How Dreams Connect to Wish Fulfillment

Dreams are a very diverse subject in cinema because of the various ways they are portrayed and played out in a film. They are open to have anything happen in them, and the advancement in cinematography and postproduction makes it possible to take many different artistic directions when filming dream sequences in a film. It is also possible for a dream to have meanings and purposes, such as playing a role in fulfilling a wish that someone cannot normally achieve in reality on their own. This idea is represented well by the protagonist in Sherlock Jr., a projectionist who yearns to become a detective. Since Sherlock Jr. is a silent film, the protagonist’s feelings and emotions, as well as the emotions of all of the other characters, are heavily portrayed through their actions and facial expressions, as well as dialogue and backstory that are shown on the title cards. One of the projectionist’s desires is explained at the very start of the film, first written on the second title card and then in the first and second opening shot where he is seen reading a book titled “How To Be A Detective.” In the first shot where he is seen sitting by himself and the big empty theater can be perceived as representing how enthralled he is in his own world of wanting to be a detective. While reading the book, the protagonist shows more of his desire by taking out a magnifying glass and inspecting his own fingerprint, and by wearing a fake moustache to appear older and fit the part more since he is only a kid. At first, it appears as though this is the only thing the protagonist desires, but the viewer finds out about his interest in having a relationship and getting married to “The Girl” after seeing the various ways in which he first interacts with her after buying her a box of chocolates and strangely proposing to her. He is very shy when talking to her, shown by how he has trouble talking to her and making eye contact with her. Even when proposing to her, which doesn’t even involve him speaking and is done by just putting a ring on her finger, he is looking away almost the entire time. A third thing the projectionist desires, which relates back to his initial desire of being a detective, is to solve the case he has become involved in after being framed by the sheik for stealing the pocket watch that belongs to the father of the girl. The protagonist tries to use this scenario as a way of fulfilling his initial wish, but fails to do so at first during the sequence where he is following the sheik around. He never does end up achieving this; he only does so during his dream. Although some movies can be questionable and can have interpretation on when a dream sequence starts, such as Mulholland Drive by David Lynch, it is clear to see it in this film through a few different methods. First, the protagonist is seen falling asleep while working in the projector room. Then, during the second shot of him sleeping, a postproduction effect is used to have him step out of his body into the dream world that is created after he has fallen asleep. Lastly, it becomes obvious that he is dreaming when unrealistic events start to happen, like the two actors in the movie being shown changing into the girl and the sheik. Another example of this is during the gag where the projectionist is interacting with the movie screen and the scenery that keeps on changing. It can be argued that during the dream sequence, the protagonist is lucid dreaming and his control of his dream. In order to lucid dream, the dreamer first needs to be aware of the fact that he is in a dream. The protagonist seems to recognize this after trying to explain to his sleeping self what strange things are happening to the characters in the movie being shown. When lucid dreaming, the dreamer has control over everything that happens. Even though he does not control his dream at the same scale and impact of the characters from Inception by Christopher Nolan, there are several points where the protagonist takes advantage of the dream. These include going through a fence in order to escape from the criminals that are chasing after him, being able to control the bike he is riding on with his feet while avoiding being hit by cars and a train, and transforming his getaway car into a sail boat after driving it into the water. He is able to accomplish these by altering the dream around him and making sure things turn out in his favor. During the course of the dream and at the end of it, all of the protagonist’s wishes are achieved. Even though the situation that he is in during his dream becomes much more intricate than the theft of a pocket watch, he does end up rescuing the girl from the sheik and successfully gets away. However, in reality while the dream sequence is taking place, it is the girl that discovers and proves that the sheik was behind the theft. The protagonist is able to accomplish this in his dream by having the ability to do the things he would not able to do in reality. One example of this is when he is following the sheik before and during the dream. Beforehand, he is unable to catch him on foot after following him for a while and losing him at the train tracks. During the dream, the protagonist is able to perform the stunt of landing into the sheik’s car after hanging onto a train track gate, something that he would most likely not be able to pull off in a real situation based on his previous actions and his true character.
The protagonist is also able to be a good detective by being courageous and clever during his dream, which both are big personality traits that he does not have in reality. In the beginning of the dream, he walks into the mansion where the sheik and the butler are with a big look of confidence while making direct eye contact with them. This is something that he is not even able to do with the girl earlier on in the film. He is also dressed up in a very nice suit and jacket, while wearing a top hat and holding a cane. This is much different than his cheaper outfit and boater hat that he is wearing before and after the dream. These characteristics and visions of himself are what the protagonist perceives as the things that make a good detective. Even though it seems that the protagonist does not know that the butler replaced one of the billiard balls with a bomb, he tricks and fools the sheik and butler after putting the bomb in his pocket by still playing the game. The protagonist also fools the sheik and his accomplices after jumping out the window and quickly disguising himself in order to escape from them. The way he is clever during these parts of his dream is much different than the way he is in reality, which involves changing the price number on a box of chocolate. Another way he shows his courage is by saving the girl and successfully escaping in his car with her. He successfully wins her over by the end of the dream, something he can’t do on his own in reality since he was not able to prove his innocence after being accused of the theft.
Even though the protagonist does not solve the crime in the reality of the film and does not become any better of a detective, he still ends up with the girl in the end after the dream sequence ends. While she was the one who was responsible for playing his desired “detective role” by going to the pawnshop herself and discovering that the sheik was behind everything, he still gets want he seems to ultimately want the most. Regardless of the fact that he is not able to win her over through this preferred means of solving the case, he still ends up with her. The protagonist’s dream was a way to fulfill his wish in a different way and ultimately end up in the same or a similar desired position.