This theory has been in the back of my head but I never really expressed it before, so bear with me.

Cobb was always confident in the reality in which he lived. That is why he wouldn't jump with Mal. He knew that it was all real without a doubt. After Mal's death I think spinning the top became a habit because he hoped it was a dream so that he could return to Mal. His connection to Mal is what made him question his reality. When he was finally able to put his guilt about Mal behind him and accept her death, his natural confidence in his reality returned and thus he didn't need the totem to tell him whether it was a dream. The top kind of represented Mal to him, it was hers and it was because of the top that she died, with little hope of ever seeing his children again the top became his only connection to his family. He no longer needed this connection and he never really needed the top to confirm his reality and thus he ran to his children confident that they were real.

Not sure how much of that made sense, but I hope you catch my drift.

Rob. I remember the time that we had an argument about this thing. Me, favoring the concept of "he doesn't care". And you arguing that it somewhat destroys the catharsis of the film. http://www.nolanfans.com/forums/viewtop ... =34&t=3487
But after multiple viewings, I admit that I was mistaken.
“The important thing is that Cobb's not looking at the top. He doesn't care".
That's what Nolan says exactly. But it doesn't mean that Cobb doesn't care if it's a dream or reality. It means that he doesn't care with the top anymore. That's a different thing. Nolan says the important thing is that Cobb's not looking at the top. I believe it's because feelings are more important than what we see. As you would say, he could determine dreams from reality from the moment of the catharsis. To paraphrase Nolan, the top is just a lame indication that's why Cobb doesn't care what will happen to it cause he already knew.
So there you go. I'm with you dude. So as Nolan.

But even though it's still a dream, the catharsis is still there. The children represents moving-on while Mal represents being-a-prison-of-your-past. Cobb chooses his children. He chose to get over his past. That's what important. It's not a matter of what's reality or not. It's not tantamount to the truth and lie.

To bad his wedding ring is his totem.

theweatherman wrote:This theory has been in the back of my head but I never really expressed it before, so bear with me.

Cobb was always confident in the reality in which he lived. That is why he wouldn't jump with Mal. He knew that it was all real without a doubt. After Mal's death I think spinning the top became a habit because he hoped it was a dream so that he could return to Mal. His connection to Mal is what made him question his reality. When he was finally able to put his guilt about Mal behind him and accept her death, his natural confidence in his reality returned and thus he didn't need the totem to tell him whether it was a dream. The top kind of represented Mal to him, it was hers and it was because of the top that she died, with little hope of ever seeing his children again the top became his only connection to his family. He no longer needed this connection and he never really needed the top to confirm his reality and thus he ran to his children confident that they were real.

Not sure how much of that made sense, but I hope you catch my drift.

That's exactly my interpretation. I've written it down here quite a lot. Cool thing that you see it the same way.

hoppity-kick wrote:Rob. I remember the time that we had an argument about this thing. Me, favoring the concept of "he doesn't care". And you arguing that it somewhat destroys the catharsis of the film. http://www.nolanfans.com/forums/viewtop ... =34&t=3487
But after multiple viewings, I admit that I was mistaken.
“The important thing is that Cobb's not looking at the top. He doesn't care".
That's what Nolan says exactly. But it doesn't mean that Cobb doesn't care if it's a dream or reality. It means that he doesn't care with the top anymore. That's a different thing. Nolan says the important thing is that Cobb's not looking at the top. I believe it's because feelings are more important than what we see. As you would say, he could determine dreams from reality from the moment of the catharsis. To paraphrase Nolan, the top is just a lame indication that's why Cobb doesn't care what will happen to it cause he already knew.
So there you go. I'm with you dude. So as Nolan.

I agree, if Nolan really means it like that, it would mean we share the same opinion, that's very cool, thanks! I just got confused because a lot of people really DO think that it doesn't matter if it's a dream or not. That's why I thought Nolan meant the same thing.

But even though it's still a dream, the catharsis is still there. The children represents moving-on while Mal represents being-a-prison-of-your-past. Cobb chooses his children. He chose to get over his past. That's what important. It's not a matter of what's reality or not. It's not tantamount to the truth and lie.

