Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 09/07: Did it seem like Jack was responsive to Randall's flirtatiousness?
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: southendmd on September 26, 2007, 03:47:02 pm ---I'm puzzled by the nose-powdering line: it seems so odd; is it just small talk, or is he communicating something else?
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Like Lureen's remark about men never dancing with their wives, it's a comment on Jack and Lureen's sex life. He's saying, "Why powder your nose if you're just going to go home and go to bed? There's nothing going at home in bed, that's for sure!"
Fran:
--- Quote from: southendmd on September 26, 2007, 03:47:02 pm ---.I'm puzzled by the nose-powdering line: it seems so odd; is it just small talk, or is he communicating something else?
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Because my mother frequently used the expression "Let's go powder our noses" when I was young as a euphemism for going to the ladies' room, I think it's just small talk, a way for the screenwriters to poke fun at how often women need to use the restroom and how long it takes them once they're in there. We don't see how long Jack and Randall have been waiting for their wives. Perhaps it was a long time. Maybe Jack is thinking, Damn Lureen, what's taking her so long. I want to get out of here. I'm sick of always having to wait for her.... But instead he just comments, "Ever notice how a woman'll powder her nose before a party starts, and then powder it again when the party's over? Why powder your nose just to go home to bed?" Jack's a guy; he doesn't get the whole makeup routine. Neither does Randall.
I think the conversation is just a way for the screenwriters to get the characters from trivial conversation to the heavy stuff, Randall's proposition of a weekend at Roy Taylor's cabin for just the two of them.
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: BBM-Cat on September 26, 2007, 04:07:40 pm ---I do agree with you on this Clarissa - that was one of my first thoughts as well, that Jack might be thinking 'is my sexuality that apparent?' Being propositioned by Randall IMO was a 'shock' to Jack for multiple reasons. Not the least of which, it caught him off guard and I believe he was used to being the pursuer, not the pursued. And, I believe as others have commented, he had immediate thoughts of Ennis interpersed with his initial reaction.
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Hi Elle and BBM-Cat,
This is a really interesting interpretation of the scene and Jack's physical response. But, it's funny... I have tended to read the significance of the whole scene as being about Jack's strong "gaydar" and his ability to either read or draw-out other gay men. I think Ennis is meant to be the most astonishing achievement in this regard... the fact that Jack was able to get Ennis to come out of his shell on Brokeback, etc. is of course one of the appeals of the relationship (I think from Ennis's perspective at least). And, here again, Jack and Randall are able to figure each other out through subtle exchanges and glances at a dinner table with their wives present, etc. It leaves the Jimbo exchange open for interpretation. Jimbo appears to reject Jack completely, but I've heard discussions here and there where it's been suggested that Jack really did have an understanding that Jimbo might be interested in men but that Jimbo felt threatened by the public-ness of Jack's advance (in front of the bartender, etc.).
serious crayons:
Hi Fran, I partly agree with what you just said. My comment before that was about the subtext, of course, not Jack's actual literal meaning. It didn't occur to me that Paul might be asking literally what Jack was talking about, perhaps not having heard the phrase as a once-common euphemism for going to the restroom. Yes, Jack was making small talk and using a common idiom of the day. And it's a way to carry the conversation along with small talk. To me, it works just fine on that level.
But most if not all of the lines in the film carry multiple meanings, and I think this one serves a second purpose. Subtextually, I see the entire dance scene as full of subtle remarks -- often digs -- about sexuality, including sexual orientation, sexual activity and masculinity. Men never dance with their wives. Jack and Randall don't have a smidgen of rhythm between them. Randall isn't mechanical. He wouldn't listen to LaShawn if he were going deaf tomorrow. LaShawn spent more on clothes than she made at N.M., which is more than Randall ever will make. Then there's the question of who Jack's actually asking to dance and the underlying meaning of Randall's invitation.
To me, the nose-powdering remark is another one of those. Subtly, unconsciously, Jack is saying there's nothing going on in bed that's worth getting gussied up for.
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: ineedcrayons on September 26, 2007, 03:39:48 pm ---There are parallels between this scene and the scenes of Jack and Ennis on the mountain. It's almost like the charity dance is a mini telling of Jack and Ennis, only with some things reversed or turned around, and parts played by other people.
At the beginning of the dance, Jack helps Randall when his truck was broken; at the end of their time on mountain, Ennis helps Jack when his truck is broken. LaShawn tells her background and how she wound up in Childress; Ennis tells his background and how he wound up on the mountain. LaShawn talks a blue streak to Jack; Ennis talks to Jack more than he's spoke in a year. With Ennis, Jack spills beans on himself. With Randall, Jack spills ashes on himself. Both spillings immediately followed a comment alluding to masculinity, one positive and the other negative -- "balls the size of apples," "husbands never dance with their wives." After that, Jack looks away while Ennis is washing (trying to resist), and Jack looks away when Randall proposes Roy Taylor's cabin (trying to resist?).
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And... I just want to say wow to this observation!! :o
I think this is a truly interesting way to see this scene. So, is this an example of the "ink-blot" structure of the film? Or a microcosm of the film? Maybe microcosm is most accurate?
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