BbM as a Greek Tragedy -- franklin68

[TOoP/Bruce]

BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by franklin68   (Fri Feb 23 2007 01:55:30 )   
   
UPDATED Sun Apr 1 2007 14:08:05
I have often heard BBM being referred to as a “Greek tragedy”. Well, I checked out Aristotle's Poetics and I was amazed HOW MUCH his analysis of tragedy actually applies to BBM. Of course: In form and content ancient tragedy and modern film are so unlike each other, that it seems almost pointless to compare them. In fact, the whole mindset of the authors an audiences more than 2000 years ago were quite unlike ours, and in its outer form Greek tragedy much more resembles Japanese No drama than modern “realistic” film making.

And yet: All this being said, it is still amazing how much a work written around 350 B.C. - i.e. Aristotle's Poetics - applies to BBM.

Okay, to illustrate what I mean, lets start with Aristotle's concept of “hamartia” the "fatal flaw” of the tragic hero (and I would content that in the case of BBM the "tragic hero" is Ennis): Although it can also mean “sin” or “trespass”, in its tragic sense “hamartia” is more of an “error” than a “character flaw”, it is a misconception of the true nature of things (literally hamartia means “missing the mark”, like an archer missing the bulls-eye). Well, in Ennis's case his “hamartia” is summed up in one single sentence: “I ain't queer.” His tragic “flaw” or “error” - quite understandable considering his upbringing and his childhood trauma - is his own homophobia, which prevents him from understanding the true nature of his relationship with Jack. From that “fatal flaw” the whole tragedy of BBM arises, and Ennis will suffer terribly because of it.

Other elements of Greek tragedy identified by Aristotle and applicable to BBM are:

- Peripetia or “Reversal of the Situation”. Aristotle:

“Reversal of the Situation is a change by which the action veers round to its opposite, subject always to our rule of probability or necessity. Thus in the Oedipus, the messenger comes to cheer Oedipus and free him from his alarms about his mother, but by revealing who he is, he produces the opposite effect. Again in the Lynceus, Lynceus is being led away to his death, and Danaus goes with him, meaning to slay him; but the outcome of the preceding incidents is that Danaus is killed and Lynceus saved.”

Traumatized by what he saw as a child, Ennis fears that he and Jack might end up like Earl and Rich if they would live together. But instead of preventing that fate in the end – a truely tragic “Reversal” - what Ennis fears comes to pass. Refraining from living together did NOT save Jack's live. Instead, he died alone on the road.

- the moment of “Recognition”. Aristotle:

“Recognition, as the name indicates, is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined by the poet for good or bad fortune. The best form of recognition is coincident with a Reversal of the Situation, as in the Oedipus. There are indeed other forms. Even inanimate things of the most trivial kind may in a sense be objects of recognition.”

Well, there propably are several “moments of recognition” for Ennis in this movie, but one powerful and emotional “moment of recognition” stands out: Ennis finding the pair of shirts in Jack's closet (“inanimate things of the most trivial kind” become “objects of recognition”): Finally Ennis realizes, recognizes, that “that thing that we've got going” is so much more than just having “fun” together (“Ennis, girls don't fall in love with fun” - and neither do boys), hunting elk, having a good time and a couple of high-altitude *beep* It was more: Ennis recognises that it was - is - true love and therefore that he indeed is “queer”. But it's to late.

It is especially this powerful “Moment of Recognition”, that sets Brokeback Mountain apart from other love stories which are merely “sad” (like for instance Titanic), but not “tragic” in the Aristotelean sense, because they don't have a real "Hamartia" and "Moment of Recognition".

- The “Scene of Suffering” Aristotle:

“Two parts, then, of the plot - Reversal of the Situation and Recognition - turn upon surprises. A third part is the Scene of Suffering. The Scene of Suffering is a destructive or painful action, such as death on the stage, bodily agony, wounds, and the like.”

Well, again we have those “Scenes of Suffering”: Jack being beaten to death (or dying in a freak accident), and Ennis ending up alone in his lonely trailer on the wailing prairie, suffering from eternal regret.

