no matter how surreal, out-of-character, or frightening it may be. With the endless possibilities that exist, occasionally a creator would want to take full advantage of it, and have an entire episode dedicated to exploring the dreams of one or more characters.

While All Just a Dream sets this as a surprise, these episodes play no tricks- the audience knows they're in for a story about a dream, and so the story can be as surreal and strange as can be without breaking the suspension of disbelief or tipping off the audience to any twists. A character may in fact be aware that they're dreaming, while still victim to the oddities of dreamworld. The dream could also be a nightmare, most likely leading to An Aesop about facing one's fears, or even a particularly odd day-dream or hallucination. Sometimes, these dreams may manifest as a Shared Dream between all the characters.

To qualify, this part of a work must be devoted to or heavily reliant on the dream aspect; otherwise, it's just a Dream Sequence.

Similar to All Just a Dream and the typical Dream Sequence, this could possibly end in the character asking, Or Was It a Dream? This is not to be confused with an episode the fanbase had been dreaming of for a while, a la And the Fandom Rejoiced. Finally, see also Fever Dream Episode, which is this trope meets Sick Episode, and Adventures In Coma Land.

Examples:

: Have some of them.
"Livin' the Dream" is about Doraemon using a dream director's chair to direct one of Sneech's dreams to Noby's liking. It doesn't goes well for them at the end.

Chapter 11 of has Kyou having a dream where everyone is their opposite (Makoto is talkative, Shiori is flat, and Sumi is serious).

has a lot of dream episodes where all the main characters (usually only the hamsters, sometimes Laura too) have a single dream. Many of them are set in feudal Japan, with Hamtaro as a Shinsengumi member.

Mister Miracle (2017), depending on how you interpret it's deliberately vague and surreal plot, could be this for Scott Free following his wife Big Barda's forced leave of absence in Darkseid War. What makes sense is that it all pertains to the various things Scott seems to have suffered from or is guilty of, up to and including the deaths of significant figures in his life, Granny Goodness, Orion and culminating in losing his newborn son to his evil stepfather Darkseid, and ends with him killing the evil god. It's believed it could be a deliberately induced Journey to the Center of the Mind to confront his repressed trauma and overcome it.

Web of Spider-Man #7 is an issue-long dream where Peter Parker relives past traumas while being chased by an enraged Hulk. Turns out it isn't a natural dream; the dream-Hulk is actually after Doctor Strange's foe Nightmare, who has drawn Spider-Man into his realm in a last-ditch effort to protect himself from being smashed.

Wonder Woman: Black and Gold: "Homecoming" is almost entirely Diana having an eerie dream of returning to a seemingly-empty Themyscira.

One of The Berenstain Bears stories that's both a book and a cartoon episode called "The Bad Dream" is about a TV show giving the cubs nightmares.

:

In "Mog's Amazing Birthday Caper", Mog takes a nap on Debbie's birthday and has a surreal dream involving a Native American guy, Debbie's friend Emily being eaten, and a bunch of other things besides.

In "Mog in the Dark", Mog has trippy nightmares about mouse/dog/bird hybrids.

3rd Rock from the Sun: The two-part season two finale is based around the aliens having dreams for the first time, which vary from artistic (Sally's) to musical (Harry's).

has an episode focusing on Jenna having a restless Sex and the City-themed dream where her ex-boyfriends confront her about their relationship failures, culminating in realizing she still loves Matty.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The first season had "Nightmares" where the nightmares and fears of the citizens start keeping true, including the Scoobies (Buffy getting rejected by her father, seeing The Master escape, being buried alive and turning into a vampire herself, Xander's fear of a clown from his childhood, Willow stage fright, etc). Eventually it's revealed to be the power of a comatose boy who was beaten into a coma by his baseball coach for losing a game. Once the boy confronts his fear, does he manage to wake up and things return to normal.

The fourth Season Finale "Restless" has Buffy and friends having prophetic dreams as a side effect of the spell they'd cast in the previous episode to fight the season's villain.

