What does it take to become popular in society today? Practically, nothing. This seems more shocking if you think about it for a minute because the world has never been more interconnected and advanced. For instance, remember there used to be a profession called ‘astronaut’ which we all used to write as our dream job in the slam books as children? How many astronauts currently working in our country do we know today? Even one? But we’ll forget the count of influencers we see on our social media timelines and news daily. These folks have nothing groundbreaking to say or do. They probably dance goofily or troll people in absolutely illogical terms in front of a phone but the bizarre way in which they talk makes them go viral. If you observe them without bias, they are ordinary people, yet we follow them regularly.
When you watch Dream Scenario, written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, you’ll see nothing spectacular about the protagonist, Paul Matthews, played by Nicholas Cage, who is a biology professor. He is a lazy writer. But suddenly he gets attention from all corners as people start seeing him in their dreams. Paul becomes an overnight sensation. His social circle gets bigger, media wants to cover him and of course, the marketing agencies want to work with him. All this flows like a beautiful dream for Paul until the nature of people’s dreams changes. Witnessing opposite reactions, Paul has no control now.
Dream Scenario deep dives into fame and its impact on an individual. It depicts how everyone gets so quickly obsessed and infuriated with someone without even thinking. Nicholas Cage wonderfully depicts the natural excitement and anxiety that a common man goes through when he sees the bright and dark sides of fame.
While the purpose of Cancel Culture is to hold individuals accountable for anything harmful or offensive they do, how do you cancel someone who has done nothing? It doesn’t matter. Cancel Culture can turn your personal and professional life upside down without even looking at the truth. That is when our society becomes irrational and scary. Despite this phenomenon taking place in Dream Scenario, the film remains hilarious. It is an apt reminder for us not to take many things seriously and it is not just those weird dreams.