How Brokeback Affected Me--continued

[B.W.]

To be honest, I'm not sure.  The world is a different place from what it was 15 years ago.  I firmly believe that BBM played a part (no matter how small) in the progress that the LGBT+ community has been able to make.

I suppose you're right to some degree.  Do you think that in some ways "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN" may have created any romantic or idealized distortions of some LGBT+ persons' experience with the film's portrayal of a fictional love story set in the American West in a more modern time frame between the 1960s and 1980s?  Is what I am saying making any sense?

[B.W.]

Hi B.W.!
I'd say my feelings towards the film have changed very little over the years- I'm still as amazed today as I had been back then at its beauty, quality and complexity and how well it still holds up (can't believe it's been 16 years already...how time flies).

It was unlike any film I'd seen before and it kept drawing me in- I just couldn't stop watching it. I remember staying up many a night replaying some of the scenes and then coming back to this forum to see what others had written, going back to the film, returning here for more analyses and on and on and on until the first rays of the morning light. I was captivated for months. Then something happened, I suppose I'd maxed out on the "feels" and I haven't watched it or read the story since. Until a few weeks ago, that it. So that's how come me end up here, as Ennis would say!

One thing that did change is my attitude towards life in general, I think. Happens to us all with time, I suppose. Let's say I used to empathize with Jack a lot more back then, I couldn't fully appreciate the complexity of Ennis' character and even though I adored them both, I sort of resented Ennis in a way for being so closed off and difficult. This time round it's much easier to see things his way.


I'm not sure. Like you've said, I don't think the impact would be quite the same. I can't really see two straight actors playing these roles today, to begin with. Also, I feel like more and more LGBT+ themed films end on a slightly more positive (or at least not as tragic) note these days- which is great, God knows we've had enough of the "bury your gays" trope. But Brokeback was always so much more than that anyway.

Though I am not LGBTQIA+ myself, the few LGBT-themed films that I've seen like "PHILADELPHIA" (1990), Gus Van Sant's "MILK" (2008) or Kimberly Peirce's "BOYS DON'T CRY" (1999), I liked.  Of course, "BOYS DON'T CRY" is based on a tragic true story about a young adult transgender man who was one of three innocent people who were brutally murdered in a small town in Nebraska in the 1990s by people whom he thought were his "friends", and all because they had such a hatred and lack of understanding of his gender identity; which helped give the film a bit of its power, the fact that it is based on real people and actual events.  I've always liked Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny as actresses. "MILK" was also inspired by a historical person and on real events, which gave that film a degree of power.  Harvey Milk's political career and murder are practically the stuff of American social and political legend.  I've seen numerous films that have LGBT characters but they are not specifically LGBT-themed films.   But none of the LGBT-themed films that I have seen have managed to equal or surpass the emotional feelings that Ang Lee's "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN" stirred in me.




 I can't imagine anyone else playing Jack Twist or Ennis Del Mar in the way that Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal did, gay or heterosexual.  Those two actors just put a little bit of their hearts and souls into these characters  So many of the cast members who worked on this film were longtime fans of Ang Lee's previous films and felt the script was "perfectly written".  To them, it was a "dream project".  The film dealt with issues that Ang Lee had explored in some of his earlier movies.  He was the right person to direct this film.  Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry were the right people to write the script for the film.  Without them, there may not have ever been a film adaptation of Annie Proulx's short story.  No films studio wanted to produce the movie, even though as time went on it was known as one of Hollywood's greatest unproduced screenplays.  And yet, the characters in the film, none of them are real people.  They never were real people, and they never will be real people.  Yet the story of Ennis and Jack's doomed love affair reflects cultural and societal realities that many same-sex couples and individual LGBTQIA+ people have lived through and continue to live through.



I can understand why it is important for LGBT+ folks to see stories about LGBT people that have happy endings.  But, I would say that Ang Lee's "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN" does end on a hopeful note despite some of the tragic elements that are implied in the film.  The film is so subtle, and doesn't shy away from the difficulties that the two men face in their everyday lives.  It doesn't attempt to answer the hard questions it poses.  But, the film does end with some sliver of hope for Ennis.

[gattaca]

^^^ well conveyed! 

Many people see the film's ending with Ennis being damned to the stark loneliness depicted in the final few breathtaking minutes. 

Lee's work and genius throughout BBM is there usually are multiple vantages / perspectives into what he's showing you. Those last few minutes, the heart-to-heart with his daughter, the closet, the left jacket, the hanging shirts, the words "Jack, I swear..."  all give way to finality of the cramped window.  That window could have been trained on anything, woods, dirt roads, but Lee chose to have it trained on fields of golden wheat (or what appears to be wheat to me). Wrap all those few shots into the fuller context of what you were just shown from the stark film's opening until now and it's truly a masterpiece of a story, visuals, and acting which so far, IMHO has not been surpassed on the screen and maybe never will be. V.

[CellarDweller115]

Ok, so this isn't how it affected me, but rather, someone else.




Here is a video I found on YouTube, by MarkE Miller.   He talks about the first time he saw Brokeback Mountain.  Video was posted about 3 months ago.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmeefNDj5Cs

[killersmom]

Ok, so this isn't how it affected me, but rather, someone else.




Here is a video I found on YouTube, by MarkE Miller.   He talks about the first time he saw Brokeback Mountain.  Video was posted about 3 months ago.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmeefNDj5Cs

This is really great, Chuck! I'm glad you found it. Damn, doesn't all he says sound SO familiar. A greatly worded reaction to our beloved movie.

I still to this day just wonder at the changes and feelings this movie created in my life. It has never been the same before or since. It has been a real blessing to me and my life. And like he said, it came at the perfect time in my life. Its almost like it was a roadmap that took me from who I was before and who I am now! Thanks again.