: In "Amy's Choice", the Doctor and his companions find themselves switching between two different settings. A being calling himself the Dream Lord tells them that one is a dream and they need to decide which one is reality. In fact, both settings are dreams — hallucinations caused by psychic pollen trapped in the time rotor of the TARDIS.

Hannah Montana: In "I Am Hannah, Hear Me Croak", a good portion of the episode is devoted to Miley having an obvious nightmare about an upcoming throat surgery, in which she fears that if she can't sing again, she'll be demoted to Cinderella-like status, and Jackson will get the love as "Bucky Kentucky".

: In "iDream of Dancing", the trio fall asleep while reviewing videos of their viewers dancing, and thus each has a wild dream that heavily involves dancing. Each dream seems to blend together as well, with the three of them seen together at the start commenting that none of them remember waking up that morning.

had a surreal episode entitled "Dreams" in which each member of the main cast, exhausted by marathon sessions in surgery and post-op, fall asleep and suffer through traumatic dreams related to the war.

: The episode "A Nightmare." A woman experiences a series of nested nightmares about being murdered.

In the Small Wonder episode "My Robot Family", Jamie dreams that his parents have become robots like Vicki, and that he is the head of the household.

Star Trek: The Next Generation:

In "Night Terrors", Deanna Troi has dreams which turn out to be caused by an alien sending her telepathic messages. She needs to lucid dream in order to communicate with the alien and save her crew mates, who have lost their ability to dream.

In "Birthright", Data (an android) starts having dreams because he's uncovered a program in his brain.

In "Phantasms", Data starts experimenting with his dream program and begins having nightmares that turn out to be because alien parasites are attacking the ship.

In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Waking Moments", a race of sleeping aliens put the crew to sleep and lock them in the same dream.

The Ultra Series have a couple of these, and unsurprisingly they are usually considered the weirdest, and trippiest Bizarro Episodes of the franchise.

The Ultraman Tiga episode, "Dreams", have the monster Bakugon being created from cosmic radiation infiltrating the home of an extremely stressed-out and recently heartbroken man named Ikuta. Whenever Ikuta had nightmares, Bakugon will manifest itself in the real world, and in the penultimate battle Daigo / Ultraman Tiga can only confront Bakugon ... by having Daigo going to sleep and transforming himself while in the dream world. The entire episode is as high and as trippy as it sounds, with weird imagery and the camera going crazy at times.

Ultraman Dyna follows this with "Ephemeral Dream", in which Shin Asuka gets to pilot a Humongous Mecha into space to battle an invasion force, before the final two minutes concludes with a daydreaming Asuka being waken up by his colleague, Ryo, who then scolds him for dozing off at his job.

Ultraman Cosmos have a slightly more normal version, "The Sleeping Girl", with the monster being Inculas, a sheep-like monster that puts people into an eternal sleep full of vivid dreams. It places people across Japan to sleep, including Ayano, which forces Musashi to enter the dream world and transform into Ultraman Cosmos to battle it.

The Wild Wild West episode "The Night of the Man-Eating House". Almost the entire episode (the investigation of a Haunted House) is a dream that Artemus Gordon has. The fact that he's dreaming is made clear with a wavy dissolve, one of the Flashback Effects. At the end of the episode Artemus wakes up, and the events that occurred in his dream start to come true in real life.

Judy Pancoast: Her song "Swimming in Jello" describes a dream in which the singer is trying to swim through a lake of jello to get to a hot fudge sundae.

The narrator of "The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel declares at the beginning that he is describing a dream he had.

The fourth episode of Farnham Fables starts with Theresa getting ready for bed. Once she's asleep, the rest of the game takes place inside of her dream's world (which is mostly inspired by old-school adventure games).

Champions of Far'aus: Story #6, "Sweet dre - NIGHTMARE" (stylized with the words "Sweet dre" having a line crossing them out), is about the protagonists going through Adventures in Comaland after Hypnoron trapped them there for a "game".

