I remember having to explain to a straight friend that the reason Enis threw up as soon as he left Jack the first time was that he was so physically heartbroken but unable to articulate or process why. He didn't know what "being gay" was or what he was feeling or that he even COULD feel things like that, so his body just shut down. He became physically sick.
I like this analysis it makes sense. I think the idea of severe repression of self identity and love was done in such a great way thru the movie. Still emotional from watching it a couple days ago 😭
I always thought it was because of internalized homophobia. He was told all his life it was wrong, so when he and Jack parted ways and he was left alone in the real world, that feeling of inherent wrongness rose up in full force and feeling like what they did was inherently wrong made him feel sick.
🤣 There were so many archive clips to choose from too! 👇 Source: 'Conservatives quick to opine on Brokeback Mountain's “agenda,” slow to actually see film' www.mediamatters.org/tucker-carlson/conservatives-quick-opine-brokeback-mountains-agenda-slow-actually-see-film
I going to a conservative Christian school when I saw this movie and the only think I knew about gay people, was what I was told. Which wasn’t very nice things. I watched this movie at 13 and felt the love and romance and realized that gay people deserve the same treatment and rights as straight people. 💕 Edit: decided to realized
This is how I am when it comes to Gay Men... As long as you don't hit on me or as soon as you know I'm not Gay or I'm not interested, you'll walk away and as long as Gay men don't French Kiss each other in front of me or in public,... You/they can do anything they want with each other in the privacy of their Homes. There are certain gay guys out there that are super stubborn and super immature. They don't have a stop button or relax button. Not every gay male is mature & respectful. Just like straight people, there's different ranges when it comes to the LGBTQ. Ultimately if you are not interested in gay movies, stories, TV shows, music and etc then don't watch, listen & attend them. I did watch brokeback mountain only because I'm a fan of both Ledger & Gyllenhaal and I was curious about it and all it's hoopla. Very well acted movie. Both actors should of gotten the Oscar for it. Great story. Very Sad. It takes a real man to play a gay man. My hat off to both of them. Great Video btw.
I love this movie, I've seen it at least 100 times, and I have the book too. I don't believe in gay or lesbian or just straight, I believe in love. This story shows once again that love is not always easy. And I think Heath is absolutely right in the press conference, it is a beautiful love story.
I watched Brokeback Mountain when I was too young to be watching it lol (15/16?) I remember my family members were complaining about the movie cause they remembered joker (Heath Ledger) starred in it. N I loved him as Joker, so I said I'll watch it in secret. I remember having my headset on, facing away from the door n even keeping the volume low still lol (I come from a black conservative/religious family, yes I know ironic,) so I had to be careful. I remember pressing play and being absorbed into the cinematography, the feelings, the suspense. I remember sobbing afterwards, I remember thinking "If I ever have kids and they are queer, I will protect with my life, I would love them with my everything." I remember feeling so horrible about hating my cousin who was gay and disconnected from the family. All because of something he couldn't control. I remember feeling so horrible because I realized what the queer community felt when ppl hated them, bashed them, scorned them for being just a bit different. Teenage me couldn't believe that queer people were being killed for who they loved or who they were. The line that always resonated with me is "I wish I knew how to quit you, ". It always makes me think, "Gosh, if it really were easy to not be gay, not be queer, why would he say that, why would millions of people just not be gay, not be trans, not be queer?" This movie broke me, it made me realise how wrong we were for hating people different from us. It made me dive into what the LGBTQ+ stood for. It made me reach out to my cousin and tell him I was sorry, it made me hug my other cousin when she came out as a lesbian. It made me realise just how human they were and not the Monsters that society had fooled us into believing. Because of this Movie, I am a different person, I've deconstructed and worked everyday to learn more and respect anyone different from me. Cause as the end of the day, we're all just human beings in a floating rock out in the universe. Brokeback Mountain made me an Ally. So for that alone, I would say it is Queer Art. (I'm crying writing this sorry for any mistakes).