Now, we have found all of Aristotle's elements of tragedy in almost exemplary form in BBM: Hamartia, Peripetia (“Reversal of the Situation”), Recognition, Scene of Suffering.

The resemblance of BBM to Greek tragedy becomes even more obvious when we turn to the effects on the audience that a tragedy should have, according to Aristotle:

“Pity” (eleos) - not in the somewhat condescending modern meaning (“oh, you poor, poor thing, I am so sorry for you”), but rather in a much more elemental sense of “misery”, “compassion”, feeling the pain and agony of another human being -, and “fear” (phobos), the realization that what befell the tragic hero might befall us as well. - Well, we all know the powerful emotional impact BBM has.

And then Eleos and Phobos lead to an emotional “cleansing” or “purgation” (“Catharsis”). Aristotle says a purgation “from” pity and fear, which seems to be a somewhat odd concept. But when we take the term “catharsis” in its broadest sense, we can apply it easily ot BBM. Wikipedia, for example, defines “catharsis” as “a sudden emotional breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter or any extreme change in emotion that results in the renewal, restoration and revitalization for living.” I want to emphasize the last part of this definitition, i.e. “the renewal, restoration and revitalization for living”

Joe Sachs from St. John's College, Annapolis, in his discussion of Aristotle's Poetics: “Ask yourself how you feel at the end of a tragedy. You have witnessed horrible things and felt painful feelings, but the mark of tragedy is that it brings you out the other side. Aristotle's use of the word catharsis is not a technical reference to purgation or purification but a beautiful metaphor for the peculiar tragic pleasure, the feeling of being washed or cleansed.”

Another extensive quote from Joe Sachs' discussion of Aristotle's Poetics that applies to BBM (I have highlighted some parts that will resonate especially strong with us “Brokies”):

“Because the suffering of the tragic figure displays the boundaries of what is human, every tragedy carries the sense of universality. Oedipus or Antigone or Lear or Othello [or Ennis or Jack, I might add] is somehow every one of us, only more so. But the mere mention of these names makes it obvious that they are not generalized characters, but altogether particular. And if we did not feel that they were genuine individuals, they would have no power to engage our emotions. It is by their particularity that they make their marks on us, as though we had encountered them in the flesh. It is only through the particularity of our feelings that our bonds with them emerge. What we care for and cherish makes us pity them and fear for them, and thereby the reverse also happens: our feelings of pity and fear make us recognize what we care for and cherish. When the tragic figure is destroyed it is a piece of ourselves that is lost. Yet we never feel desolation at the end of a tragedy, because what is lost is also, by the very same means, found. I am not trying to make a paradox, but to describe a marvel.”

If the movie would be just “sad” and “depressing”, then all who love BBM, who cannot get it out of their minds, who have seen it time and again would be mere masochists. But, as in true tragedy, there is in fact a redeeming quality about the pain we feel. And therefore – and thats the “marvel” - this peculiar tragic pain (“pity” and “fear”) is also a pleasureable “cleansing of the soul” (“catharsis”): It purifies our souls, makes us more alive, reconnects us with our deepest needs, desires, fears and hopes. It helps us to understand ourselves, our desires, our emotions and our values; it helps us to understand and appreciate life, love and the human condition.

And still another aspect of Greek tragedy that applies to BBM: The tragic “agons” (drama competitions) were big community events in ancient Athens, bringing the citizenry together, uniting them into one big community. BBM, too, has created – mostly via the Internet – a world-wide community of souls who are deeply touched by this beautiful and sad story, this Greek tragedy.

So: BBM actually IS a genuine “Greek tragedy”, complete with "Hamartia", "Peripetia", "Moment of Recognition" and of course "Pity", "Fear" and eventual "Catharsis". And we are all re-living an ancient European experience: Art as a soul-stirring, live-changing experience that makes us better human beings.

If you want to read more of Sachs' inspiring discussion of Aristotle's Poetics, you find it at: http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/aris-poe.htm#H3
For a translation of Aristotle's text, see: classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html.

[TOoP/Bruce]

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by kthstewart   (Mon Feb 26 2007 01:49:13 )   
   
When I first saw Brokeback Mountain in February of 2006 the first thought that I had was this is just like a Greek tragedy where nobody gets to be happy.

