“It is the era of meme culture: the internet has made the collective conscience something more than an idea”: interview with Kristoffer Borgli, director of Dream Scenario, a film with an Oscar-winning Nicolas Cage, in the role of a man who comes dreamed by everyone. In theaters November 16th.
What would happen if everyone started dreaming about the same person? And why a biology professor with the face of Nicolas Cage? It’s the starting point Dream Scenario – Have you ever dreamed of this man?, film by Kristoffer Borgli in theaters November 16thafter the preview at the Rome Film Festival 2023. Let’s say it straight away: much of the charm of this film is due precisely to Cage’s interpretation.
The actor deserves one nomination all’Oscar. Il directorwho we met in Rome, agrees: “I think his performance is very unique and special. I’m honored to be part of this project“. Thanks to the role of Paul Matthews, Cage can indulge himself with dozens of different versions of the same character.
Funny and grotesque, Dream Scenario throws into a cauldron all the issues that have been heating up social media in recent years, making a film that is a direct result of the culture of meme. We talked about it better in ours interview.
Dream Scenario: interview with Kristoffer Borgli
In the film it is said that all memes become dreams: are memes really the collective consciousness of today’s world? For Borgli: “Yes, I think yes. Thanks to memes, ideas emerge collectively and become everyone’s: everyone can contribute. It’s meme culture: the internet has made the collective consciousness something more than an idea“.
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It is also said that having traumas is now a trend. A strong statement. For the director: “It’s a topic that is discussed much more both in art, in films, books and in general in culture today. From a psychological point of view, people have no certainties: they don’t know how to deal with traumas. One idea is to simply ignore them, leave them alone, and think everything will work out. The other is to pay close attention to it and be more cautious. I don’t know what’s right, I don’t know which point of view is the best. The film addresses it as a theme, without reaching any conclusion“.
Dream Scenario: if dreams become products
In Dream Scenario even dreams become advertising space. And everyone seems to tell the protagonist that as long as something sells, then it’s wonderful. Brogli has no doubts, the consumerist society works like this: “Every great phenomenon is at some point subsumed by capitalism: even if it begins as something pure, for example, like the punk movement. It didn’t take long for it to become a trend, with ripped jeans and Sex Pistols logo t-shirts you can buy at H&M. The source of what is unique and pure is soon corrupted by capitalism and is converted into another product“.
Dream Scenario: the film with Nicolas Cage? It comes from a true story. Almost
The director and screenwriter imagined something frightening: the “dream influencer“. He himself is terrified of his own idea: “The idea of turning our dreams into a place to sell products is terrifying to me. It’s one of the last places left private, in a world where you share more and more parts of your life, putting them on a stage. Life has become a stage and dreams are the last sacred place where no one can disturb you. It’s funny and scary to think that there is a way into our dreams“.
Dream Scenario and Andrea Natella’s viral campaign
In the film there is a reference to the work of Andrea Natella, an advertiser who, in 2006, created one of the first viral campaigns. The idea is precisely that of the drawing of a man with an ordinary face that everyone dreams of. The director told us about it: “Yes, there is a reference to that meme in the movie. It is built on the same idea as Carl Jung, that is, that in the collective unconscious there are characters that populate everyone’s dreams. It’s an idea that has been played with in many ways in film, literature and on the internet. There’s a lot creepypasta, or urban legends that live on the internet. They were part of the inspiration for writing the film“.