Kafkaesque Dreams

     Inception is an interesting movie, not because Christopher Nolan directed it but more so because its entire plot is based on the concept of supplanting a dream in a person’s mind without them, at the slightest, realisng it to be implanted. The synopsis when judged on the face value appears not only entertaining but also novel. And it is so, as long as it remains in the realm of fiction and cinema, but it becomes ugly and unfortunate when it turns into a reality and even worse if everyone has been implanted with the same dream. 

   As the child matures from his infancy to his adolescence the dreams start to manifest itself in his ambitions, lifestyle and his choices. He is under the constant illusion of being the original dreamer, when, in reality, the seeds of his dreams were sown already when he was an infant or a toddler by his parents and the immediate society, although subtly yet effectively. His mind was already implanted with the great ideas of becoming a lawyer or a scientist or an engineer, in subtle ways by his parents, by means of positive discrimination of these professions and honorific outlook, because they promise to be a source of pride for his family and provides him with a decent means to lead his life. 

 

 The consumerist world is even more subtle, partly because they do not push you explicitly into their model of dreams. However, they constantly bombard you with their fantasy of consumerism, by means of T.V commercials, social media advertisements, aesthetic brands and luxury lifestyle choices, leading you into believing that the sole method to lead a successful and fulfilling life is by owning a large mansion, wearing particular luxurious brands and not least by travelling to various places and leading an unsettling way of life. When chasing these you are likely to be under the impression of being the owner and pioneer of your dreams, and hardly do you ever realise that you were brainwashed into believing in their way of life. And the consumerist dream is detrimental,in part, because it is nothing more than a fantasy of self servitude and the gluttony of luxury.

  

And then there comes a time where you are disillusioned, when you meet and compete with those people who share the same dream but the difference being that the latter is the owner of his dreams. You inevitably lose, you were always condemned to this misfortune. You lose in manners that shatters you and your make-believe world. You realise that the long battle that you were fighting in was only an implanted illusion of yours. Sleepless nights and clueless fights that follow dampens your spirit. You hardly have any courage left. And then, at that point of your life do you realise that the social conditioning works by supplanting your real dreams by their dreams and it is too late before you are disillusioned. In those times, you are suddenly reminded of the famous lines of Dr. Kalam, “Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep”. But the question is who owns the dreams you or your insecurity?