I cried reading this no joke, I'm so glad you understood it, and I'm so glad you provided support to those needed, I do also believe that this movie is queer art
When the film opened in the small, largely Republican farming/forestry community where I lived, seating in a 400-seat theater was reservations onl, and sold out four days. After the showing, a packed theater emptied out into the parking lot in total silence. There wasn't anyone who saw the film that wasn't affected by it, some were stunned, some were quietly sobbing, while others were devastated. On the drive home, my date and I had nothing to say. I haven't seen the film since its opening, but I suspect it would still have the same impact on me.
You weren't living in Oregon at the time, were you? The film did surprising well in smaller cities and big towns in Oregon (the ones with a theater at least), and was still being shown in some small theaters outside Portland into April.
I think Brokeback Mountain was the first movie I watched which explicitly portrayed a queer relationship. I'd seen many movies hint at queerness, but none which were centered around it like this. And this was at a time in my life where I knew I fell somewhere under the lgbtq+ umbrella, but wasn't sure how/where yet. And I remember feeling a bit alienated at all the jokes made about it. And I don't mean comedy, I mean people around me. A lot of these jokes were not aimed at the movie, they were aimed at queerness. The movie simultaneously made me want to come out, but also stay in the closet for how people talked about it. Which is a great reflection of what the story is about in the end. Great video, thanks for making me reflect on these things! 😄👍
Done. I've just rewatched it. OMG ! 🤠😍🤩❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💞🥺😢😭😭😭😭Beauty...emotion...suffering ...compassion.. and anger : I HATE my intolerant world !!! 😡 How can we ruin so stupidly so many lives ?!!!
This movie was far too deep for our conservative society and in many ways it still is. The fact that it was portrayed in the media as "the gay cowboy movie" rather than as an exploration of masculinity and the transgression of social norms just proves that statement. It is a beautiful and tragic love story in my opinion though, and I still feel emotional when I watch it nowadays. It deserved all of the praise it got and not really any of the criticism--Ang Lee came as close to making a perfect movie as one can get, really
My first reaction was to think that the film is not queer art but that feels like gatekeeping. Another extremely good film exploring toxic masculinity, internalized homophobia, and social isolation is the film The Lighthouse which, just like Brokeback Mountain, was not (to my knowledge) made by LGBT+ people. To say that this film is not queer would be like if someone who is politically open made a film that had socialist themes, or that argued strong points of socialism (like the class warfare depicted in Seven Samurai). The film itself can be anything we see it as and BM is easily a film that, especially when it came out, was positively a queer film. sorry for the paragraph I tried to keep it short
I watched this movie on the weekend and ended up rewatching it the next day and the day after that... Just to add, I'm a woman, and I could really feel the pain and heartbreak of both characters.
i watched the movie twice and i understand it better now. its a literal masterpiece of expressing all that feelings and stuff. i cant understand anyone who says its a bad movie. i js cant... rest in peace heath...
I've only seen clips of the movie and never knew it was based on a short story. Now I want to read the story and watch the movie after. Thanks for another great video! Also your editing is really good.
💖 Thanks for your positive feedback! 👇The Short Story is available for free and in full on The New Yorker's website! www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/10/13/brokeback-mountain
I was a closeted 17 year old growing up in a homophobic evangelical Christian culture when this film came out. I was not aware of the short story it was based on- this was when I was a kid, so I was unable to openly ask for things like that. After being forced into Christian torture conversion therapy the year prior, this film honestly saved my life. I was able to see the possibility of living a life where I was openly gay one day. It walked me off the ledge. Pun intended.
@@guihuppe great content - I've just subscribed and am digging through your channel. Currently watching your video on the rise of anti-lgbtq politics. Really great content. I'll do the rare action of turning notifications on for your channel, lol
@@ccshumshum8104 oh they died over a decade ago. Unlike the sheltered life you’re used to, my perspective has had actual issues to deal with in life. I hope life remains easy and problem free for you. Hope you never know struggle. And I hope your children can look past your seething hatred and disgust to understand you’re just broken. Take care.