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by retropian   (Fri Feb 23 2007 22:01:19 )   
   
Thanks for this post. Many of these themes and elements have been discussed in seperate threads in the past, but you do a great job and service by bringing it all together. A great analysis indeed.

BBM as a Shakespearian tragedy   
  by richardg49   (Sat Feb 24 2007 16:52:27 )   
   
UPDATED Sun Feb 25 2007 01:46:45

Hi Franklin68: I was really interested to read your 'Greek tragedy' analysis of BBM. This reflects very closely the feelings I have had ever since I first saw the film, and when I have tried to come to terms with the responses that it generated within me.

I'm no expert on Greek drama, but I do know something about Shakespeare, and I have often wondered whether it is possible to read BBM as a drama in the Shakespearian mould. After every viewing of the film I keep thinking of Othello as a point of comparison.

For those who don’t know Othello’s plot: Othello is persuaded by his ‘friend’ Iago to believe that his new wife, Desdemona, is adulterous, and this drives him into a frenzy of jealousy which ends in him murdering Desdemona instead of accepting and revelling in the sincere, perfect, love she has for him. To some extent, Othello's belief is generated out of his own sense that, because he is a Moor, he is unequal to Desdemona and unworthy as an object of her devotion. Othello's growing belief in her supposed adultery, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, eventually drives him into the mental torment that ends in him killing the one he loves most. It is only after her death that he realises the magnitude of his error and the cruelty of the deception that has been practised upon him by Iago.

The suspicion of adultery is not, of course, where there is a parallel with Ennis in BBM; in fact it is the very strong contrast between the two in relation to this theme which is illuminating. Though Ennis does accuse Jack of being 'adulterous' in the context of their secret relationship when he asks if Jack has been to Mexico, and though we know that Jack is 'guilty' of that, it is a fault that Jack can be forgiven for, by us if not by Ennis. As Jack himself argues, "I can't make it on two or three high-altitude *beep* a year", and it seems unreasonable of Ennis to expect Jack to be faithful to Ennis, given the conditions Ennis himself has prescribed for them. Moreover, Jack is still married to Lureen: does Ennis expect that Jack should stop having sex with Lureen because their ‘fishing trips’ relationship is somehow more meaningful or 'special' to them both? And of course, unlike Othello, Ennis doesn’t kill Jack, though it could be argued that Ennis’ continued rejection of Jack’s dream of them living together was in a way a cause of Jack’s death. He killed Jack’s dream of a future together, and this may have led to Jack being careless about his own safety.

The parallel between Othello and Ennis lies mostly in the similar way that both men allow a delusion of the mind to warp, condition, and circumscribe their behaviour and actions. Because Ennis has been taught from an early age to detest homosexuality, he cannot accept it is a part of his own nature and therefore he hates himself. He further develops the paranoid belief that other people ‘know’ about his sexual orientation and are condemning him for it, in the same way that Othello convinces himself that Desdemona’s supposed adultery is known by everybody and they are laughing at him behind his back. In reality, the few people who do ‘know’ about Ennis’ orientation, Jack (duh!), Alma, Aguirre and possibly Alma, Jnr, tell no-one else what they know or suspect about Ennis, as far as we can see. Because of this self-hatred, too, Ennis cannot see any way to countenance Jack’s proposal of living together by setting up a ‘little cow and calf operation’, and he rationalises that by telling Jack the story of being taken to see the dead body of Earl, the gay rancher. He thinks the risk of two guys living together would be too great, and therefore dismisses Jack’s proposal. Othello’s self-hatred takes the form of believing that it is impossible for Desdemona to genuinely love him, because of the difference in their race, their social status and their ages; Ennis’ self-hatred results in him denying himself the possibility of receiving Jack’s love in any meaningful way, because he believes society would not tolerate their relationship.

At the end of Othello, he kills himself when he realises the enormity of his error and the extent to which he was deluded. Brokeback Mountain ends with Ennis alone, isolated, still closeted and facing the prospect of an endless vista of regrets. In a way he too is dead, spiritually, just as much as Othello is dead physically. In both, there is the overwhelming impression of a good man whose noble qualities have been wasted, and whose potential has been squandered though his own psychological trauma. This is what makes both these stories such powerful tragedies.

