Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
"I was supposed to control the weather"... Jack and the Wind
starboardlight:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on May 22, 2006, 01:53:00 pm ---That's for sure!
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recalls the reach around in the TS1, even if it's instigated by Jack.
belbbmfan:
fantastic thread! the coffeepot and bucket theme are new to me.
As for the repeat lines: the 'what are you doing?' Ennis said to both Jack and Cassie always struck me as very poignant. At both stages in his life, Ennis reacts surprised (Cassie) or shocked (Jack) that anyone would want to touch him or be physically close to him.
ednbarby:
--- Quote from: belbbmfan on May 22, 2006, 03:55:32 pm ---fantastic thread! the coffeepot and bucket theme are new to me.
As for the repeat lines: the 'what are you doing?' Ennis said to both Jack and Cassie always struck me as very poignant. At both stages in his life, Ennis reacts surprised (Cassie) or shocked (Jack) that anyone would want to touch him or be physically close to him.
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Another excellent catch, belbbmfan. And the beginning of another beautiful friendship. So glad you're here with us. :)
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: nakymaton on May 22, 2006, 10:20:22 am ---Other people are trying to pick up both Ennis and Jack, but the experiences just remind both men of each other.
You know, I like the additions of the Cassie and Randall stories to the movie. They show just how intense the bond between Ennis and Jack was -- even after so many years of being surrounded by other people, it's clear that none of the other options is a satisfying substitute.
As for other repeated lines: Ennis calls Jack "Jack fucking Twist" at the reunion and the 2nd to last camping trip. (And in the lake confrontation? I can't remember.) Jack calls Ennis "son of a bitch" at the reunion, and "son of a whore-son bitch" in the lake confrontation. Terms of affection turned painful. :(
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All of this is quite excellent nakymaton! And, belbbmfan, I completely agree. I've always heard Ennis's little question "what are you doing" - especially in the first tent scene - as a sign of his low self esteem. He can't believe he could be so attractive to someone. I never noticed the parallel with Cassie's line. Also quite excellent. I like the intersection of both of your comments.
:D
Brown Eyes:
Heya,
Back to the wind topic and Jack's symbols more generally... I just posted this over in the "I love everything Brokeback" thread last night. And it occurs to me that it would be worthwhile to post it here too.
A discussion came up about the two notes that seem to echo each other at the very beginning of the BBM score as the movie starts. So, this was my reply:
I always hear those two notes as echos... meant to foreshadow the Jack/ Ennis relationship. It's interesting that Ennis enters the picture in a literal way (we see him coming) but Jack enters the situation symbolically before we see him. The echo in ths score, the wind that's really prominent before he arrives, and the little symbol of the rodeo cowboy on the semi-truck's license plate all seem to be clues that Jack is arriving too. I love that license plate by the way. It's how he leaves the film too... he dies but his symbols persist for several important scenes after he's no longer around as a person.
So, here's what I find really interesting about this. It seems to me that Jack is not only a real person/character but, in the form of the symbols that surround him, Jack is the abstract idea of Ennis's sexuality or desire. So before he even meets Jack all of these emotions and ideas and desires are swirling around in Ennis's head but he doesn't quite know what they mean. The wind at the beginning hasn't yet taken on its full significance, but it does represent something that's already inside Ennis. Symbols like the wind are still abstract and unfocused at this point. Once Jack appears on the scene all of these things inside Ennis that add up to his "awakening" sexuality start to focus on Jack. So that by the time the movie is over and Jack is gone, all of the symbols, like the wind, etc. have taken on huge amounts of meaning and are completely linked to Jack.
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