Whats funny is thats not even ang lees best gay movie, thats the wedding banquet. Seriously the wedding banquet is personally better and more interesting. To be clear not dissing brokeback mountain, just its weird how thats his second celebrated gay movie. And still a "scandal"?!
I just found this movie on DVD a few months ago at our Goodwill and bought it. I remembered liking it and it came out when I was at Evergreen State College where I was the token straight, cis guy. It was a big deal along with the movie Boys Don’t Cry. I watched it after I bought it and….it’s really, really good. Beautifully filmed and acted by all. My only hangup was I knew it wasn’t going to end well (Oscar bait movie dealing with gay cowboys in the 60s.)
I just rewatched the movie and genuinely thought Jack's mother had slipped Enis the ashes. I guess I was hopin' for that happy ending of his remains on the free wind as he wished. Though this is a different story, and it was merely a wish. I wanted Jacks mother to pass Enis the remains for the love of her son and/ or an act of defiance, as his father had spoken so acidly of their son's dreams. I think there's enough context to even suspect were it not for the mother's advocacy, her husband might not have even let Enis in the house. Excellent video, can't believe I wasn't subscribed before!
Brokeback Mountain - a development of the wisdom of the 13th analect of the "Tao Teh Ching": "Love at the point of its loss is achieved for the first time".
When this film came out, I was in middle school and I was too young to see it in theaters. I remember everyone talking incessantly about the "gay cowboy movie" and it became the butt of so many preteen jokes in school. So much so that I got the impression the movie was goofy and farcical. I lived in a liberal state (Massachusetts), and I was young enough to think that because gay marriage was legal in my state, because shows like Will & Grace were on tv, homophobia wasn't really a problem anymore. When I finally was able to see the movie, I realized how wrong I was. I realized how disregarded and trivialized the queer experience still was. Because how could anyone see Brokeback Mountain and think of it as a joke? How could anyone watch that movie and feel anything but empathy for these characters? I realized that many people HADN'T seen it, and like me, had just listened to the jokers. This movie not only made me think more seriously about the queer experience, but it is the first movie I remember seeing that made me consider the art of filmmaking in general. Beforehand, movies were just entertainment to me, all about the happy ending, the feel good experience. This movie made me start to consider what made films good, what made stories compelling.
I am gay and just watched this beautiful gay movie… 🥲 I relate to this movie because I am in this “long distance relationship” and I’m afraid whether I would end up like lonely Ennis if I don’t go together with my lover soon 💔
For me, this movie is about masculinity. What is a man? Someone like Ennis who shuts down his feelings? Or Jack, a man who accepts and knows what he wants?
27:20 if you email the authors most are happy to send you a copy! They don’t get paid if you buy it legally, plus there are other ways to get academic papers online for free *wink* *wink*
well done this came out my junior year in a Texas high school and I remember feeling so guilty watching it and it was one of my first experiences of anything that erratic I rented the DVD and watched with headphones on a portable dvd player 😂
I have to disagree that some brokeback mountain jokes were made without intent, regardless of if they were "funny at the time." The clip example of the horses was from a family guy episode at least 10 years old and the joke is obviously homophobic disgust 😤😤😤
While I appreciate that perspective on the joke, I'm still of the opinion that many at the time were probably laughing at that cut away for a different reason. The joke even ends with the horse running away in disgust, unable to even speak what he's seen, while the other just watches bewildered.
I think the movie wasn’t intended to queer audience only, but also straight. Just as you said this movie shows up all the struggles queer couples usually go through (even nowadays), so I interpreted it in two ways, firstly is not to let fear hold us back from living as we want to or from the ones we want to be with, and secondly to see how ignorance and intolerance harms others, as it cast them into something they don’t want to be in order to blend in. Brokeback Mountains is a beautiful movie i'd watch endlessly, that voices out that love has plenty of shapes and colors but it’s also something we all share overall, and it shouldn’t be denied away from others, because, what is wrong with being in love?