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by richardg49   (Sun Feb 25 2007 13:04:21 )   
   
I had hoped for some intelligent response to my posting above - I can't believe it is THAT uninteresting. Or maybe Franklin needs to rename the posting thread 'If it was a girl and a guy' or 'Who cares about boring gay sex?' in order to get people to read it. LOL(?)

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by franklin68   (Sun Feb 25 2007 14:20:27 )   
   
Yeah, seems you'r right, Richard.

Well, I will not rename my post, but I want to answer yours. In your comparison to Shakespeare's Othello thou said:

"In both, there is the overwhelming impression of a good man whose noble qualities have been wasted, and whose potential has been squandered though his own psychological trauma." I think that sums it up what distinguishes true tragedies like Othello or BBM from mere "sad stories": namely, that the undeserved suffering does not come from a mere outward "accident" (like, for instance, the Titanic gowing down), but is a consequence of the tragic character's own "error" - an error he is not realy responsible for or can help, but which nevertheless brings about his tragic downfall.

Says so much about what it means to be a human being in this imperfect world.

franklin and richard   
  by retropian   (Sun Feb 25 2007 23:27:46 )   
   
"Says so much about what it means to be a human being in this imperfect world".

And that is why Tragedy resonates with so many. Art can transform lives. I've always heard that, but for the 1st time really experienced it.

I don't think either of your postings are boring. It's great to read some thoughtful ideas. There are probably many who have read this thread and taken much from it, but havn't posted. So don't worry.

I watched an interview with Larry McMurtry circa 1989 about the characters Gus and Woodrow from his novel and tv mini-series "Lonesome Dove". He says that all literary duos like Gus and Woodrow are based largely on Don Quixote and Pancho Villa. The 2 characters have opposing yet complimentary characteristics. Usually one is a dreamer and one is a realist, yet both are devoted to each other and in the course of the tale swap or trade essential traits (but not always completely or perfectly). This was long before BBM, but it can be applied to Jack and Ennis. Jack being a dreamer and Ennis a realist (or so he thinks). Jack is a bit of a klutz as a Cowboy, but Ennis is utterly competent etc. It's the Yin-Yan quality of their characters that Ang Lee spoke of. There is alot going on in this story.

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by gduch2001   (Mon Feb 26 2007 05:58:16 )   
   
a good man whose noble qualities have been wasted, and whose potential has been squandered though his own psychological trauma

-------------

oh come now, can you honestly say that Ennis is a noble person? Good perhaps, certainly no worse and much better than many, but he's not a tragic hero IMO. he doesn't have any "great" qualities, and his "tragic flaw" - his "fault" is really bad luck, in that he has been unlucky enough to be scarrede by his father's teaching him that homosexuality is wicked and wrong and that homosexuals end up dead.... That isn't a flaw in his own character, but just bad luck that he ahd that particular father and was maimed in that particular way. jack comes from a not dissimilar rural background and has a horrible father, but he's not scared of his own sexuality.....

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by richardg49   (Mon Feb 26 2007 13:14:38 )   
   
Yes, I think it is possible to call Ennis a noble person. An essential element of the definition of 'noble' is 'having a strong moral character', which is certainly true of Ennis. One of his consistent traits is sacrificing his own needs, likes and desires to please other people: ordering soup for Jack, killing the elk, trading jobs with Jack, going through with the wedding to Alma, caring for his children at the expense of his relationship with Jack, refusing to live together with Jack because it would jeopardise his links to his girls. He does all these things stoically and self-sacrificingly in spite of the burden it puts on himself and his own needs.This seems truly noble to me.

Ennis' fault is more than "bad luck, in that he has been unlucky enough to be scarred by his father's teaching him that homosexuality is wicked and wrong and that homosexuals end up dead". He would have been aware of that societal prejudice even without what his father did to him. Knowing homophobia exists would have been sufficient to create that flaw in his character; his father's action probably just drove it deeper into him. Its a false argument to say that since Jack wasn't scared of his sexuality, Ennis shouldn't have been either. Different people develop their characters in different ways. You may as well say that, since Aguirre was a homophobe, therefore Jack and Ennis should have been too.