Still have to disagree here though. I don't see how "leaving the past behind" is an important thing, when the future is a lie. Why does he need to overcome the prison of his past only to live in a new prison? The movie tells us that an emotional experience in a dream is real, so he uses the dream to overcome his past and have a good life in reality again. I mean, seriously, if it's okay that the ending is a dream - why does he need to let go of Mal in the first place? Why is the past a "prison" then?
Cobb was a fucked up man, he lived in a dream, because he couldn't cope with the loss of Mal. So he DID let go of her and what he gained from that is that he finally ACCEPTS reality. But not HIS reality as some people claim, no - reality-reality. The real one. Really. Because, see, that's his problem. His problem is he doesn't WANT to accept that Mal is gone. So Ariadne helps him accept that Mal is gone forever, dead, and he lives a life without her. In reality. Because in the dream world, she's not dead. She's there, but he can't imagine her anymore, because she's not REAL, because it's a DREAM. Hell - Cobb tells us in our faces that he CAN differentiate dreams from reality: "I can't imagine you in all of your detail" and then he goes home, sees his kids and it's a dream and he can imagine THEM? Why? Just because they're alive? A dream is a dream. It's not real. This is what Cobb learns. What he actually always knew, but he didn't want to accept it, because he felt guilt over Mal's death. So he learned to cope with the guilt and he came back to reality.

i also think its a bullshit idea that 'he doesnt care' but hey why does he walk away from the totem? yeah 'he doesnt care' if he would he wouldnt walked away and would wait to see what happens with the totem.if he waited and the totem falls he would look at his kids,if not he would not look.

I see your point too Rob, that if in the ending he is still dreaming, then why didn't he just stay in a dream that included both dream Mal and dream kids. That interpretation leaves me flat. I prefer the idea people expressed above that he doesn't care to keep looking at the top because he's over it, he's over his guilt in "causing" Mal's death, he knows he is in reality, and that's why he can turn his back on the top and just be with his real children.

billh777 wrote:I see your point too Rob, that if in the ending he is still dreaming, then why didn't he just stay in a dream that included both dream Mal and dream kids. That interpretation leaves me flat. I prefer the idea people expressed above that he doesn't care to keep looking at the top because he's over it, he's over his guilt in "causing" Mal's death, he knows he is in reality, and that's why he can turn his back on the top and just be with his real children.

I really like yours and many others idea of he knows what's real. Also if he is in limbo still how does he recreate everything like the team, the 747, airport and people without knowing.

Ok, so here is my interpretation, which I think both reconciles Nolan's statement about the ending without being cheated out of a catharsis.

But first, here are some points that need to be made clear:

1) Cobb repeatedly did things that one should never do when dream sharing/extracting/incepting. While it often worked out for the better, he often disregarded safeguards that were designed to protect the team members.

2) It is extremely likely that Cobb would have checked his totem sometime between waking up on the plane and arriving at his old house.

3) The scene with Fischer, his father and the pinwheel demonstrated that catharsis can feel just as real and emotional in a dream as in reality. The emotions are identical.

4) It is far more probable that the ending was in reality due to the evidence available (there are other threads arguing this)

Thus, here is how I would interpret the ending: when Cobb saw his children at the end, he was overwhelmed with emotion. It FELT real to him and so he did not bother to check the totem first. This does NOT mean he doesn't care whether the kids are real or not; it simply means that Cobb in this emotional state disregarded the rules of dream sharing (like he often does). In other words, he forgot to double check the totem due to his intense emotional state.

I don't like the idea either, that Cobb doesn't care at the end whether he's in a happy dream or reality.
If he didn't care in some way, he wouldn't have spun the top, unless out of habit.
I read it that he has a sneaking suspicion that this is too good to be true.
And of course nobody knows if it is or not.
But hey, there doesn't need to be one definitive answer.

I feel I am up to directing the sequel to Inception, anyway. The first hour will be that top, still spinning. I'll think of the rest once I have funding.