The Dreams of Mike in My Own Private Idaho

The film My Own Private Idaho two best friends Mike and Scott live on the streets of Portland and work as hustlers, selling themselves to both men and women. Mike played by River Phoenix is narcoleptic and throughout the film is passing out and usually rescued by Scott who carries him to safety until he wakes up. Either right before or as soon as Mike falls to the floor in one of his episodes, the scene changes and shows different images sometimes it is a peaceful unrelated scene like mountains or fish and then other times it is Mike with his mother at an old style ranch house. These different images that broke up the film to me show Mike looking for peace in a chaotic world. Usually a narcoleptic episode happens to Mike when he gets really worked up or upset and these images almost calm him down and bring him peace. These images provide a fresh start for Mike and when he wakes up is normally calm and not bothered by the previous event. A reoccurring dream that Mike has is him with his mother at a ranch style house, that the audience assumes and later Mike confirms is the house he grew up in. These images of his mother show her as a calm and peaceful woman who loved her son. This contradicts what other characters say about his mother like his brother/father who tells him a violent story of how his mother shot a man at a drive in theater. This story is never confirmed in the film and the audience never gets to meet Mikes mother but it doesn't matter because these dreams that Mike has show how he views and remembers his mother. They show Mike's own little world or "own private Idaho" and how he views his past with his mother as positive and is why he goes on an unsuccessful journey to find her.

The dreams that Mike has I think are filmed in a very interesting as well, the style is different from the rest of the film which helps the audience realize these images are dreams within Mike's head. While watching the film I thought these dream scenes looked a lot like old home movies, the film is a little fuzzy and choppy, as well as being done on what seems to be a lower quality camera then present day technology. I think this is done intentionally because anyone who watches old home movies does so to remember their past and past experiences with loved ones, especially if that loved one is no longer alive or around. I think these dream scenes are Mike's "home movies" he is remembering experiences with his mother inside his head, and although it is unclear if they are true or not it doesn't matter because they are real to Mike. These dream images show Mike's longing to find and be with his mother and find peace in a very chaotic world.