In El Goonish Shive, the "Sleepy Time", "Second Life", "Grace the Goddess" and "Parable" storylines all mostly take place within dreams.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: In "I Dream Of Jimmy", Jimmy decides to go into Carl's dream in order to help him prevent his nightmares. The rest of the episode is devoted to Carl's dreamworld antics, such as a giant evil lima bean that chases him around, and Carl being the smart student while Jimmy is the class dunce.

The Amazing World of Gumball episode, "The Night", which has The Moon curious of the dreams of the citizens of Elmore and takes us through a few of them. Some ranging from silly to outright disturbing.

:

The episode "Arthur's Underwear" (which is also a book story) focuses on Arthur having frequent "Not Wearing Pants" Dreams.

The episode "Just Desserts" involves Arthur having an Acid Reflux Nightmare in which he takes part in several fairy tales.

Bojack Horseman: The show's penultimate episode, "The View from Halfway Down", is set inside BoJack's recurring nightmare about attending a dinner party at his mother's house, populated with dead family members and friends. Except this time he can't wake up, because he's drowning in his pool as an attempt to kill himself, making the entire episode a Dying Dream.

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee: "Enter Sandman" in which a Sandman named Stephen hypnotizes the people of Orchid Bay within their dreams to build him a tower to enter the mortal world, causing the people to be exhausted during the waking hours. June, being the magical protector, is immune from his control and has to fight him within the dream realm.

Lilo & Stitch: The Series: "Remmy" mostly takes place in Lilo's dream when the titular experiment of the episode invades it as she's sleeping and Stitch, Jumba and Pleakley have to go in and fish it out before it gives her permanent nightmares.

Muppet Babies (1984): In "Elm Street Babies", the babies have strange dreams, so they wake up in the middle of the night and tell each other what happened in them. Kermit's dream involves the babies in the Wild West and him getting into a showdown with Gonzo, Rowlf's dream involves him turning into a "wereboy" at a dog prom, Gonzo's dream is a spoof of Leave It to Beaver, and Fozzie's dream is a spoof of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?", a creature from Princess Luna's nightmares starts magically giving other ponies nightmares and threatening to turn into a real creature, so they must do a mass-lucid dreaming scenario to defeat it.

Nate Is Late: "The Dream" episode involved Nate having anxiety over a multiplication test and having nightmares from a being called Mr. Multiplication. Malika, with the help of a local scientist, enters his dream to help combat him (to which it eventually revealed Mr. Multiplication was actually Good All Along and trying to help Nate with his Math problems) and everything seems to work out as Nate wakes up and Malika and he got to school...and Malika's head suddenly turns into a fish at the end. And THEN Nate wakes up for real at the end of the episode.

:

"Sweet Dreams" begins with the babies dreaming. Tommy's dream involves him exploring an ancient temple as "Okey-dokey Jones", Kimi dreams that she's an acrobat at the circus, and Phil and Lil share a dream, wherein Phil rides a frog while Lil rides a flying mud pie. Unfortunately, Chuckie doesn't have an exciting dream like the other babies. When Chuckie tells the other babies that his exciting dreams involve him being a superhero who isn't afraid of anything (which is a huge contrast from his cowardly personality), they try to help him find his missing dream.

In "In the Dreamtime", Chuckie has two vivid nightmares, then begins to think he's dreaming when he really isn't.

In "Spike's Nightscare", the babies try to cheer up Spike the dog when he appears to be having a nightmare.

SpongeBob SquarePants:

In "Sleepy Time", Spongebob starts out by having a strange, driving-related dream, when a dream version of Mrs. Puff rips away his "dream license". Now out of his own dream, he starts to explore the dreams of his friends and messes each and every one of them up- for example, in Plankton's dream of being a giant monster destroying the town, Spongebob ends up defeating and shrinking him.

Later episode "Dream Hoppers" features a similar plot wherein SpongeBob falls out of his own dream and enters ones that others are having. The episode starts out with SpongeBob having a dream where he's making and delivering Krabby Patties in an airplane, only to lose control of the plane while chasing a sentient Krabby Patty and flies right out of his dream. The rest of the episode follows SpongeBob, and later Patrick as well, as they chase the Krabby Patty across several dreams.

