Dead Man

William Blake is the un-victorious antihero of Dead Man; the protagonist who only in death discovers his identity. With such a promising name to live up to, Blake seems in comparison underwhelming and insignificant, and perhaps more so with his lack of knowledge about the poet and artist with whom he shares a name. He seems to have no passion, to be living in acceptance of the fate given to him by others rather than striving to seek his own. It is only after being shot that he begins to take control in his prolonged journey to the unknown.

When the Native American, Nobody, encounters the mortally wounded Blake, he becomes involved in Blake's journey. Nobody acts as a spiritual guide, leading Blake towards an experience of the sacred and release into whatever lies beyond. Nobody guides Blake from the profane realm constructed by humans, represented by the town Machine, to the axis mundi offered by the Pacific Ocean through which Blake can experience transportation and rebirth.

The most overwhelming emotional reaction I experienced in this film was horror. This emotion was the most strong at the revelation of the truth behind what seemed at first to simply be tall tales invented to create terror: the reports that Cole Wilson, the bounty hunter, had murdered and eaten his own family. Reports of cannibalism seem to most often be proven false. Claims have continuously been made that certain people or groups of people engaged in cannibalism as a manipulative tool used to make the other appear savage and keep them beneath. When Conway Twill made this accusation, therefore, I discounted it as a lie intended to prevent trust between Johnny "The Kid" Pickett and Wilson. As we see the truth revealed, however, the realization of the acts Wilson committed become horrifying and help establish him as a truly demonic character. It is this development that helps set up the conflict between the spiritual guide and demonic villain that ends in a death of the two as Blake is released.

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