Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum

Interpreting the Brokeback poster

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Brown Eyes:
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/2746499-dd4.jpg" border="0" />

Hey Buds,

I've been thinking it might be interesting for us to discuss this really well-known, signature image for Brokeback.  I think most of us have probably looked at this image so many times, we may take it for granted now.  But, I remember when BBM was still new and out in theaters... I used to just **love** seeing this poster everywhere in theater lobbies, in advertisements, etc.

I'm really hoping to start a discussion about the meaning behind this choice of image, the composition, the positioning of Ennis and Jack, the significance of the landscape, etc.  How does scale work here given the size of the two men compared to their background, etc.?  Do they feel detached from their background?  To me they feel like they're hovering in front of the landscape, but aren't really in it.  Why would the poster designer choose to compose the image this way?

I'm actually really interested in hearing how people interpret the positioning of Ennis and Jack here.

We can get into really specific details too... Such as, why is Ennis in this jacket here?  It's not one of his signature jackets.  What's the significance of the reflection of the landscape in the water?  Why is Jack depicted as so receding?

What part of BBM do you think this image corresponds with?  What does it evoke for you (as a viewer who has seen BBM many times and already loves the film).  How do you think this image works for someone who has never seen BBM or who has only seen it once?

One way of looking at this is as a pure image... what does this do for you (emotionally and in terms of how you interpret Brokeback)?

Another way to look at this, is of course, as a marketing image.  How do you feel about it?  Do you think it was successful as a marketing image?  Does it convey an image of BBM that corresponds with the way you see or understand Brokeback?  Does it project an appropriate image of what Brokeback is about?  How do you feel about the text and tag line?

I'm guessing that this image was worked-on for a long, long time and lots of very careful decisions and discussions probably happened around this main image by the filmmakers and marketers.  So, I think it's well-worth discussing this in-depth.

serious crayons:
Great idea for a topic, Bud!

Well, it's late and I just noticed this thread so I'm going to make only a couple of quick comments and then think some more and come back to it later.

One is that I like that the image crams them as close together as humanly possible -- in fact, I think their juxtaposition actually may be anatomically impossible. My guess is that they didn't want to use a picture that's out-and-out sexy, or even as romantic as the dozy embrace, because they thought it would be too risky. Which is lame and sad and stupid. But for that I blame our society more than I do the marketing folks -- I give them credit for doing their best to get people into the theater. So, given that, they did at least manage to pose Jack and Ennis in a way that pretty strongly conveys that they're "more than just friends."

Also, I like how this image became kind of iconic. Remember that New Yorker cover that showed Dick Cheney and his hunting buddy shooting victim in this pose? And I think there were others. IMO these -- at least the ones I saw -- aren't laughing at BBM, like a Jay Leno joke would. They're laughing with it, acknowledging its status as a cultural landmark. So I appreciate that.

Penthesilea:
What a coincidence that you opened this topic just now  :). I chose the poster (along with the cover of Close Range) for this week's TOTW picture.

And while I was working on the picture (adjusting size, etc.) I noticed something which had escaped my attention till then (or maybe I have forgotten about it).

The background is never to be seen in the movie. Similar views, of course, but not exactly this one. And: on the postcard, there's a different background. I mean this postcard:



For a long time, I thought the postcard is the same as the poster, only the lower half cut. Wrong. For the postcard they used the right part of the scenery of the lake side argument:



But the positioning of Ennis and Jack is so iconic and dominating in both pictures, that the difference in background keeps a low profile. (Am I the only one who didn't notice the difference immediately?)

Why did they use different backgounds for the poster and postcard?

Mero:
As far as I know, the poster deliberatly followed the poster to Cameron's Titanic in order to establish BBM as "another great love story", and James Shamus explicitly conceded that much:



As far as the positioning of Ennis and Jack goes, I think it may be a foreboding of Jack's fate; and Ennis is in the foreground as it is "his" story, beginning and ending with Ennis.

Brown Eyes:
Thanks for jumping in here Buds!  I have a feeling that this could be a *really* interesting topic.

Yes, I also agree that Jack is positioned in a way that makes him look a little ethereal... kind of floating in the background above Ennis.  And, I do think this is some kind of allusion to Jack's death... or of Jack turning into a kind of "guardian angel"  looking down on Ennis following his death (I think the "angel" concept in appropriate given some of Proulx's language even).  Or, more simply, maybe he's positioned to indicate that he's part of Ennis's memories, etc. 

Both Ennis and Jack appear somewhat other-worldly to me.  Both almost appear to be idealized versions of themselves.  And, it probably goes without saying that Ennis seems to be shown so prominently in the foreground to indicate his protagonist-status.

I went to bed obsessing about that jean jacket that Ennis is shown wearing.  I know that he does wear jean jackets in the movie (fireworks scene, etc.), but I really don't usually think of Ennis wearing that kind of jacket... or even blue.  Of course, Ennis's color is usuall brown (or white/ light colors with patterns).  I think of blue as Jack's color.  Interesting.

The Titanic poster seems to be a very good comparison.  And, that's really interesting about Schamus.  Do you know where he discussed the poster?  I'd be curious to learn more about his thoughts.

I'm really, really glad that the marketers chose an image that depicts Ennis and Jack in an intimate composition.  It's such a relief, that with this image at least, they were not hiding this main content (the love affair between the two men) of BBM.

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