It’s true, Inception has “basically supplanted ‘Lost’ for all your theorizing needs.” You don’t need anyone to tell you that. What you do need is to enjoy this wonderful movie as much or as little as you like.
The problem with Lost was that everyone wanted everyone else to care about the same things. In my mind the Island and the rules attached to it (time/space travel, religious analogies, etc) were, and will always be the most important character of Lost. Jack had daddy issues… so what? Tell me why the Island cares about Jack’s daddy issues. Don’t bring Jack to the island simply so that he can reconcile with his father. That’s what therapy is for.
You know who agrees with me? A lot of people. And you know who disagrees with me? A lot of people. You know how much I used to care about that fact? A lot. Now? Not so much. Lost was a TV show… Just a TV show. Kids in Africa are dying of starvation, people in North Korea are oppressed, and I have a wife to take care of, and a life to live, and someone’s geeky concept about a magical island that moves at the tug of a ship’s helm can’t and shouldn’t become anyone’s obsession. Period.
As I was leaving the theater, convinced I’d just watched one of the greatest Sci-Fi movies (maybe of the best movies) ever, I overheard a snotty 20-something female say: “I thought it was completely stupid. It made absolutely no sense. I didn’t enjoy it one bit.” Now, let’s assume for argument sake that she’s right (even though she’s not). Why should I care? Better yet, if she loved the movie and hated the final scene (I love the movie and LOVED the final scene), again, why should I care?
Enjoy Inception in the way you want to enjoy it. Don’t try to hard to put as much effort into caring about a 2 1/2 hour movie as you did for Lost, which ran 120+ hours. Heck, try to find other movies with Inception may have opened the door to. Ever seen Momento? What? No? You were too busy crafting Lost theories? Watch it. I won’t spoil anything, but what i will say is this: if you even so much as kinda liked Inception, Momento will not disappoint.
Anyhow, if you need answers to Inception like we all needed them to Lost, New York Magazine has a great, aptly titled Inception’s Dileep Rao Answers All Your Questions About Inception article which answers and helps to clarify many of the questions we’ve had since watching the movie. Yeah, that’s right, the people behind Inception are actually answering the questions that their creation prompted people to ask… something the people behind Lost quite never seemed to grasp.