Steven Universe has two examples:

"Chille Tid" is about Steven and the Gems trying to rest up after searching for Lapis Lazuli all night, but Steven keeps dreaming about Lapis and eventually figures out he's entering her mind.

"Kiki's Pizza Delivery Service": Kiki has a reoccurring nightmare about drowning in pizza goo which Steven uses his powers to help save her from every night. She only gets better after she confronts her sister in real life.

Steven Universe: Future: In episode "In Dreams" Steven and Peridot try to fix the reboot of their favorite TV series, by using Steven's ability to project his dreams into the TV. But because of the nature of dreams itself and Steven's unresolved trauma, things are easy to say than being done.

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Dreams are weird. If a person can imagine it, they can dream it, no matter how surreal, out-of-character, or frightening it may be. With the endless possibilities that exist, occasionally a creator would want to take full advantage of it, and ...

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ArPNAOHCo

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What can we learn from our dreams? | Dr. Dylan Selterman | TEDxUMD

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https://www.tomorrowsleep.com/dreams-affect-life

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Vincent Van Gogh may have been onto something when he said, "I dream of painting and then I paint my dreams."

Throughout history, dreams have fascinated scientists, psychologists, and artists alike. And over time, studies have contradictorily concluded that dreams mean nothing, mean everything, hold literal significance, or are just attempts to rationalize images we conjure up in our sleep.

Freud believed that dreams were valuable clues into how the unconscious mind operates. In his book, "The Interpretation of Dreams", the father of psychoanalysis argued that dreams reveal thoughts, motivations, or desires of our unconscious. He may be right.

How we dream

Ever been jolted awake but unable to move? That's your body keeping you safe while you sleep. Because we mostly dream during - where our heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, and brain activity is the same as when we're awake - if we weren't physically paralyzed during that sleep stage, we'd literally be acting out our dreams.

Here's what happens in while we sleep:

Our eyes are closed, so the primary visual cortex is inactive, but the other areas of the cortex - the parts that analyze visual stimuli - are active and attempting to make sense of images our brains are making. Meanwhile, the limbic system - the primary control center for our emotions - becomes active, too.

Our brains don't process things the same way when we're sleeping because the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - which controls logic and rational part of our brains - also becomes inactive, meaning our dreams can be emotionally charged but completely illogical.

How dreams affect our mood

While your dreams may be forgotten soon after waking, they don't just stay in your bedroom. Whatever you're feeling in your dream - good or bad - affects your daytime mood and social interactions the next day.

D reaming during REM is most common, but it can also happen during "non-REM sleep" or NREM. According to NCBI research , the NREM and REM sleep states may create opposing types of daytime social interactions because they occur in different parts of the brain. The studies revealed that dreamer-initiated aggressiveness is more characteristic of REM sleep, while dreamer-initiated friendliness is more typical of NREM sleep.

The threat simulation theory argues that dreaming can be seen as a biological defense mechanism. Dreams could have provided an evolutionary advantage because of the brain's ability to recreate potential threats. When we see threats in our dreams, it increases our cognitive ability to perceive and avoid them when we're awake.

Know your dreams

We're still learning and processing memories during sleep, and that affects the kinds of dreams we have. Here are a few of the most common ones you may experience:

Lucid dreams: Lucid dreams happen when you become aware that you're dreaming. We interviewed Flower Power Herbs & Roots owner, Lata Chettri-Kennedy about the power of mugwort and its effect on lucid dreaming. Mugwort has been known to keep dreamers in REM stages longer, increasing chances of attaining the lucid dream state.

Nightmares: Nightmares can be vivid, emotionally draining, and often upsetting. While one every now and then is normal, consistent nightmares can be linked to mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression.

Day dreams: A Harvard study shows that people daydream about 46.9% of the time. But, the same study found that letting our minds wander doesn't necessarily make us happier. Researchers discovered that people didn't just fantasize when they were unhappy; rather, their fantasies actually to unhappiness.

