LIFE IMITATES ART IMITATES LIFE
WARNING: This article contains ENDING SPOILERS for both Inception and Cowboy Bebop
I was watching Inception earlier and it struck me how its premise was very similar to Cowboy Bebop's. We've got two guys haunted by a dream-like past involving a lover they can't quite forget and, one way or another, they end up taking their motley crew on a wild goose chase, all in the name of making amends with their personal past.
In both cases, the audience leaves with very strong but differing opinions about what happened in the end (or, indeed, what actually happened in the middle and the beginning and the WHOLE DARN SHOW). Was it all a dream? Or was it just partially a dream? Did he die? Or, having cheated death in so many ways before, did he make it this time too? The stars went out so he must have died; no wait the wedding ring's no longer there so he must no longer be dreaming, etc. What's more, the cinematography bears elements too similar to ignore.
So I decided to hash together a little list for fun. Feel free to add on in the comments section below if you think I've missed out on something. Let's jam!
So I decided to hash together a little list for fun. Feel free to add on in the comments section below if you think I've missed out on something. Let's jam!
The Universe According to Inception and Cowboy Bebop
1. You may be saving the world but you still gotta be looking sharp in a suit. In fact, suits are officially
considered combat gear. Bonus points if you can rock a vest.
2. Fighting in zero gravity is badass.
3. Chess is badass.
Inception:
Ariadne's totem, the Robert Fischer reference, and (if you want to take it that far) the black and white
checkered floor in an earlier dream.
Cowboy Bebop:
Bohemian Rhapsody.
4. The resident genius will be i) female and ii) half the age of the rest of the cast.
5. Life is just better with irony.
Inception:
Naming the target or the "pawn" of the whole heist "Robert Fischer", after one of the most brilliant
grandmasters who ever lived. Also the use of Edith Piaf's Je Ne Regrette Rien ("I Don' Regret
Anything") to sync all kicks when this mission is all about a guy who regrets his past.
Cowboy Bebop:
Too many to name.
6. All men seeking to make peace with their troubled love history will invariably end up confusing dreams
with reality.
7. The moment the love interest proposes to her husband/lover to escape with her, she will kick the
bucket.
8. Death comes at the end... or does it? Feel free to debate even 10 years after the show has ended.
9. To create an epic scene, juxtapose an oldie against a surreal setting, preferably with the entire cast
knocked out cold. Brownie points if played in slow motion.
Inception:
Edith Piaf's Je Ne Regrette Rien playing through the slo-o-o-o-w motion scene in which the van takes
half the movie to fall into the river while everyone dreams.
Cowboy Bebop:
Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers at the end of Toys in the Attic while everyone dreams after the
mutant lobster attack. Again, played in slow mo.
[by Leigh].
considered combat gear. Bonus points if you can rock a vest.
2. Fighting in zero gravity is badass.
3. Chess is badass.
Inception:
Ariadne's totem, the Robert Fischer reference, and (if you want to take it that far) the black and white
checkered floor in an earlier dream.
Cowboy Bebop:
Bohemian Rhapsody.
4. The resident genius will be i) female and ii) half the age of the rest of the cast.
5. Life is just better with irony.
Inception:
Naming the target or the "pawn" of the whole heist "Robert Fischer", after one of the most brilliant
grandmasters who ever lived. Also the use of Edith Piaf's Je Ne Regrette Rien ("I Don' Regret
Anything") to sync all kicks when this mission is all about a guy who regrets his past.
Cowboy Bebop:
Too many to name.
6. All men seeking to make peace with their troubled love history will invariably end up confusing dreams
with reality.
7. The moment the love interest proposes to her husband/lover to escape with her, she will kick the
bucket.
8. Death comes at the end... or does it? Feel free to debate even 10 years after the show has ended.
9. To create an epic scene, juxtapose an oldie against a surreal setting, preferably with the entire cast
knocked out cold. Brownie points if played in slow motion.
Inception:
Edith Piaf's Je Ne Regrette Rien playing through the slo-o-o-o-w motion scene in which the van takes
half the movie to fall into the river while everyone dreams.
Cowboy Bebop:
Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers at the end of Toys in the Attic while everyone dreams after the
mutant lobster attack. Again, played in slow mo.
[by Leigh].
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