Dead Man

Hey all,
Here are links to the trailer and a clip from the film Dead Man. It was described as a "psychedelic Western" by director by Jim Jarmusch. To give you a brief synopsis, William Blake (Johnny Depp) is wanted for murder. He is befriended by a Native American named "Nobody" who thinks that Blake is a reincarnation of William Blake (the poet) and decides to escort him back to the spirit world. Not only is this movie incredible (the soundtrack, the shots, the acting), it adds to our discussion of "Going Native." Depp's character certainly goes native in this film - he learns to sleep on the ground, to respect wildlife, to dislike the "white man," etc. However, Jarmusch's depiction of Nobody and other Native Americans is very different from movies such as Dances With Wolves. Nobody is an intellectual - he has actually read William Blake's poetry (Johnny Depp's character has hardly heard of him), speaks several languages, discusses his difficulty fitting in to American and Native American culture, and talks about his past as a sideshow act in England. Nobody understands the stereotypes of Native Americans and satirizes them. For example, Blake gets frustrated with Nobody's "senseless" talk, and asks him to say something understandable. Nobody responds "Tobacco!" Furthermore, Jarmusch did well casting Native American actors (who actually presented the movie and add jokes in their native tongue in the movie).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07xKQakj1hM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrQLk_ACuI&feature=related