zacharias on 8/10/2011 at 03:31

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erm..yeah. Did it really though..?..What were they?

[I personally think the script of the movie is the problem..it's too in love with its own cleverness (when it really isn't). Aside from that you have tight but generic action scenes that are very forgettable..hardly iconic. Oh i forgot, the street bends back upon itself..Genius!]

So yeah Shutter Island is by far the superior movie imo. But it is apples and oranges. I'd say a more type for type movie would be Inception v Matrix(?) or Shutter Island/Fight Club (?) (maybe..split personality/mental protagonist)..But there are probably much better comparison choices..i don't watch enough indie movies.

demagogue on 8/10/2011 at 14:12

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The most iconic thing Inception offered was the concept of itself. When people like F420 talk about levels within levels of things, or anything even quasi-profound-seeming, they'd mention, or did for a long time ad nauseum: That's so like Inception. Its selling point was never so much the actual plot or visual impression anyway.

demagogue on 8/10/2011 at 14:42

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Sorry to be a pedant but iconic is literally 'anything, including a concept, that emulates or has the character of an icon, a picture, image or other representation'. ;)

Edit: wait wait... anyway you're inverting your own definition, and now you have me falling into the same trap. The movie is the representation; the concept or idea is what it represents. That's what all icons have always had in common. That's what an icon *is*; thumbnail-representation->concept.

Edit2:


Speaking of icons, it sounds like you're missing the part where all the work is done "behind" the thing itself. The thing itself is usually a miniaturized thumbnail, practically senseless if you didn't already know what it was. People use the term "like Inception" as a shorthand for the whole idea, like they use The Godfather for gangster life. That makes it iconic, the title itself, the actual syllables of the word, whatever its (granted: not as strong as its reputation) content. I don't think it's because it's the best conceivable representation, or even that great of one; just there haven't been any alternatives that have taken that role, and it filled the vacuum with a big PR splash. The other thing about icons are they're what the masses appeal to. It's not analytical question you ask by looking at the movie that represents the idea best. It's an objective matter. You grab anyone or F420 off the street, get him high, and ask him about "shit inside of shit" ... what is it? And they'll tell you that's Inception, man ... that or Yo Homie guy. That's what makes it iconic.

The Alchemist on 9/10/2011 at 00:52

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TIL Inception is an iconic masterpiece because it has the most memes. Fuck you internet.

demagogue on 9/10/2011 at 02:19

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Now that you mention it, the most iconic actual image from Inception that comes to my mind is actually the trailer, the music in combination with the way it flipped through scenes to setup its premise, especially the text with the big honking horns, which got parodied so much with fake trailers, and the curving streets image was just the visual apex that lets you know we're way past the realm of normalcy, but it's just part of that package. That's not even a visual image per se but just a style of hype and making the concept itself come to life; but that's just what it is that captured the public's imagination IMO. It makes me think even more all the popular thinking about it is centered on the "idea" of the movie and the "promise" of its trailer, a lot more than the movie itself. Whatever anyone thinks of the movie's merits, the fact that it *did* capture the public imagination in a big way needs some explanation.