Post-modernism in the Dead Man - Movie Review Example

Section/# Review and Analysis of the Movie “Dead Man” One of the hallmarks of the postmodernist era is the wayin which prior convention is disregarded as an appropriate way of explaining the extant world. Although a working definition of post-modernism is often difficult to definitively nail down, this author will put forward that the post-modern approach that has been exhibited so thoroughly throughout the culture in the past several decades relies on an overarching skeptical approach to the traditional interpretations of culture, philosophy, and art etc.

As a function of this, the film “Dead Man” represents just such a skeptical approach to convention and culture that postmodernism necessarily espouses. This can of course be fundamentally seen in the way that William Blake first comes out West in what can only be defined as “dreamy” terms of what he might expect to find. As a function of this point of view, this particular film integrates the way in which stereotypes of culture and reality began to melt away as Johnny Depp’s character begins to integrate with the realities that face him in what can only be described as a dystopian version of an alternate reality that he never before imagined could have existed (Dead Man 1).

As the film progresses, Depp’s character undergoes the transformation that allows him to adapt to the realities that he sees exhibited within the West and how these ultimately differentiate from the way former concentrations and stereotypes had encouraged him to behave. In this way, Depp’s character ultimately experiences something akin to “going native” as he takes upon himself nearly all aspects of the culture and ultimately leaves the prior version of himself behind in the wiles of the great western expanse in which the film is ultimately set.

Work Cited Dead Man. Dir. John Jarmusch. Prod. Demetra MacBride. Perf. Johnny Depp. Miramax Films, 1995. Film.