If I had to pick a favorite movie from 2023, I would pick “Dream Scenario,” the mid-budget fantasy film starring Nicolas Cage in all his crazed glory. The film centers on Cage’s character, run-of-the-mill biology professor Paul Matthews, who suddenly starts appearing in people’s dreams all over the world. Although his dream self first exists as a passive observer, it turns into a sadistic entity that brutally tortures the dreamer as Matthews starts taking advantage of his newfound fame. This prompts a social backlash that sees him placed on leave from his job and forced to exit public places when his presence makes people uncomfortable, culminating in his wife leaving him. The thesis of “Dream Scenario,” however, is somewhat nebulous, as the film loses its way a bit in the third act (despite the incredible ending scene). However, it remains a wonderfully original and poignant dark comedy examining the effects of skyrocketing to both fame and notoriety in the modern world.
Pre-21st century, celebrities were largely movie stars, musicians, writers, political figures and other varieties of performers. But with the rise of social media, fame suddenly is a lot more difficult to control. A burgeoning “meme culture” sees average people, in photos taken out of context where they were doing some funny facial expression or action, shot to a level of fame and recognition they had often not sought out. This trend is ongoing — X, formerly known as Twitter, has the notion of the ‘main character of the day,’ which sees a viral post, photo or video sweep the website, often prompting backlash towards the unfortunate subject. In a world where everyone has a camera in their pocket and access to an audience of thousands of people, any one of us could conceivably reach a level of fleeting online fame where we have no control of our image in an instant.
“Dream Scenario” unpacks this development with a biting social satire that emerges in its second act. Matthews is by no means a hero or hapless victim — the film carefully portrays his shortcomings in his professional, personal and inner life. However, his brief and overwhelming stint as a public figure, during which he has no control whatsoever over what he does or how he comes across in each dream, clearly parallels the life cycle of internet fame. The forest fire-like spread of the subject’s internet presence, the whiplash with which the online community can turn on the subject and the subject’s eventual disappearance as the online community forgets about them all echo this pattern. This development is not exclusive to internet celebrities; it also applies to specific events that affect traditional celebrities, particularly within the phenomenon of “cancel culture.” Some old interview or out-of-context moment arises, and the internet seizes on it and rips the subject apart, and then, just as quickly, forgets. This can also happen to traditional celebrities without the presence of a trigger, particularly to women and particularly when the celebrity experienced a meteoric rise to fame, which often prompts overexposure. The rise to success of Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence, their brief but extreme vilification, the eventual settling of the dust and their resulting comebacks come to mind.
“Dream Scenario” is a wonderfully dark and original fantasy about the inner workings and effects of public mass consciousness. Although poor Paul Matthews experiences the dark side of this consciousness through dreams, the internet is a real-life parallel that we experience in the present day. It’s easy to lose yourself in “Dream Scenario,” but any of its viewers (and I strongly recommend being one) would do well to recognize and reflect on the film’s larger message about the dangers of internet fame.
