Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 07/07: Was Mr. Twist homophobic?
Sagebrush Dan:
--- Quote from: ineedcrayons on September 13, 2007, 11:02:06 pm ---
I agree completely with this, too. I think the whole point of having OMT be surprisingly unhomophobic is to show Ennis that, contrary to his expectation that everybody is homophobic, it turns out it's not as simple as he assumed. And maybe, just to add to the tragedy of his fate, he overestimated the universality of anti-homosexual feelings.
--- End quote ---
I agree too.
And.... I believe the movie left out a very important sentence from the book. In the book, when OMT is going on about Jack and Ennis moving to his place, he says, "I could have used the help." This is not in the movie. This says to me that although OMT may be a little peeved about the relationship, he would have welcomed Ennis and Jack to his ranch — maybe not with open arms, but at least he might have let them live their lives there.
To threadjack.... I also believe that the book was far more sympathetic to Ennis than the movie was.
brokeplex:
--- Quote from: ineedcrayons on September 13, 2007, 11:02:06 pm ---
I agree completely with this, too. I think the whole point of having OMT be surprisingly unhomophobic is to show Ennis that, contrary to his expectation that everybody is homophobic, it turns out it's not as simple as he assumed. And maybe, just to add to the tragedy of his fate, he overestimated the universality of anti-homosexual feelings.
--- End quote ---
An excellent point. I think that the fear of those forced into a closet in a what is a generally homophobic culture works both ways. Not only do the closeted hide their nature from others who MIGHT or MIGHT NOT be negatively judgemental, but they also cut off friends and relations who just might be to some degree supportive if the issue were honestly addressed. After reading the short story and seeing the movie, I thought that the scene in the Twist kitchen was one of the most tragic. I felt that OMT was in his own way trying to reach out to Ennis, and in his own oblique fashion telling him that he (OMT) regrets that Jack's ideas and plans, "never come to pass". Yes, OMT appears to most of us as a crude unpleasant man. But doesn't Jack bear some of the responsibility for cutting his parents out of much of his life? I am reminded of scientific reports of wild animals such as some in the larger sized feline family ,like cougars and panthers, who after having been raised in a cage since kittenhood will not leave the cage even if the door of the cage is opened for them. They only know the "security" of the cage and can not conceive of anything else. Perhaps that is the real tragedy of Ennis and Jack and all of those who have lived lives of quiet desperation and regret.
moremojo:
--- Quote from: brokeplex on September 16, 2007, 03:11:16 pm ---An excellent point. I think that the fear of those forced into a closet in a what is a generally homophobic culture works both ways. Not only do the closeted hide their nature from others who MIGHT or MIGHT NOT be negatively judgemental, but they also cut off friends and relations who just might be to some degree supportive if the issue were honestly addressed. After reading the short story and seeing the movie, I thought that the scene in the Twist kitchen was one of the most tragic. I felt that OMT was in his own way trying to reach out to Ennis, and in his own oblique fashion telling him that he (OMT) regrets that Jack's ideas and plans, "never come to pass". Yes, OMT appears to most of us as a crude unpleasant man. But doesn't Jack bear some of the responsibility for cutting his parents out of much of his life? I am reminded of scientific reports of wild animals such as some in the larger sized feline family ,like cougars and panthers, who after having been raised in a cage since kittenhood will not leave the cage even if the door of the cage is opened for them. They only know the "security" of the cage and can not conceive of anything else. Perhaps that is the real tragedy of Ennis and Jack and all of those who have lived lives of quiet desperation and regret.
--- End quote ---
You've honed in here on a reality of the closet that a lot of straight people do not appreciate--that they themselves are hurt and damaged by it too! Lesbigay family members and friends may choose to hide a vital part of themselves from their straight counterparts, or may even cut off relations altogether, all the potential detriment of everyone.
No one escapes unscathed from a racist, misogynist, and homophobic society.
Fran:
--- Quote from: Sagebrush Dan on September 16, 2007, 12:27:08 am ---To threadjack.... I also believe that the book was far more sympathetic to Ennis than the movie was.
--- End quote ---
I knew the movie was more sympathetic to Jack than the story was, but I hadn't thought about the treatment of Ennis. Good observation, Sagebrush Dan. I think I have to agree with you here regarding Ennis.
Sagebrush Dan:
Yeah, Fran. That was a surprise when I read the book. In the book, when Jack asked Ennis if he missed him, Ennis replied that he realized his biggest mistake was not going after Jack when he drove away in the pickup. Also mentioned that he used Jack as a sexual fantasy quite a bit. However, in the movie, Ennis simply replied, "I don't know."
Also the book mentioned that Ennis was confused by his bisexuality, but the movie makes no mention of this.
Ang Lee basically turned each character into an archetype. It worked, but it would have been nice to see each character as three-dimensional.
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