“ | Remember, you are the dreamer, you build this world. | ” |
—Cobb |
Within a shared dream one person must take on the role of the Dreamer.
The dreamer's role is to construct and maintain a dream space. Often the dreamer will add personal touches to his or her own dreams. A dreamer's base desires, like the need to go to the bathroom, can unconsciously affect the dream.
The dreamer constructs a space that the subject can then populate with their subconscious in the form of projections. If the subject's subconscious ever suspects that he or she is in a dream controlled by outside forces, then the projections will seek out and kill the dreamer and any other foreign presence.
While other sleepers can manipulate reality in a dream to some degree, only the dreamer can adjust the architecture of the dream.
Dreamers in the Film[]
- Dom Cobb - Dom's Memories, Possibly other scenes in the film
- Arthur - The Palace, Penrose Stairs, The Hotel
- Ariadne - Paris Streets, Paris Cafe
- Eames - The Mountain
- Yusuf - The City
- Nash - The Apartment