Combining elements of Franz Kafka and Charlie Kaufman, Kristoffer Borgli’s 2023 film Dream Scenario features Nicolas Cage as Paul Matthews, a surly evolutionary biologist and college professor who comes to realize he is appearing in the dreams of strangers following the publication of an article on what turns out to be a burgeoning global phenomenon.
Dream Scenario, now streaming on Max, captures the worst aspects of cancel culture and Big Tech with its surrealistic premise.
Professionally frustrated, ignored by his students, and described by friends as “a remarkable nobody,” Matthews leans into his subsequent 15 minutes and soon finds himself giving TV interviews and extemporaneous discussions about why thousands of people suddenly started dreaming of him, despite having no clue and being a little miffed that all he apparently does in people’s dreams is aimlessly wander about while they find themselves confronted with peril or death.
Yet, before long, Matthews begins to learn he has as little control over his newfound fame and its consequences as he does over the phenomenon that made him famous.
A bipolar man shows up at Matthews’s family’s home threatening to kill him. The viral marketing team with which Matthews meets tells him using his fame to find a publisher for his unwritten book on evolutionary theory would be too off-brand. Opening himself up to a one-night stand with a young woman from the marketing firm leads to embarrassment. And, most devastatingly, Matthews soon finds himself metamorphosing from a likably offbeat internet sensation to a Freddy Krueger-esque boogeyman as his role in people’s dreams shifts from casual observer of peril and death to active perpetrator of violence.
The violence, of course, all takes place in the dreaming minds of others, but Matthews must live with the consequences nonetheless as students stop showing up for class, friends don’t want him in their homes, and strangers don’t want him even eating in the same diner as them.
Matthews’s attempts to stand up for himself, at best, are met with frustration from those closest to him who insist he try to be more considerate of the effect his presence has on others and perhaps apologize for the trauma he is causing them. At worst, such attempts result in viral videos that further damage his dwindling reputation or lead to real-world violence and injury.
In effect, Matthews has been canceled, albeit under more surrealistic circumstances than, say, an evolutionary biologist of European descent who shows up to campus on a day white people are supposed to stay home.
Following a climactic scene that at least temporarily leaves viewers wondering whether Matthews survived the ordeals he endured, the film cuts to what looks like a documentary about Matthews, now said to have disappeared from the public eye.
In reality though, the documentary is an infomercial for a new piece of tech said to have harnessed the abilities Matthews acquired accidentally.
The new wearable device allows people to travel to the dreams of others. Naturally, a group of sexy, young “dreamfluencers” is using it to market sneakers and vitamins to people as they sleep.
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For those who fear this is invasive or creepy, a narrator assures there is a strict no-nightmare policy and that “dreamfluencers” will respect the wishes of people who do not “enthusiastically consent,” although it becomes clear almost immediately these policies aren’t well enforced.
Despite its fantastical premise, Dream Scenario captures many of the worst aspects of cancel culture and Big Tech almost perfectly with the right blend of humor and horror. Although somewhat overlooked following its initial release, this film is almost certain to gain cult status in years to come.
Daniel Nuccio is a Ph.D. student in biology and a regular contributor to the College Fix and the Brownstone Institute.