Role Of Guilt In The Film Inception

Guilt is evil. Guilt is all-consuming, and does not leave one with room to breathe. Guilt can leave an everlasting impact on one for the rest of his/her life. Dominick Cobb, the main character in the film Inception, is completely consumed by his guilt. Cobb is a skilled extractor — he steals thoughts out of people’s minds. Cobb is faced with a new task: planting a thought in someone’s mind, otherwise known as inception. Although this is indeed a new task, Cobb has past experience in the field of inception. His wife, Mal, committed suicide over a thought that was planted in her mind by Cobb. He is later forced to leave his children due to looming murder charges. Cobb’s sense of guilt over his wife’s death and his children’s abandonment leaves his subconscious in shambles. Cobb’s perceived guilt causes him to subconsciously project violent and vengeful apparitions of his wife which constantly hinder his ability to properly complete his work in the dream state. He allows his guilt to both motivate him and restrict him, and once he is able to let go of his emotions, he is able to complete the task of inception and return home to his children. The guilt that Cobb feels consumes him throughout the film, hindering …show more content…
This sense of guilt hindered him from properly doing his job, and prevented him from returning home to see his children. Cobb’s guilt, which both motivates him and holds him back, creates violent projections of Mal which continue to destroy his work until he is permanently able to let go of his emotions. Cobb’s final release of guilt is an important part of the development of Dom’s character in the film, and an important life lesson to the audience. Cobb teaches that the weight of one’s past regrets can destroy one completely, and in order to fully let go of said guilt, one must accept past mistakes and realize that tomorrow brings a new