Force of Nature - Brokeback Mountain
September 5th 2006 04:30
I was just reading Tracy’s blog (Movies and Life) about Brokeback Mountain and it got me thinking about this beautifully crafted love story again.
The main aspect that I really loved about this film above all others is the fact that it showed a side of being gay in a typically heterosexual, anti-gay society that has thus far been shunned by Hollywood, film-makers and TV producers alike.
I'm sick and tired of seeing the happy, bouncy, flamboyant, 'gay and proud' type of homosexuals that are constantly represented on shows like Will and Grace and Sex and the City. Fair enough - you're gay, you're proud, but this doesn't really accurately represent gay people as a community, does it? It really just promotes a stereotype of gay people, and that's dangerous because it only serves to oppress and alienate gay people even further. If people look at the likes of Jack on Will and Grace and his outrageous, over-the-top character they are able to disconnect from that. They're able to laugh at the funny gay man while disengaging from him as a human being. How is this serving to liberate gay people?
This film actually took the stereotypes that we have accepted for so long and turned them on their heads. It used the stereotypes we know and cling to, to lead us in a certain direction and then carefully reveal how ridiculous they are. An example of this that sticks in my mind is when Ennis (Heath Ledger) is accosted by a couple of tough looking bikers at a fireworks night. I immediately thought, here it comes, the inevitable gay bashing. I didn’t even stop to think for a moment that Ennis might have been able to hold his own. This is probably a result of the fact that gay men are seen as stereotypically weak in society’s eyes. I refuse to believe elements such as this were a coincidence in the story line. And it was clever little moments such as these that made this story so gripping. Ennis and Jack could be anybody. They could be your next-door neighbour, your best friend’s father, your own brother.
I think that's what I loved most about Brokeback. The humanity. The struggle. It was a love story. Not a gay love story. These men didn’t fit into any of the typical stereotypes. They were just two regular guys who discovered that love doesn't always come with a silver lining and I loved that.
The main aspect that I really loved about this film above all others is the fact that it showed a side of being gay in a typically heterosexual, anti-gay society that has thus far been shunned by Hollywood, film-makers and TV producers alike.
I'm sick and tired of seeing the happy, bouncy, flamboyant, 'gay and proud' type of homosexuals that are constantly represented on shows like Will and Grace and Sex and the City. Fair enough - you're gay, you're proud, but this doesn't really accurately represent gay people as a community, does it? It really just promotes a stereotype of gay people, and that's dangerous because it only serves to oppress and alienate gay people even further. If people look at the likes of Jack on Will and Grace and his outrageous, over-the-top character they are able to disconnect from that. They're able to laugh at the funny gay man while disengaging from him as a human being. How is this serving to liberate gay people?
This film actually took the stereotypes that we have accepted for so long and turned them on their heads. It used the stereotypes we know and cling to, to lead us in a certain direction and then carefully reveal how ridiculous they are. An example of this that sticks in my mind is when Ennis (Heath Ledger) is accosted by a couple of tough looking bikers at a fireworks night. I immediately thought, here it comes, the inevitable gay bashing. I didn’t even stop to think for a moment that Ennis might have been able to hold his own. This is probably a result of the fact that gay men are seen as stereotypically weak in society’s eyes. I refuse to believe elements such as this were a coincidence in the story line. And it was clever little moments such as these that made this story so gripping. Ennis and Jack could be anybody. They could be your next-door neighbour, your best friend’s father, your own brother.
I think that's what I loved most about Brokeback. The humanity. The struggle. It was a love story. Not a gay love story. These men didn’t fit into any of the typical stereotypes. They were just two regular guys who discovered that love doesn't always come with a silver lining and I loved that.
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Justin
But anyway, yeah, I too consider "Brokeback.." a love story not a homosexual movie, love story or whatever.
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life