Inception type Movie genre Mystery

Thriller

Image Credit: Melissa Moseley; Frank Ockenfels 3/AMCIn the acclaimed movie Inception, the central figure — a handsome, emotionally damaged thief who manipulates dreams for profit using his imagination and a briefcase full of cutting edge technology — is named Dom Cobb. In the acclaimed TV series Mad Men, the central figure — a handsome, emotionally damaged ad man who manipulates yearning using his imagination and a briefcase full of pens and paper — is named Don Draper.

Dom.

Don.

That’s right. The heroic anti-hero of the summer cinema’s brainiest adult entertainment is exactly one consonant away from having the same name as the heroic anti-hero of summer TV’s brainiest adult entertainment. Coincidence? Of course I would say “Of course!”… until you realize upon further inspection that yes, Inception and Mad Men are exactly the same thing, give or take a few extraordinarly picayune differences like period setting (see: Mad Men) or Lionell Richie-inspired dancing-on-the-ceiling special effects (see: Inception). WARNING: Appreciating my culturally valuable scholarship and intellectually unassailable logic requires that I totally ruin Inception for you, so MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT! (But just for Inception, assuming you’re up-to-date on Mad Men.)

MAD MEN

Don Draper (three-time Emmy nominee Jon Hamm) is the leader of a group of creatively talented though morally questionable people who are paid to create ideas that will compel inidviduals to behaviors that are economically advantageous to their clients.

INCEPTION

Dom Cobb (three-time Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio) is the leader of a group of creatively talented though morally questionable people who are paid to produce an idea that will compel a single individual to do something that is economically advantageous to a single client.

MAD MEN

Don lives in proverbial exile from his young son and daughter in Greenwich Village after bad s—t goes down between him and his wife (January Jones), who totally hates his guts.

INCEPTION

Dom lives in proverbial exile from his young son and daughter in various foreign lands after bad s—t goes down between him and his wife (Marion Cotillard), who totally hates his guts.

MAD MEN

Don’s ex-wife is kinda crazy (though in her defense, he did kinda make her that way) and is a really crappy mom.

INCEPTION

Dom’s dead wife is totally crazy (though in her defense, he did kinda make her that way) and is a really crappy mom.

MAD MEN

Guilt-wracked Don punishes himself for his failure as a husband with addictive and self-destructive behaviors like making a hooker slap him in his apartment.

INCEPTION

Guilt-wracked Dom punishes himself for his failure as a husband with addictive and self-destructive behaviors like making himself dream of spending time with his abusive wife in a hotel room.

MAD MEN

Stylish suits. Cigarettes and alcohol are workplace acceptable.

INCEPTION

Stylish suits. Drugs are workplace acceptable.

MAD MEN

Contains symbolic imagery of Don falling out of a window. (See: credits.)

INCEPTION

Contains literal imagery of Dom’s wife jumping out of a window. (See: the MASSIVE SPOILERT ALERT at the beginning of this thing, which was my attempt to warn you that I was TOTALLY GOING TO SPOIL STUFF.)

MAD MEN

In the recent season premiere, Don had to convince the son of a rich dude to accept a risky business strategy that his father didn’t like. He failed.

INCEPTION

Dom must convince the son of a rich dude to accept a risky business strategy that his father wouldn’t like. He succeeds.

MAD MEN

The final act of the season premiere had Don’s brilliant young female protégé Peggy (Elizabeth Moss) making him realize that the livelihoods of his team hinge on him getting over his bad attitude, which is threatening the quality of the agency’s work. (At least, that was my interpretion.)

INCEPTION

The final act of the movie has Dom’s brilliant young female protégé Ariadne (Ellen Page) making him realize that the lives of his team hinge on him getting over his bad self, which is threatening to send them all into a limbo world from which they will never return. (At least, that was my interpretation.)

MAD MEN

In the end, Mad Men might be best understood as an elaborate allegory for the creative process and artistic anxieties of its creator, Matthew Weiner.

INCEPTION

In the end, Inception might be best understood as an elaborate allegory for the creative process and artistic anxieties of its creator, Christopher Nolan.

MAD MEN

Doc Jensen’s bold prediction! In the series finale, Don Draper will land in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, and live happily ever working at his dream job: running a movie studio. His first project? A highly metaphorical quasi-autobiographical drama written and directed by his former Sterling Cooper art director, Sal Romano. As far as making amends go, it’s a start.

INCEPTION

In the final scene, Dom Cobb lands in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, and lives happily ever after.

More quality analysis about Mad Men to come. Theories/complaints/lawsuits? E-mail: docjensenew@gmail.com, and follow me on Twitter @ewdocjensen.