In the middle of the movie, while Ghost Dog is walking in the street at night, he encounters a dog. I think it's a bulldog. he just sits there on some kind of container. The two exchanges looks for a moment and then Ghost Dog keeps walking.
Is there any special meaning to this scene? I think I didn't get it...
Its his dead wifes spirit, calling him to join her.
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wait, when was that mentioned? I just watched it, and I don't remember him mentioning a dead wife at all
shareHe blows a kiss as he passes the cemetary.
shareIsn´t it the same dog, he meets when he first sees pearline the book-girl?
Then the girl tells him to make the dog, who stares at him the whole time, go away. He says so and the dog is leaving. Is that also a hint to his dead wife?
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ha it´s great, now after I´ve just seen the movie, so little many aspects, you can think about come to my mind. I have to say, i really loved it.
i thought blowing the kiss was for family-friends who'd passed on, or just to pay honor to the dead, as part of his philosophy.
where do you get something as specific as a wife from?
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The dog is a premonition of Ghost Dog's own impending doom.
Symbolically dogs have been depicted as guardians of the gates between life and the afterlife (ie Cerberus, Anubis). They are an animal that can walk within two worlds, the land of the living and the land of the dead, and due to their loyalty and obediance can also be seen as a guide between the two worlds.
In western culture, specifically the British Isles, Black Dogs are associated with Death and the Devil (The Hound of the Baskervilles being a well known example in popular fiction). They can also be seen at a crossroads or a place of execution.
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I kind of thought that the dog was a manifestation of Ghost Dog's consciousness, his own reality staring him back in physical form. It was the uncomfortable truth that he was resistant to seeing.
shareIn his shack there is a photo of a woman - perhaps this was his dead wife
shareThere were two references to Native Americans, the first when the mob bosses were comparing Native American names to "gangster" names and the other when two of their thugs meet a Native American on top of the roof instead of Ghost Dog. The dog might be a third, possibly Ghost Dog's totem or animal/spirit guide.
shareI looked up the meaning of a dog totem, and it appears relevant to the film. Especially Ghost Dog's relationship to Louie:
Dogs can be viewed as protective of its master and a symbol of loyalty. Friendship is apparent with dog totems as well as a sense of community. A dog has a strong spirit that is rarely broken. A dog is resilient toward hurt, whether physically or verbally abusive. Dogs have faith in their owners and are reliable; they are always there when you need them. Dogs have been known to follow their master to the death; their loyalty is that strong.
"Just forget you ever saw it. It's better that way."
I like that. Remember in the movie Dreams by Akira Kurosawa the scene where the soldier crosses the tunnel to the afterlife is preceded by a couple of dogs, could be reference to that movie too.
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I think the dog symbolizes his spiritual self. A bit like wild animals in amerindian cultures. And I think it's a pitbull (without ear crop) - a dog bred and drilled to kill, just like Ghost Dog.
sharei think assuming he has a dead wife is a bit of a leap! i too thought he was just paying his respects to the dead when he past the cemetary
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