Make sense of your dreams

Though we often dismiss our dreams and move on with our day, analyzing dreams is a first step to figuring out what our unconscious mind is up to.

Write them down: Write down everything that comes to mind before you forget. You may think you'll be able to remember and analyze your dreams later that day, but here's the thing : our waking brain is logical and rational, whereas our sleeping brain isn't. That means your waking brain may try to add in details that weren't there before.

Reflect on your emotions, too: Don't just write down what you did, write down how you felt in your dream. Were you stressed? Anxious? Happy? Excited? Ask yourself why you felt that way. Keep track of your mood the next day and be mindful of any correlation that might arise.

Determine what they might be telling you: Are your dreams mundane or fantastical? Do they follow a logical progression or jump from place to place? Do you have any recurring dreams? Sometimes, anxiety-based dreams repeat actions that are unfinished in waking life. Take a deeper dive into dream interpretation to find meanings or common symbols in your dreams.

Though dreams can be messy, complicated, and emotional, remember that they're healthy, and even cathartic. Our dreams may be just what we need to re-align what's off-balance in our lives. After all, Freud believed that dreams were really just wishes looking to be fulfilled. So, in the words of Aerosmith, .

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Vincent Van Gogh may have been onto something when he said, "I dream of painting and then I paint my dreams." Throughout history, dreams have fascinated scientists, psychologists, and artists alike. And over time, studies have contradictorily concluded that dreams mean nothing, mean everything, hold literal significance, or are just attempts to rationalize images we conjure up in our sleep.

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Art History’s Iconic Depictions of Dreams, from the Renaissance to Surrealism

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Art History’s Iconic Depictions of Dreams, from the Renaissance to Surrealism

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https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-art-historys-iconic-depictions-dreams-renaissance-surrealism

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How Dreams Have Been Depicted in Art History | Artsy

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From Godly visions to fantasies to nightmares, the representations of dreams in art have drastically changed since the Middle Ages.

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Continuity between waking activities and dream activities

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Continuity between waking activities and dream activities

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053810002000727

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Abstract

Empirical studies largely support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Despite of previous research efforts, the exact formulation of the continuity hypothesis remains vague. The present paper focuses on two aspects: (1) the differential incorporation rate of different waking-life activities and (2) the magnitude of which interindividual differences in waking-life activities are reflected in corresponding differences in dream content. Using a correlational design, a positive, non-zero correlation coefficient will support the continuity hypothesis. Although many researchers stress the importance of emotional involvement on the incorporation rate of waking-life experiences into dreams, Hartmann (2000) formulated the hypothesis that highly focused cognitive processes such as reading, writing, etc. are rarely found in dreams due to the cholinergic activation of the brain during dreaming. The present findings based on dream diaries and the exact measurement of waking activities replicated two recent questionnaire studies. These findings indicate that it will be necessary to specify the continuity hypothesis more fully and include factors (e.g., type of waking-life experience, emotional involvement) which modulate the incorporation rate of waking-life experiences into dreams. Whether the cholinergic state of the brain during REM sleep or other alterations of brain physiology (e.g., down-regulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) are the underlying factors of the rare occurrence of highly focused cognitive processes in dreaming remains an open question. Although continuity between waking life and dreaming has been demonstrated, i.e., interindividual differences in the amount of time spent with specific waking-life activities are reflected in dream content, methodological issues (averaging over a two-week period, small number of dreams) have limited the capacity for detecting substantial relationships in all areas. Nevertheless, it might be concluded that the continuity hypothesis in its present general form is not valid and should be elaborated and tested in a more specific way.

View full text

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Continuity between waking activities and dream activities

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Empirical studies largely support the continuity hypothesis of dreaming. Despite of previous research efforts, the exact formulation of the continuity hypothesis remains vague. The present paper focuses on two aspects: (1) the differential incorporation rate of different waking-life activities and (2) the magnitude of which interindividual differences in waking-life activities are reflected in corresponding differences in dream content.

