Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige"

Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige"

In a way, Christopher Nolan's movies depict or represent the facets of the life, the mind, and the world, which are subject to many different perspectives and interpretations. 

Let us look at some of the interesting aspects of Nolan’s movies, which emphasize this point.

Nolan’s movie consists of multiple layers.  Each of the layers may give different meanings at different times and may POSSIBLY reveal the plot of the movie when understood holistically.  

We undergo many stages in our life. Things that are silly now were critically important at an earlier stage and vice versa.  We can’t comprehend life if we don’t look at it holistically. 

Nolan’s films represent utter chaos, as the screenplay goes back and forth between the past and the present. 

Similarly, our mind goes between the past, the present and the future as well.  Yet there is an underlying plot / purpose behind this chaos.

In some of Nolan’s films, like Inception for example, the ending is left to the viewer’s imagination or judgement.  

This is like some beliefs of the mind about what happens after death.  The opinions differ, claiming that there is a life after death, no life after death, reincarnation, judgement day, heaven, hell, etc.

Even in films that have clear endings (like Memento or Dunkirk), the motives behind the characters’ decisions are subject to many interpretations. 

The same life events can be perceived differently according to one’s own perspectives. People may believe that the outcomes in the film are due to specific life situations such as conscious act, unconscious decision, astrology, numerology, religious reasons, medical conditions, natural calamities, unknown entity etc.

The movie, "The Prestige" is no different.  Look at this statement made by one of the protagonists. 

"The audience knows the truth: the world is simple. It's miserable, solid all the way through. But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder, and then you... then you got to see something special... you really don't know?... it was... it was the look on their faces."

We can interpret this quote in many ways. Here is one interpretation: 

The audience knows the truth: the world is simple. It's miserable, solid all the way through.

The world (/ life / mind) is simple (integration, sustenance, and disintegration). In other words, everything that has a beginning has an end

It is miserable.  The Mind wants to continue to possess (health, wealth, or the power to live) and it doesn’t like the ending which is unacceptable and miserable. Between the beginning and the end there can be suffering, sacrifices and sadness.

It is solid all the way through.  The world / life is solid all the way through because Existence always remains. It is the basis of all integration, sustenance, and disintegration.  Even before the Big Bang, something existed.  Only the forms undergo integration, sustenance, and disintegration. 

At the world level, a tree exists.  When the tree is cut down, wood “exists”.  When the wood is burnt, ash “exists”.  When the ash merges with the dirt, earth “exists”.  As human beings, our food “exists”. When the food is consumed it is broken down into glucose. The glucose “exists”. Glucose is converted into energy and the energy “exists”. Energy is dissipated in the form of action and the output of the action “exists” and so on.  In other words, the law of conservation of mass and energy remains constant and “exists” despite any changes.

But if you could fool them, even for a second, then you can make them wonder, and then you... then you got to see something special... you really don't know?... it was the look on their faces.

In forgetting these basic tenets about existence, the mind is easily fooled by the various phenomena during integration, sustenance, and disintegration.

The food that was ate for the breakfast has miraculously transformed into various body cells.  Specifically, the same food has transformed into eyes, ears, nose and so many various body cells, performing totally different functions.   

Another quote shows how the mind is fooled by the phenomena.

Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts". - "The Pledge", "The Turn” and "The Prestige”.  The first part is called "The Pledge".  The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird, or a man. He shows you this object.  Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course, it probably isn't.  The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary... But you don’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you must bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige."

Let us use nature as an analogy and breakdown this quote:

Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts". - "The Pledge", "The Turn” and "The Prestige”. 

The “Pledge” is the SEED. The “Turn” is the SEED disappearing into the ground. "The Prestige" is when the SEED becomes the “SAPLING”, "PLANT”, “TREE" and potentially “THE FOREST”

The first part is called "The Pledge".  The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird, or a man. He shows you this object.  Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course, it probably isn't. 

First the SEED (the Pledge) is shown to us.  It seems to be real, unaltered, and normal.  But of course, it is not just a simple object. While the SEED may seem ordinary at first glance, it contains all the necessary potential aspects to integrate into a different form (manifest) under the right conditions.

The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary... But you don’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough;

Next the SEED goes into the Ground and disappears (The Turn).

You must bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige."

Under the right conditions (i.e. the necessary setup and methods of the trick), the SEED becomes a sapling, a plant, and a tree.  If the tree can produce many seeds, they sprout and become a forest (the Prestige).

Let us connect back this phenomenon with our first quote:

“The world is simple (integration, sustenance, and disintegration).  It is miserable (suffering is there), solid all the way through ("I exist" - the existence principle is solid throughout it).”.  

The seed is formed through integration.  It sustains, encounters hurdles or suffering and ultimately disintegrates. However, the “existence” principle remains the same.  The seed “exists”. That form disintegrates and becomes a “sapling”.  The sapling “exists” and becomes a “plant” and so on and eventually a forest “exists” and goes through its own life cycle.

One final quote, the last monologue in this movie:

 Now you’re looking for the secret, but you won’t find it, because of course, you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.

As long as we are identified with the body-mind complex which is subject to integration, sustenance and disintegration, we are always looking for a secret, but we are not looking at the correct place, we don't really want to work it out; we want to be fooled.  We need to look at the substratum that remains in all the three stages of “The Pledge, The Turn and The Prestige”.   That substratum is the “Existence” which always remains the same across all the integration, sustenance, and disintegration.   

Of course, it can be said that this interpretation is viewed through the lens of spirituality and that there are other perspectives.

As discussed in the first paragraph, there are, as the nature of life, mind, and the world are open to countless perspectives and interpretations.  These perspectives and interpretations go through their own life cycle of integration, sustenance, and disintegration, what we can call as the human experience.