DVD Review HTF Review: Brokeback Mountain (1 Viewer)

[Holadem]

David,

that's kinda the key to the film's universal appeal, and elevates it beyond a typical gay or straight romance.

Well, that and the fantastic direction, photography and performances.

--
H

 

[DeeF]

I agree that this movie is about a highly complex affair with universal implications and ramifications. But I think something extraordinary is missed by not labeling it gay, by not giving it a context specific to gay people.

Here's a beautiful essay that postulates this view:

An Affair to Remember, by Daniel Mendelsohn

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18712

 

[JonZ]

David, believe me they dont mean anything by it.It just a chance for them to break my balls. Trust me, they take more than enough abuse from me.

"It just happens to feature two bi-sexual men as the lovers"

See I saw it as one bisexual and one who loved Jack

I guess the moral of the story would really be unconditional love - regardless of race,sex,etc.I think Ennis learns this eventually and I think thats whats meant by the "I swear" comment.Life goes on and he has a daughter whos also given him unconditional love, despite his shaky past with her(but she never seems to judge him)he promises to give her the love she deserves.

 

[Tino]

See, I see it as TWO bi-sexual men as they were both married and at least at one time, loved their wives in addition to each other.

Does gay include bi-sexuality? Or does gay imply being strictly homosexual, which these two men were obviosly not?

Nice to see this thread back on track after the previous unpleasantness.

 

[PopBodhi]

I believe it says something negative about American society that this movie and DVD couldn't have been marketed as a "gay romance".

The fact is *all* people are able to function sexually with just about anything! TRUTH: A large segment of the American population still has a problem with bigotry against gays - a shame. It's time to move beyond tolerance and to achieve acceptance.

 

[Mark-P]

Here's my perspective (and yes it's a gay man's perspective if that matters to anyone). The definition of "gay" or "homosexual" is so subjective. Is it just whether or not a person actually has sex with a member of their own gender? I don't think so. If that were the case then everyone who's ever experimented would be gay and all the ones who live their entire lives in the closet, not giving in to their natural desires would be straight.

JonZ, I think it's great that a macho straight guy like yourself can watch this movie without feeling threatened by it. But why do you insist Ennis is straight? Whether he's attracted to a hundred men or just one, the fact that he loves having sex with Jack at the very least makes him bisexual.

In my opinion, if Jack and Ennis were truly attracted to both females and males, you could consider them to be bisexual. My "take" on the film is that neither guy is truly attracted to women and they are both hiding behind their marriages because it's too hard for them to deal with the truth. I think it's very telling in the scenes where Ennis and Alma are having sex, that his mind is elsewhere, perhaps fantasizing about Jack?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Firstly, it *was* marketed that way to the gay community. Which bothered me (marketing that assumes that gay individuals won't go to watch a movie like this unless it's tailor-made just for them). Gay-critics complaining of "not enough sex" was even more of an embarassing statement about the mentality of the "gay community" at large.

:rolleyes

Secondly, why is it negative that a film about universal themes not be categorized by particulars of the plot that may or may not be the central mission of the film?

And I think that it cuts both ways. For instance, were I to read the story of Romeo and Juliet, I wouldn't call it a "straight romance". Just like Brokeback, that's a statement about much larger social themes and the difficulties of love experiences across taboo boundries put in place by social structure. To call it a "straight romance" would be just as great a diservice to Shakespere's work as to codify Brokeback as a "gay romance". Both are much larger, deeper, and more universal and neither is cotextually limited to the gender roles of the characters involved.

 

[JonZ]

"But why do you insist Ennis is straight?"

Im saying he's in love with Jack, and its something that really defies Jacks gender. The fact that Jack is male is inconsequential to Ennis as far as his feelings of love go - his feelings about wanting a man, what will the world thinks,etc are completely different. When dealing with those feelings, gender is absolutely taken into account and the source of his grief.

Ennis never showed any attraction to other men,while Jack did. Its just my opinion from what I saw.

I might not be explaining myself well.

 

[Tino]

Well said David.

 

[Tino]

I'm a bit confused here. Acceptance of what?

 

[Jason_V]

One of the greatest things I ever learned was the difference between tolerance and acceptance.

Tolerance means "to be tolerated", to be put up with, to be appeased. That has a negative conotation, does it not? I, for one, do not want to simply be "tolerated" because I'm being forced upon another person.

Acceptance means "to be accepted", to be embraced. I, and we all, want to be accepted for who and what we are. Gay, straight, male, female, stupid, smart, athletic, Christian, Islamic, trash man, CEO...whatever.

There is no one in the world who will ever say they want to be "tolerated". Saying you tolerate something or someone is a slap in the face.

 

[JonZ]

see below

 

[PopBodhi]

Tino,

If you've watched an adult DVD you know that people have sex with all sorts of things! Male/Male sexual contact is probably the least "unusual" approach to orgasm.

It's time for America to accept gays. Brokeback Mountain is an opportunity for this country to move forward on the front of basic human rights (equality). Personally, I find someone saying it's *not* a gay movie quite offensive. What's wrong with it being a gay movie?

 

[JonZ]

"What's wrong with it being a gay movie?"

Nothing, but I think its about unconditional love and not gender.

"It's time for America to accept gays."

We should accept people, the way they are.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Not for me it isn't!

 

[PopBodhi]

I completely agree. However, we are not yet at a point were a movie like Love Story could be successfully remade with two men as the stars. This is precisely why "labeling" to a certain degree is important. It's tricky water to navigate for sure.

 

[Holadem]

Speak for yourself...

--
H

 

[Tino]

Sorry Randall, but I don't see it as a "gay" film. Like I said, it is SO much more than that. Why insist that it IS a gay film to those that don't view it as such? Why on earth would that be offensive??

 

[PopBodhi]

With all the different covers, did anyone find an insert?

Just curious.

 

[PopBodhi]

I suppose I view it as along the lines of "You don't look gay." being used as compliment by someone who means well. I don't mind looking gay and I don't mind films that deal with homosexuality being respectfully labeled gay.