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traumatic dreams - Google Scholar

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To Catch a Dream (padlet.org)

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https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-09896-008

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Trauma and dreaming: Trauma impact on dream recall, content and patterns, and the mental health function of dreams. - PsycNET

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Two accounts from our field work among war-traumatized families in the Middle East evoked my interest in dreaming. Palestinian school children had been demonstrating against Israeli military occupation in the West Bank town of Hebron. One child was shot dead and two were wounded. As usual, children…

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Dreams and their relationship to waking life

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Dreams and their relationship to waking life

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https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/april-2020/dreams-and-their-relationship-waking-life

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Fascination with the meaning of dreams goes back millennia. Ancient Egyptians imbued dreams with transcendental meaning and power, and would discuss them with their priests. In the Old Testament, Joseph interprets dreams as prophetic of God's intentions. In Native American culture, dreams are seen as a portal to higher awareness beyond the conscious mind, and hence as a form of life guidance. In the 20th century, Freud proposed that dreams represent unconscious desires or wishes, while Jung suggested that dreams are communications about problems that the conscious mind is unaware of, through the language of archetypal figures and stories.

The scientific study of dreams, undertaken from a cognitive perspective since the 1960s, suggests that dreams do indeed have meaning, but in a more quotidian way than the ancients or early psychoanalysts proposed. The 'continuity hypothesis' suggests that dreams often reflect or represent current or recent waking experiences, particularly waking emotions (Malinowski, 2012).

Trauma and nightmares
Cognitive theorists have quantified the dream world through laboratory-based studies, where participants are woken from different sleep stages throughout the night, reporting any dreams they recall. Independent judges then analyse the content of dreams. One of the most important findings to emerge from this widely used approach was that from 1000 dream reports by the general population, 80 per cent of all reported emotions were negative (Domhoff, 1996). Independent studies have similarly found that dream content tends to be negative (Nielsen et al., 1991).

One of the most influential researchers to examine how dreams relate to waking emotions was Ernest Hartmann, who summarised his decades-long research in his 2014 book The nature and functions of dreaming. His research into the dreams of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma patients led him to propose that dreaming about an emotion experienced in real life allows that emotion to be integrated with similar emotional memories, preparing the dreamer for future experiences of the emotion. Hartmann further argued that the current dominant emotion in waking life is represented in dreams metaphorically through the most striking or compelling central image. The dream then interweaves the dominant emotion with other images and memories that elicit similar emotions, providing a safe context for the emotion to appear and be integrated into memory.

Nightmares of those who have suffered a traumatic event typically include remembered or symbolic images that elicit fear, such as drowning, falling, feeling unable to act as one's house burns, or being chased and unable to get away. Some dreams involve re-experiencing the emotionally traumatic event, or a similar event (for example, a car crash or war trauma).

While these nightmares are no doubt unpleasant, the research programme of Rosalind Cartwright (1991, 2010) suggests that negative dreams following negative events may be conducive to recovery from trauma. People with depression who had negative dreams which pulled together different memories, had improved mood compared to those who didn't have negative dreams. In a study of divorcees, those who were not depressed had more dreams about their ex-spouse than divorcees who showed signs of depression. Cartwright proposed, like Hartmann, that dreams regulate negative emotions by matching them with memories of similar emotions.

The above-mentioned bias to have more negative dreams mirrors the dominance of negative emotion in waking life, where attention is drawn preferably to negative stimuli over positive stimuli. For example, people spend longer looking at negative photographs than positive photographs (Fiske, 1980), and show better recognition memory for negative information over positive information (Baumeister et al., 2001).

So, could it be that dreams are predominantly negative because our conscious waking life is drawn to negative stimuli and memories? Have we found the answer that the Ancient Egyptians, Christians, Native Americans and psychoanalysts have sought for so long? Do we now know why we have those vivid night-time experiences and what they mean? More recent dream research using different methodologies has not replicated this negativity bias (St-Onge et al., 2005; Kahn & Hobson, 2002), suggesting that it may not be so simple.

