William Blake Influence On Dead Man

A sort of anti-western shot only in black and white, Dead Man, directed by Jim Jarmusch, was released in 1995 and stars Johnny Depp as the main character William Blake. In this film, the influence of the renowned poet William Blake is subtly but extensively present in the characters, narrative, themes, symbols, and motifs throughout the film. Dead Man touches on themes such as spirituality, loss of innocence, the harmfulness of industrialization, and death, all of which are ideas that William Blake frequently explored in his vast body of literary works. The films protagonist, a Native American named Nobody, embodies Blake’s belief that everyone should utilize his/her imagination to the fullest so as not be limited by the physical world. Jarmusch

William Blake is a character plagued by normalcy and inaction. He lacks creativity and originality entirely, a fact represented by his occupation, an accountant. A passive and timid character, William Blake’s life as we witness it on screen is almost entirely the result of actions taken by other characters. He is acted upon, instead of holding agency in his own life. The poet and artist William Blake rejected the idea that a human is passive in observation and perception of the world, a theory of which John Locke was an avid supporter. Instead, Blake believed that “Man’s perceptions are not bounded by organs of perception,” and that humans played an active role in seeing and interpreting the world around them (Blake, There is No Natural Religion). Bill Blake, however, is the embodiment of the exact opposite of what Blake believed and encouraged in individuals. Not only is Bill Blake a dead man on account of his injuries, but the character is altogether bereft of the ability to take action in his own life and employ imagination, and in this sense, he is also dead. Through Bill Blake’s character, Jarmusch creates subtle irony that only one familiar with the famous poet William Blake would

Often when Nobody speaks, his comments are allegorical or ironic. He adopts the quest of helping William Blake pass on to the spiritual world, a testament to the value he places on seeking metaphysical or divine transcendence. Nobody is also a well-rounded character who engages in earthly pleasures as well, such as sex with the Native American woman in the woods. Blake the poet would have supported this, for he condoned any attempt to avert pleasing physical experiences. Nobody is a character who represents many of the ideas that William Blake believed to be essential, such as imagination and