Ive not seen it, this is a very strong case for it, though I don't watch a tonne of movies so dunno, either way, really appreciate the exploration, it is wild to think it's been out so long.
im a fairly online and young gay, and i recently watched this movie. other than being a great film with insane acting, it just surprised me so much that all this, all the yearning and hatred and sadness and joy and desire you feel when you're queer, was able to be so mainstream in 2005. it feels like everyone is afraid to say gay and have explicit queer romances unless they are perfectly cute and wholesome. i have wished i could stop being myself too! i have wanted to be with people of the same sex in ways that scared me! and other people have felt that way too! and most exciting, people actually want to see it on screen! they want to hear what i have to say and they want to see what its like to live like me. it just gave me so much hope knowing that almost 20 years ago this insanely unapologetically queer film was a success.
💡 Fun Fact: The song 'Ram Ranch' was used to troll the Freedom Convoy in 2022. 👇 Source: www.cbc.ca/radio/day6/who-s-behind-the-militia-group-diagolon-the-writer-of-ram-ranch-horizon-forbidden-west-review-and-more-1.6355967/how-the-raunchy-gay-cowboy-song-ram-ranch-became-an-anti-convoy-protest-anthem-1.6358381
Hey!! Awesome video, I have a question. I'm currently writing an essay about Brokeback Mountain for college and I was wondering where you found the video of the interview you played at 22:29 - I have to cite it LOL. Thank you!!
Hey Adam! Thanks for your nice comment! I believe this panel took place at the Berlin International Film Festival or at an associated event based on the backdrop. You can find the original video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VpHR1nZ7FsE.html
"Of course I didn't watch the film. I read the screenplay and the shortstory, and I know what it's about because... of the media buzz around it." He literally just said you read the WHOLE story at least twice. I would think he knows what it's about because you basically experienced it twice as much as the average movie-goer -- more if he re-read them for personal interest. XD Either that or he's lying about having read the screenplay and shortstory, in which case he's not qualified to talk about them OR the movie. So either he super-consumed the story or he's irrelevant and doesn't know shit. He basically came up with a worse excuse for himself than just watching the damn film.
I highly recommend it! The cinematography, the music, the acting, and of course, the story! It's high art! Let me know when you watched it - I'm curious to see how you liked it!
Art is art. No matter who is the author and what it represents. Trying to sexualize it it's just silly. Very well-done video. Great analysis of the movie. Had watched the film but didn't know it was based on a novel and all the implications the film had in the American society.
19:35 yeah that shits weird asf. look at how young those children are, they don’t even know what sexuality _is_ . why expose them to something like that at such a young age? shouldn’t we be trying to preserve our children’s innocence for as long as we can?
why is queerness not considered innocent but straightness is? sexuality is more than sex, its falling in love, its holding hands, its having families, its living happily ever after. all the stuff we see straight people do in childrens media. whats wrong when its gay? none of those drag performers are wearing anything worse than a birthday clown or a superhero would, is it automatically inappropriate because its queer? there are children with queer parents and other relatives, is that inappropriate? every disney princess movie ends with a straight couple kissing and getting married, there are even movies where those straight couples have kids which implies they - gasp - had sex! but a child isnt thinking about that, nor are they thinking about that if you teach them some people have two daddies or two mommies.
People don't understand that the jump from novel to screenplay to movie requires a lot of tweaking and is an art form. The trick is to capture the essence of the original while making it interesting, and more importantly, entertaining. A movie has to make money. Annie Proulx's clarification of what her short story is actually about would not make a good movie. The original story is very short and what Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry did is amazing. Of course, Ang Lee's cinematography brings Big Sky Country to life. Thanks for your excellent analysis of this groundbreaking film. I can't believe it's been almost 20 years since it came out.
