The Avant Guard Studio -or- What is Inception?

Janet, 23 British

I was inside a white studio, it seemed, about as big as a walk-in-closet. I was sitting at a white bench jutting out from one side of the room and on my right side was a window with no panes, through which I could see a piano. The room overall was very peaceful. Then I saw one of the members of my favorite bands playing the piano, and my favorite member of that group listening to it beside the piano. I saw two other members of the band in the room with me, playing around and joking, sitting on white block chairs across from me. There was also another member of the band, the leader, who was sitting beside me on the bench, on the left side. I had been sitting on the right side of the bench, right next to the wall. I was pleasantly surprised and vaguely wondered if this was some kind of photo shoot, because the room looked like a shooting studio, being all white. Then suddenly, my favorite member of the band was sitting next to me on my right, and I was leaning on his shoulder comfortably. I remember that I felt a bit embarassed and was subconsciously asking myself, whether or not this was realy happening for real. Then I woke up.

Mr Hagen's Reply: Dr Who's Studio -or- What is Hyperreality?

The dream has always been a place where we can artistically experiment with fantasies, feelings, sensations, intuitions and reality. As such, the dream has always represented an avant guard archetypal form of studio. Can you imagine yourself in Leonardo da Vinci's studio? Today there is a diversity of types of studios, such as art, music, photography, film, television, radio and so on. The dream has been and always will remain an experimental theatre. Your imagination has entered the studio and workshop of your favourite band. In your mind this band seems to have attained "iconic" popular culture status. Today there are a plethora of popular icons which we can find in people's dreams. 

Like Morpheus in the film The Matrix asks Neo; "What is real?", so to you ask yourself, whether what is happening in your dream is real? The question is a moot point, since your mind has made it feel like it is real. The philosopher Rene Descartes nearly four centuries ago asked a similar question and developed what is now known as the dream argument. Today we live in an era known as post-modernism, where the reality testing of boundaries between reality and simulated reality have become blurred. The films such as Matrix, Avatar and Inception all point to cultural hypereality. It occurs to me that since you live in Britain, the big walk-in closet may have a connection to the British science fiction series Dr Who.

Hope this provides some insight.

Mark H

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