One of the finer details in Inception is the specific totems used by the team to help discern whether they are in a dream, or reality, with each piece having a unique purpose and relationship with its users. In 2010, Christopher Nolan filled the time between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises movies by releasing one of his most widely celebrated movies of all time, Inception. While the film is undoubtedly one of the more cerebral and psychological in his filmography, it also remains one of his best, with more to decipher about the movies’ deeper meanings and messages on each rewatch.

Within the world of Inception, the team employ a unique method to be able to ground themselves when they are inside someone’s mind, where it could potentially be highly difficult to decipher what is real and what is simply a dream. The totems are a unique and essential tool for them to gauge reality, and due to their importance, they are specific and unique to each person who uses them. This helps to ensure no one else’s mind can cause the totem to act in the way that the user knows it will, as they each behave in crucially different ways inside and out of the dream world.

5

Spinning Top

Dominick Cobb

Dominick Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is the leader of the group who enter peoples minds and attempt to extract ideas. However, Cobb is also one of the individuals with the most complicated relationship to the dream world, as he lost his wife Mal in the subconscious state of dreaming, and it led to her struggling to recognize what was real, and what was a dream. Mal was instrumental in coming up with the idea of using totems to gauge reality, but she was unfortunately also a victim of losing grip on that reality.

Cobb uses a totem that previously belonged to his wife, a metal spinning top. The design is simple and elegant, with a straightforward curved shape. However, there is also a theory that Cobb’s true totem was his wedding ring, considering everyone has a unique totem, and Cobb appears to have shared or taken his wife’s when she died. However, Cobb appears to have settled into using the spinning top as his full-time totem following the death of his wife, perhaps to feel closer to her, or because he is similarly willingly giving up his grip on reality.

Within the film, Cobb spins the top to determine what is real and what is a dream state. In the real world, the top spins for a short time, before eventually toppling over and coming to a stop. However, in dreams, the top will continue spinning indefinitely. This leads to one of the most pivotal endings in a Nolan film, when the movie ends with Cobb’s top spinning, and the screen cutting to black before it topples over, leaving the question of whether Cobb escaped the dream world or is still stuck in limbo.

4

Loaded Dice

Arthur

Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is the second in command in Cobb’s extraction operation. A detail-oriented, intelligent, and highly skilled fighter, Arthur understands the dream world better than potentially anyone, except for Cobb. Arthur also has a talent for helping others to understand the complex realities of the dream world, which he uses to great effect to train and assist Ariadne in getting to grips with navigating and controlling dreams in order to extract ideas.

Arthur uses a simple red loaded die as his totem. While dice are commonly associated with gambling, Arthur is someone who is much more intrigued by chance and probabilities. The dream world is an obsessive fascination for him, and dice are a simple and small artifact that makes sense as an item to use for a totem. Whether Arthur has some deeper connection to dice is not explicitly revealed, but the manner in which he uses it is indicative of his personality.

Since Arthur uses a loaded die, things are never left to chance. He knows the specific face that the dice will land on, and can confidently throw them with certainty that they will land as he intends. However, within the world of dreams, the dice behave like normal dice rather than one that is weighted. As a result, Arthur is able to establish whether he is in reality by determining if his die behaves statically, certainly, and as expected, or, if they begin to perform in a way that is unpredictable. This serves as a great counterpoint to his personality and sensibilities.

3

Bishop Chess Piece

Ariadne

Ariadne (Elliot Page) is the newest member of the team, and a promising young architect. She is recommended to Cobb by his father-in-law, Miles (Michael Caine). Ariadne is intrigued by the concept of being able to build vast structures and worlds within the confines of a dream, and thanks to Cobb and Arthur, she is brought up to speed on how the dream world would function, and thus, how she can interact with it and create the landscape. Her architectural knowledge is essential in the plan to incept Robert Fischer when she is hired to design three unique layers of the dream for the team to navigate.

Shortly after joining the team, Ariadne is informed what a totem is, and the necessity of having such an item within the dream world. Her character acts as a surrogate for the audience in entering the world of the dream, and learning the ins and outs of this reality. In choosing and creating a totem for herself, Ariadne takes time to carefully construct and adapt a small chess piece, specifically, the Bishop, in such a way that it will be uniquely hers, and have a certain weight and feel.

Within the dream, Ariadne is able to use the Bishop to great effect thanks to the specific drilling which she applied to the piece. As a result, it is not as heavy as would be expected, and it may fall in a specific way every time it is knocked over. For Ariadne, with the careful planning and role of planning ahead in building a well-constructed map for the plan to work. Chess is a game of skill and planning, which requires the players to think several moves ahead of their opponent, and adapt to their moves with a clear path to victory always in mind in the fewest possible moves.

2

Poker Chips

Eames

Eames is a character played by Tom Hardy, and another vital member of the team. Eames is an incredibly creative and smooth operator who is able to perfectly copy others, and within a dream, he can replicate their looks, as well as their mannerisms, voice, and expressions. He uses this ability to great effect on the team when he is able to convince targets of certain things through the manipulation of their thoughts. He is also a character who is most like a traditional spy, with his undercover skills, his preference to work alone, and his competitive nature.

Eames uses a poker chip as his totem, and it is one of the few totems which is not seen in action in the dream world. However, the use of poker chips evokes a certain penchant for playing games, gambling, and taking risks. Similar to Arthur’s dice, poker chips are commonly found in casino games, but Eames is a very different character in terms of personality, and his use of the chips indicates his willingness to take risks and adapt in a moment, even when things are left to chance.

Within the dream world, Eames’ totem is expected to potentially multiply when he rubs the pieces together. Though this is not seen in the film, Eames is seen playing with the chips that resembles this motion in the real world, indicating that it is how he performs a reality check and ensures he is still grounded. However, this cannot be specifically confirmed due to the absence of this action happening in the movie.

1

The Rug In His Study

Saito

Saito, played by Ken Watanabe, is not an official member of the team in Inception, although he is the financial benefactor who hires Cobb and causes him to bring the team together. Saito is a very wealthy man who employs Cobb and his companions to plant an idea in Robert Fischer’s mind to sell his father’s company. While Saito is not part of the team, he is adamant that he will join the crew on their mission, ensuring that they get the job done.

While Saito has no pre-planned totem in the world of dreams, he ends up using the rug in his study as a totem that helps him to gauge when he is in a dream state. Early in the film, Cobb is performing a job trying to extract information from Saito, and in the process of interrogating him, Saito learns that he is dreaming thanks to the rug in his study. This shows that Saito is clearly a man who pays attention to detail, and ultimately leads him to working with Cobb later.

Saito is able to uncover that he is in a dream state the moment that Cobb throws him on the ground in his study. While lying on the floor, with his face and hands in the rug on the floor, Saito tells Cobb that the carpet in his study is made of wool, not polyester, and this acts as a totem for Saito to discover he is dreaming. Whether the totems are pre-planned or not, paying close enough attention, and looking at the way things should behave leads the characters in Inception to determine what reality they are in, and if they are still dreaming.