Dream sequence

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A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other element. Many writers and critics look down on dream sequences as a cheap way to explain a character's motives without actually integrating them into the plot,^{[citation needed]} especially when it is used as an ending, wherein the main character wakes up and realises that everything that had happened was all a dream. This is usually considered an anticlimactic and ineffective way to wrap up a story or to explain previous improbable situations. More commonly though, dream sequences appear in many films to shed light on the psychical process of the dreaming character. For instance in Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, the purpose of Pee Wee's dreams is to inform the audience of his anxiety and fear from losing his bike. Other times major action takes place in dreams, allowing the filmmaker to explore infinite possibilities as Michel Gondry demonstrates in The Science of Sleep.

Audio or visual elements, such as distinctive music or coloration, are frequently used to signify the beginning and end of a dream sequence in film. It has also become commonplace to distinguish a dream sequence from the rest of the film by showing a shot of a person in bed sleeping or about to go to sleep. Other films show a dream sequence followed by a character waking up in their own bed. Certain Surrealist and neo-Surrealist directors such as Luis Bunuel and David Lynch refuse to distinguish between waking life and dreams in many of their films, mixing the two states as they please.^[1]

[edit] Films Using Dream Sequences

[edit] Other Examples in Pop Cultural Media

Most of the jokes of every episode of the hit FOX animated sitcom Family Guy are short out of story dream (or thought) sequences.
Dream Sequence music video for Child of Glass turns out to be a crazy dream.
That's So Raven episode "Don't Have a Cow" is, except for a few brief moments, Raven's vision.
Ed, Edd n Eddy episode "Rock-a-Bye-Ed" is Ed's nightmare.
The 8th season of Dallas is written off entirely as a dream.
Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett deals a lot about dreams, including one instance when the main character Tiffany Aching remarks on how the cliché ending of "she woke up and it was all a dream" is the worst ending for any story.
The Gorillaz music video for Dare turns out to be bassist Murdoc's crazy dream.
On the sixth season of Married... with Children, an episode entitled Al Bundy, Shoe Dick mirrored Dallas' elimination of storylines via a dream. In real life, Katey Sagal (Peg Bundy) had gotten pregnant and it was written into the series. Ms. Sagal later had a miscarriage, and to write all of the baby events out of the show, that entire season up to that point was made a dream by Al Bundy.
The CD Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost by psychadelic trance artist Shpongle, is said to have 20 tracks divided up into eight equal parts which represent each stage of the dream sequence.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Restless" comprised primarily of the four main characters' dreams. The writers used this episode heavily as a means of multi-layered foreshadowing of elements to be introduced in the series, such as the arrival of Dawn and the deterioration and eventual death of Buffy's mom.
Charmed episode "The Jung and the Restless" had all three of the sisters induced in slumber by Billie and almost all of the episode is their common dream where everything they go through has a menaning.
That '70s Show is known for featuring in almost every episode at least one wacky dream sequence by one of the main characters. These sequences often spoof the seventies' TV shows, movies that were out at that time, or even fairy tales.
Almost all of the "House, M.D." episode "No Reason" was a hallucination or dream of the lead character, Gregory House after he was shot at the beginning of the episode. Within the dream, House realises that he is imagining some of the events, but like the audience, he is unaware to what extent until the end of the episode.
The music video for the Foo Fighters song Everlong fades in and out of a man (portrayed as Dave Grohl)'s various dreams.
An episode of Darkwing Duck partly takes place in a dream. A local witch, and Darkwing's crush, has infiltrated dreams to make people give away their money. The witch and Darkwing later fight the true villain in Darkwing's dream.
CW's Supernatural season three episode "Dream a little dream of me" deals with dreams
season five of Smallville has an episode "Lexmas" that is half a dream sequence