[gattaca]

^^^ ditto.  V.

[gattaca]

A really encompassing cover -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMQhbM0awW4
Very nice work.
V.

[CellarDweller115]

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005) Movie Reaction! | FIRST TIME WATCHING!

OGB Reacts - Posted June 17 2022


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vx-YDIX7yU

[CellarDweller115]

let's watch BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN *and try not to sob lol* ~ brokeback mountain reaction ~


Brad Evans - Posted July 11 2022


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZR3emx_10g

[gattaca]

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005) Movie Reaction! | FIRST TIME WATCHING!
OGB Reacts - Posted June 17 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vx-YDIX7yU

^^^ Her reactions were dead on! (I played on 1.25x) Took me back to my first viewing as she hit most of the powerful scenes in the clips. It's +++ that people are still discovering BBM!

^^^ I though her "viewing" as much more original than the 2nd with the guy in the Cowboy hat.

Thanks for posting.  So is this 'first viewing' YT postings now a "thing" to generate $?  Damn, we should do like 50th viewing!  V.

[CellarDweller115]

^^^ Her reactions were dead on! (I played on 1.25x) Took me back to my first viewing as she hit most of the powerful scenes in the clips. It's +++ that people are still discovering BBM!

^^^ I though her "viewing" as much more original than the 2nd with the guy in the Cowboy hat.

Thanks for posting.  So is this 'first viewing' YT postings now a "thing" to generate $?  Damn, we should do like 50th viewing!  V.

LOL @ 50th viewing!   I know there are a number of people who post reactions to different videos, movies, TV shows and things like that on YouTube.  I've watched people react to The Walking Dead and Pentatonix.

[mixmovart]

I do not belong to the LGBT community. But I have many friends and acquaintances from the LGBT community, and I respect the privacy and choice of every person, this has always been the case since my youth. I came to this myself. We have no right to interfere in life, in personal life, each of us must understand them and choose our own path. Brokeback Mountain had a slightly different impact on me. You can often come across offensive words - girls love to watch about boys. And I am very offended by these words. Brokeback Mountain is a unique, universal film. The film is about a lost paradise, about lost dreams, about how often we make mistakes and nothing can be corrected. Of course, the film is also about a homophobic society.
 I  woman, but I almost don’t like films about love, all these films, okay, not all, but many seem unreal, insincere to me, I see that the actors are playing, and everything there is unnatural, there is no sincerity, but Brokeback Mountain gave me back my faith in love in real life, and brought back hope that there are such miracles in cinema. The film makes you think about life in general, remember your mistakes, grieve about it, and then say... I swear (to those who are no longer around) and try to move on, live on. And these are just the first thoughts that come to mind. It's hard for me to put into words. I think I need to write separately about cultural influence. By this I represent the film - as a work of art

[CellarDweller115]

What Happened After I Watched Brokeback Mountain With My Straight Father

By Michael Lambert - Aug 3, 2015


The room was stifling. Even with every fan going, the air just crawled from one humid pocket of the house's atmosphere to the other, losing none of its oppressive, southern Mississippi moisture. My father and my stepmother sat together on a love seat, their cigarette smoke -- Marlboro Reds, ironically enough -- a steady stream until it hit the hurricane brewing above us.

I watched from the couch as the smoke trailed steadily in the glow of a table side lamp before breaking off in a gust from a fan blade.

"Let's watch a movie," my stepmother said.

My father and I lazily agreed, too tired from the day's work of clearing ground around his new house -- pushing over trees with a front-end loader, stacking lumber, exploring an old concrete foundation as a possible workshop. Freshly married, my father was all set to build a new Southern playground for himself, complete with a small catfish pond, a pasture for horses and a winding dirt road back to the highway that was our main artery to civilization.

Now, despite the lingering evening heat, the two of us lounged in the satisfaction that hard work often brings to men young and old in the South. It had been like any other day together -- tearing down, building up, shaping and reshaping land according to some master design locked away inside his head. This was our "quality" time, and despite the blisters and my clumsiness at operating heavy machinery, I cherished it.

"I like this," said my stepmother again. "Have you seen it?"

The remote highlighted a movie title -- Brokeback Mountain.

My father said nothing. I merely nodded.

"Let's watch it," she said and pressed play.

So began the most paralyzing two hours of my life.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-happened-after-i-wat_b_7922260

[gattaca]

^^ Tough read.  Many straight men, fathers, brothers, just don't know how to relate and have no frame of real reference to fall back on in such circumstances.  The tie between the young horse and the young man then was in-depth.  I will never really understand how a father, mother, brother or sister could truly hate and disown a son, daughter, brother or sister for being homosexual when it has nothing to do with them. V.

[B.W.]

I do not belong to the LGBT community. But I have many friends and acquaintances from the LGBT community, and I respect the privacy and choice of every person, this has always been the case since my youth. I came to this myself. We have no right to interfere in life, in personal life, each of us must understand them and choose our own path. Brokeback Mountain had a slightly different impact on me. You can often come across offensive words - girls love to watch about boys. And I am very offended by these words. Brokeback Mountain is a unique, universal film. The film is about a lost paradise, about lost dreams, about how often we make mistakes and nothing can be corrected. Of course, the film is also about a homophobic society.
 I  woman, but I almost don’t like films about love, all these films, okay, not all, but many seem unreal, insincere to me, I see that the actors are playing, and everything there is unnatural, there is no sincerity, but Brokeback Mountain gave me back my faith in love in real life, and brought back hope that there are such miracles in cinema. The film makes you think about life in general, remember your mistakes, grieve about it, and then say... I swear (to those who are no longer around) and try to move on, live on. And these are just the first thoughts that come to mind. It's hard for me to put into words. I think I need to write separately about cultural influence. By this I represent the film - as a work of art

Very interesting insights.