关键词: 博尔赫斯, 克里斯托弗·诺兰, 戏中戏, 自指悖论, 无限

Abstract: This article makes a comparative study between Jorge Luis Borges's “The Garden of Forking Paths” (1941) and Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010) to reflect on the artistic expressions of infinity in film and literature. Although these two works have been regarded as successful models of constructing temporal spatial labyrinth in literature and in film respectively, most of the interpretations either confuse the multiple non-linear time, parallel universe with infinity, or neglect the narrative impact on circulation and repetition made by the structure of “story within a story.” To imagine or express the infinity in literature and film, we must introduce the self-referential paradox into the narrative of works instead of relying on the expansion of physical time-space or the accumulation of possible worlds. As a sort of limited beings, the infinity that we can imagine and perceive could only be paradoxical expressions with the help of symbols and representations.

Key words: Jorge Luis Borges, Nolan, story within a story, self-referential paradox, infinity