Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 12/07:Is Brokeback Mountain a 'universal love story' or a 'gay love story'?
Brown Eyes:
Well, I at least commend the BBM marketers for not hiding or diminishing the gay aspect of the love story in the marketing. I'm hugely happy that the main poster featured Ennis and Jack in that intimate composition. And, I remember some of my first awareness of BBM (through previews, etc.) involved the image of the dozy embrace. I remember being sort of mesmerized by the image of that embrace and thinking that there was something really powerful and different about how that encounter was shot and presented even in the preview (all this aside from the fact that the image was of a gay couple).
I really don't know how the marketing impacted or didn't impact the audience. I think the good word-of-mouth did huge wonders for the reception of BBM.
Ellemeno:
The phrasing of the question reminds me of Stephen Colbert when he says, "George Bush - great president, or the greatest president?"
Maybe BBM is an "I ain't queer" love story. :(
serious crayons:
I'm always surprised that this question creates what almost seems like tension between people who all love the movie. I remember once on imdb, early on, a similar discussion in which (mostly) straight people were saying it's a universal love story, and (mostly) gay people were saying it's a gay love story. A gay man said something to the effect of, "Come on, it's the first big love-story movie we've ever had, don't try to take it from us," and I said, "No fair! You got the best one!" and he said, "He he he."
Personally, and not to cop out on this, I think it's both. It's a gay love story because Jack and Ennis are gay, and what leads to their tragedy is homophobia. It's a universal love story because anyone with a heart, gay or straight, can relate. So clearly, it's not "only" either thing.
I've always wondered about what it must have been like for gay people through all those decades (and, for the most part, even now), limited mainly to watching movies that focus on straight couples. How hard is it to relate to those movies? To the extent that you do, do you consider them "straight love stories" or "universal love stories"? I've always assumed -- or at least hoped, for the sake of gay friends -- that the emotions of romance and love are universal enough that a well-done movie pushes the right buttons, regardless of orientation or gender. Or maybe it requires a leap of imagination. I don't know.
But I felt -- or at least hoped -- that I got a taste of that experience with Brokeback Mountain. I'm not one of those straight women who's always had a particular interest in romances involving gay men. To the extent they had crossed my mind at all, I assumed I wouldn't be interested because, well, what was in it for me?? Brokeback Mountain took me completely by surprise, and although I find the love scenes erotic I believe my reaction to the movie was less because of slash or homoeroticism than because, well, it's just simply the greatest love story ever.
Ellemeno:
Look what I just found in the Ang Ang Ang thread. Ang answers this very question, his way:
Question: Do you see them [Wedding Banquet and Brokeback Mountain] as gay films?
Ang Lee: That's a hard question to answer. I do what's truthful to my feelings. I brought some universal feelings, whether you're gay or straight, about love, Chinese family drama, about romance. I think I brought a lot of universality that help the two communities. It's a good gay film for people because it's in the middle of the road. I don't squeeze the characters into gay cinema. I think that's what's good...or not so good. I always try my best when I do a film that feels genuine to me. I put myself in the middle to try to make cinema work.
http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,13565.msg265475.html#msg265475
serious crayons:
You know, I have nothing but huge respect for Ang. But I'm always surprised that someone who is, let's say, not the most articulate person, at least when speaking in English, can make movies about British or American culture that are so subtle and nuanced and so minutely, carefully, perfectly detailed ... in English.
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