Why Old People Hate Inception

If you’re relatively young, your Facebook and Twitter feeds have surely been full of friends gushing about the wonders of Inception. If you’re a bit older…you probably hated it. Christopher Nolan’s film has created a critical and generational divide reminiscent of “such equally daring films” as Bonnie and Clyde, A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, and Pulp Fiction, writes Patrick Goldstein in the Los Angeles Times. What older viewers see as a “lack of clarity” and “convoluted story,” younger viewers see as a “visually arresting puzzle-box thriller.”

The divide can be partially explained by Inception’s “dense, video-game narrative style,” which appeals—not surprisingly—to video gamers. “Inception is first and foremost a movie about worlds and levels, which is very much the way video games are structured,” says a USC professor. “In today's media-saturated culture, a film that polarizes its audience is often a film on its way to hitdom,” Goldstein concludes. Inception may not become a classic, but “it’s a movie that matters.”