Source
r/MrRobot•
aveyard

[S2E12 Spoilers] Another look at lucid dreaming

Spoiler

I'm just beginning to research lucid dreaming, embarrassingly never knew anything about it until this series.

Just like most of you, rewatching prior seasons and episodes, clueing for looks, trying to "understand". I never really get there, to the empirical, but I see these things that get my intuition's attention.

I've commented quite a bit on this sub, rarely having original thoughts or insights of my own but rather standing on the shoulders of those of you who are smarter and possess the keen ability to connect dots.

I really would like to solicit your comments on the topic of lucid dreaming and, rather than lofty theories, identify interactions, scenes, and episodes, where this could be present.

As a first example to kick it off, the scene in S1E01 where Elliot is escorted by Sutherland to meet with Tyrell and his lawyers. Notice the surreal characteristics of the scene. The demeanour of Tyrell, the blurred faces, the anticlimactic resolve. This is, from what I understand thus far, characteristic of a lucid dream.

Interested in your collaborative thought here.

Posted Jan 28, 2017, 10:38 PM UTC

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Joey_jojojr_shabado•

I have yet to do a rewatch. I think I'm gonna handle it like breaking bad. Wait til it's all done then rewatch the shit out of it.

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bobdylan401•

Shows so good I've been rewatching it 3 times at once as I've been binging on it by myself, with my roommate and with my girlfriend independently from each other. I am mr robot

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confed2629fsociety•

So since lucid dreaming involves control, are you thinking that certain scenes are Mr Robot controlling a lucid dream that Elliott is experiencing? Is that why Elliott doesn't possess the ability to control the dream(s)?

I don't know much about the concept of lucid dreaming outside of the movie Waking Life. In that movie they play off lights a lot. They say that when you are experiencing a lucid dream, the lights can't be changed. The main character realizes he's in a dream when a light switch doesn't work or a car's headlights don't work.

I'm not sure if that is even true but it's interesting. I'll keep it in mind next time I watch a few episodes again.

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PromotesGayCommunism•

The thing about Lucid dreaming is not necessarily that you can't change anything, but that your brain is in a limbo between awake and sleeping in which sensations from dream and reality mix.
This is something that is present in many dreams to some degree, for example your alarm rings and in your dream you hear a phone ringing etc. Additionally, dreams often exhibit logic gaps. Flipping a light switch in a dream may have no effect at all because you are not in a consistent state of mind, even for simple and direct cause and effect (which can produce the weirdest stories).
Now if you tried to answer that phone call in your dream you would quickly become confused because the ringing just doesn't stop.
This disconnect between dream and reality can easily become powerful enough to make the dream break down and wake you up.
But it can also be exploited to gain a higher level of awareness and control within the dream (meaning lucid dreaming).
If you train yourself to pay close attention to certain things during your time awake you increase your chances of catching the differences between doing them in reality and doing them when you dream.
This kind of trigger is a nice way to notice that you are dreaming.
Besides paying attention to the light changing when you flip a switch (opposed to flipping it in one thoughtless and trained motion) you could also get in the habit of randomly holding your nose shut with your fingers and trying to breathe through it, which showcases how your perception (I shouldn't be able to breathe through my shut nose) and reality (my real body can breathe unhindered) differ.
There are various triggers one could think of but the main idea is to notice these inconsistencies within the dream as well as between the dream and those parts of reality that seep in from outside.

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thisgirlthisgirl•

I couldn't really think of any examples until you phrased it this way. I like the idea that Mr. Robot talking to people while Elliot hangs back and watches is Mr. Robot's lucid dream, and Elliot simply figured out how to flip that script.

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bobdylan401•

Your last paragraph is correct. Lucid dreams are in my experience very psychedelic as they are more real than normal dreams but also full of fantastic fantasy. The worlds in lucid dreams remind me very much of acid or mushrooms

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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3i3e3achine•

In the scene mentioned; we are shown the room from behind eliot's head with the men coming out from both sides.😜

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[deleted]•

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