406 - Dream Scenario

Eavesdropping at the Movies

Nicolas Cage plays a meme. Not just in real life any more, but now also in Dream Scenario, a quirky fantasy in the mould of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen, although nowhere near as funny. Cage's biology professor starts appearing in countless people's dreams for no obvious reason, blankly observing the events within, and soon becomes a minor celebrity - but as his presence in the dreams grows more active, public opinion turns on him. Dream Scenario flirts with a variety of themes of modern society, such as fame, celebrity, cancel culture, power dynamics in academia, male ego, and the grammar of social media - arguably without meaningfully committing to any of them, but equally arguably avoiding the pitfalls that doing so might create. It dramatises the difference between who a public figure of opprobrium actually is and who the version of that figure is in the minds of the public that reviles him, depicting its angry mob with a mix of horror and amused fascination, but also refuses to indulge in cancel culture whining, explicitly critiquing the anti-woke world of the likes of Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan. (An additional and crucial detail of the film is that, unlike people at the centre of similar real-life pile-ons, Cage's professor has done nothing to instigate the hatred - his presence in people's dreams and behaviour within them is entirely without explanation.) Dream Scenario is an interesting film that builds on the infamous memeability - memeness? memeitude? - of its star to explore observations and nuances of modern, hyper-online, highly personalised culture. With all that said... we wish it were funnier. Recorded on 27th November 2023.