In this article, I propose a reading of Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1995) in light of Jacques Derrida's observations on the axiological binary opposition of speech and writing. I argue that the relationship between the two is artistically explored in the opening scene where the accountant William Blake (Johnny Depp) meets the fireman (Crispin Glover) on the train to the town of Machine. I interpret Depp's protagonist as the representative of writing and Glover's fireman as the representative of speech. Demonstrating how the attributes that, through the long history of Western metaphysics, have been ascribed to writing are manifested by the main character of the film, I analyse a subtle personification of the written word on screen. I contend that Dead Man is a deconstructive text not only because it deconstructs the genre of the Western and the narrative of the West but also in the sense that it offers a critique of logocentrism and Western metaphysics. Contributor Note Evelina Kazakeviciute is a PhD student in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC) at Cardiff University. Her thesis is entitled 'The Poststructuralist Conception of Communication as Reflected in Jim Jarmusch's Films'. She is the Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Film and Visual Culture Research (IFVCR) Network and an editor of JOMEC Journal. Her areas of interest are communication theory, the philosophy of communication, poststructuralism, and film.
This editorial for a special themed issue of JOMEC Journal gives an overview of the issue contents and introduces the articles, written by Kyle Barrowman, Paul Bowman, Paolo Braga, Evelina Kazakeviciute, Naz Önen and David Sorfa. The issue presents new research and developments relating to the relatively underrepresented areas of dialogue and communication in film. Half of the texts discussed here are language-centred readings of films focused on dialogue; the other half pay particular attention to the representation of different levels of communication, such as speech and writing or intra-communication on screen. It also touches upon broader topics, such as film as a means of communication between the director and the audience. The authors approach their objects of analysis from a variety of perspectives-from ordinary language philosophy to deconstruction. The findings of their studies have both theoretical and practical value: among other discoveries, the authors came up with new critical tools for the analysis of dialogue and communication in film and valuable ideas on how film dialogue can contribute to the movie dramaturgically. Therefore, the research published in this issue might be relevant and of use to dialogue and communication scholars, screenwriters, and filmmakers. Contributor Note Evelina Kazakeviciute is a PhD student in the School of Journalism, Media and Culture (JOMEC) at Cardiff University. Her thesis is entitled 'The Poststructuralist Conception of Communication as Reflected in Jim Jarmusch's Films'. She is the Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Film and Visual Culture Research (IFVCR) Network and an editor of JOMEC Journal. Her areas of interest are communication theory, the philosophy of communication, poststructuralism, and film.
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