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by gduch2001   (Tue Feb 27 2007 04:51:34 )   

He also continually jerks his wife and Jack around not to mention Cassie -. I agree that he's basically a good guy, but I think that noble in classic tragedy meant more than that, it was meant to be a truly "big" noticeable quality, like Othello as a military leader or Lear as King or Hamlet as a great intellectual....Ennis just isn't on that scale...

as for the other point surely Ennis's "Fault" isnt' really a fault at all, its not soemthign he makes a conscious choice over? IT is simply that he did have an unpleasant homophobic father who damaged him as a child by the incidnet with the two ranchers, and it is hardly Ennis' fault that he can't see past that, or get over his fear tht the same thign might happen to him nad Jack? I suppose you COULD call him cowardly but I think that that woudl be unkind and unfair.. and he doesn't have the intelligence or education to see if it woudl be possible to make a life for himself and Jack

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by richardg49   (Tue Feb 27 2007 12:40:29 )   

There is an interesting thread here which addresses this idea. You can find it at:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/board/thread/63315573

This is Arthur Miller arguing that tragedy can be applied to anyone, not just kings, military leaders, etc.

'Fault' may be the wrong word; perhaps we should say something like 'failing' or 'deficiency'. There is certainly something he lacks - understanding, insight, even perhaps, empathy (at least until he finds the shirts).


Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by gduch2001   (Sat Mar 3 2007 01:26:31 )   
   
well ot me a "tragic flaw" is a weakness of character which in classic tragedy makes the hero vulernable, in spite of his other good/great qualities. I dont see that Ennis has any great exceptional qualities, and I dont see that he has a real "flaw" - trure he's in a constant bad temper and is oftene selfish towards his wife and kids, in his refusal to get a better steadier job - but taht makes him average IMO not a great guy who ahs one big fault, such as Lear with his arrogance and vanity or Othello's credulousness....

That is IMO the trouble with BBM, we are asked to see these guys as soemthing speical, and I think that many fans sort of feed their own emotions into the film and see the characters as deep special people, but I dont fele that they do or are antyhign special. They are two not very bright guys, who fall in lvoe. They are poor, they dont have any way to escape really from their hard scrabble rural lives or go where they could perhaps live their life togheter as they wish, and ENnis is particularly scared of bieng with Jack becuase of his fear of homosexuality, so he continaully pushes Jack away to the point where Jack cheats on him and starts to look for another "soulmate" ie the guy down in Texas that he tells his fahter he is going to bring up to their ranch... so its honestly not IMO a great love story.. Neither of them really make any brave stand to have a life togethter, its understandable that they dont, but its hardly heroic... Nor do they bravely accept that they CANT be togehter and try to make other lives, they jsut keep hopping along with one foot on each track... Its true that they are rural people of little education or skills and I can understnad that movign to a city where htey could be togehter more would seem terrifying to them, at least in the 1960s... but its hard to see them as heroic

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by zana23   (Tue Feb 27 2007 13:05:58 )   

The tragedy is illustrated in the fact that other choices could have been made. Why didn't they move elsewhere where their love would be more accepted? Well, they were cowboys, that life is all they knew. Ennis had children, that he couldn't leave behind. And perhaps, facing the facts of what they really and truly were was just too much for them. They, or in particular, Ennis, were being pulled in two opposing directions. Was he actually a queer? Not living the lifestyle openly prevented him from facing this revealing truth. Part of me had a hard time watching this film, they were homosexuals, but they were also cowboys, manly men, not men with feminine traits. In the end, I came to an understanding that they were just two individuals that loved each other, that happened to be born of the same sex...they couldn't pronounce their love openly because of what they feared may happen to them...they couldn't run away together because of their obligations...they had to suffer, and their suffering was tragic.

Re: BBM as a Greek tragedy   
  by Kupotek   (Mon Mar 5 2007 04:55:42 )   
   
It's sad that we live in a world where being gay has to be such a big deal for people. We should live and let live.

PS. Great movie. Beautiful soundtrack, great cinematography as well, very artistic, and well acted film.

Should have won the oscar because it blew Crash away.


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