Intense waking emotions
Dream diary methodology typically requires participants to write their dreams into a diary each morning over a 14-day period, as well as waking life events and the emotions attached to them. Unlike in laboratory-based dream methodology, participants write down the dreams they remember in naturalistic conditions without waking up on cue to do so during the night.

In one dream diary study, the emotional intensity of waking life events predicted whether they would be incorporated into dreams, whereas the emotional negativity did not (Schredl, 2006). In another study, waking life events that were incorporated into dreams were more emotional, but not more stressful, than experiences that were not incorporated into dreams (Malinowski & Horton, 2014). This suggests that it is not negative emotions, but intense emotions of any tone, that are more likely to appear in dreams. The authors argue that dreams may help facilitate mastery and control over affectively arousing memories, but acknowledge that it may simply be easier to recall intensely emotional dreams than less emotional ones.

The emotional assimilation theory of sleep and dreaming (Malinowski & Horton, 2015) proposes that intensely emotional waking life experiences and feelings, whether positive or negative, are activated during sleep and incorporated into dreams via imaginative processes such as metaphor generation and the association of disparate memories. This process serves many functions, including: the incorporation of the intense emotion into the wider memory schema; creativity and insight in relation to emotional challenges; and the amelioration of the intensity of the emotion attached to a specific memory.

A discrepancy
So why do some theories point to negative emotions and others to intense emotions when it comes to what determines the content of dreams? This may be down to differing methods of data collection and analysis (Schredl, 2002). There is a clear difference in methodology: earlier studies highlighting the role of negative emotions have principally adopted laboratory-based methods with independent judges of emotion content while studies highlighting intense emotions have primarily adopted home-based self-reported dream diaries. A directed investigation to find out whether this makes a difference showed found that independent judges overestimate negative emotions and underestimate positive emotions compared to self-reports (Schredl & Doll, 1998). This suggests that the negativity bias in earlier work is a methodological artefact.

The dreamer's age is also a factor in the incorporation of emotions into dreams, with younger women reporting more negative emotions compared to older women (St Onge et al., 2005; Blick & Howe, 1984). In our recent research, funded by the BPS Undergraduate Assistantship Scheme, negative waking life emotion was related to negative dream tone in adults under 40, but to dream intensity in those over 40 (Petrov, Robinson & Malinowski, 2019). These findings, pending replication, suggest that waking emotion is encoded into dreams in different ways according to age.

Older adults also dream less often than younger adults. This could explain why for older adults negative waking life emotion is related to the intensity, but not the negativity, of a dream: for them there might be more emotional material to be processed within a single dream and there might be a larger intervening effect of memory and unconscious processing. Conversely, for younger adults whose negative waking life affect is related to negative dreams, but not intense ones, there might be less material to process at any time and smaller intervening effects. It is as though the emotional language of dreams becomes more disguised as we get older.

Making dreams conscious
In summary, we don't yet know with certainty why it is that some dream theories and research studies point towards negative emotions being incorporated in dreams, while other theories and studies conclude that intense emotions end up in our dream life. It is likely that both are true, for both negative and strong feelings create challenges that require processing and integration - and this is certainly a task that dreams are suited to helping with. Furthermore, it may be that as people age, the focus of dreams shifts from negative to intense emotions.

What we can be sure of is that dreams reflect our waking emotional states and help us, at least in part, to process those that have the potential to disturb or disrupt our wellbeing. The imagery of dreams is not some strange and mysterious language that can only be decoded by an expert, but rather a metaphorical or direct representation of what concerns us emotionally in our waking life. To consciously recall and consider our dreams is to indirectly explore our recent negative or intense waking emotions, which may lead our attention to the most salient and important concerns in our lives.
- Nikolay Petrov Is at the University of Greenwich- Oliver Robinson is at the University of Greenwich References

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Dreams and their relationship to waking life

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Fascination with the meaning of dreams goes back millennia. Ancient Egyptians imbued dreams with transcendental meaning and power, and would discuss them with their priests. In the Old Testament, Joseph interprets dreams as prophetic of God's intentions. In Native American culture, dreams are seen as a portal to higher awareness beyond the conscious mind, and hence as a form of life guidance.