Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 18/07: Do you think classic cowboy icons like the "Marlboro Man" were proto
Penthesilea:
Hello my fellow BetterMostians! :)
This week I'm happy to announce that we have again a topic which was suggested by a BetterMost resident. And the same goes for next week :D. But I won't tell anything about next week yet. You'll have to come back to this place and see yourself then.
This week's topic was suggested by Amanda (atz75). Thank you Bud!
Do you think classic cowboy icons like the "Marlboro Man" were prototypes for the way Ennis looks?
The topic centers not exclusively around the Marlboro Man, but he is a very good example, since he is so highly iconic. James Dean in Giant may be another one. But there are surely more figures which may have played some role in the inspiration of the way Ennis is visualized. If you think of a character from movies, TV or other sources (like ads), please add them here (pics would be awesome, but are naturally not required).
To give you an impression, I'll post some pics of the Marlboro Man and James Dean in the next two posts.
Also we'd like to know if the influence also goes the other way round: did BBM make you rethink or reevaluate classic icons of the cowboy or the western?
Penthesilea:
Some examples of the Marlboro Man:
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/2979997-fb1.jpeg" border="0" /> <img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/2979998-d71.jpg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/2980009-a68.gif" border="0" /> <img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/2980010-3de.jpg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/3014728-fa2.jpg" border="0" /> <img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/3014732-0d6.jpg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3014774-fcd.jpg" border="0" /> <img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/3014773-43a.jpg" border="0" />
There's even this floating around the internet. Of course it's a joke, but it seems very fitting, doesn't it?
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3014729-2c0.JPG" border="0" />
Penthesilea:
Some examples of James Dean:
With a serious Ennis facial impression:
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3047748-41a.jpg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3047741-7e0.jpeg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3047746-a93.jpg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3047719-a4e.jpg" border="0" />
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/midsize/3047745-b27.jpeg" border="0" />
Brown Eyes:
Hey Bud!
Thanks so much for your interest in this topic and for choosing to feature it! :-*
Yes, I definitely think there's a lot to be said about ways that BBM makes audiences think about the genre of the western and the classic image of the cowboy. And, when I first started thinking about this topic I was mostly focusing on the image of Ennis and this immediate connection that's always been in my mind between Ennis and the Marlboro Man.
This is most striking to me at the very beginning of the movie. The fact that one of the first things we see of Ennis is him smoking a cigarette. But, the fact that he's unwilling to finish even one cigarette... pinching it off and saving it in his pocket... wanting to save it for later, etc. seems very significant. There seems to be a lot said here about issues of class and rural poverty lurking beneath the surface of iconic images such as the Marlboro Man... in addition to issues of sexual difference.
One thing that's so striking to me about Ennis is how his character embodies the idea that the demeanor of a classic, tough, stoic, loner-type cowboy can be simultaneously the demeanor of a closeted gay man who is constantly in fear of the the "people on the pavement" who might be able to detect his secret.
I think a discussion of Heath's methods in portraying Ennis here are also very important. I recall interviews with Heath where he discussed very conscious decisions about his posture, gait in walking, etc. to convey a sense of Ennis's repression and internalized anxiety.
And, with the James Dean connection... I think it's just so striking how much Heath resembles James Dean to begin with. So, I wonder how much of the casting decision here was very deliberate. And, so I'm really wondering how does James Dean's image or mystique inform the character of Ennis?
Anyway, I'm really hoping that this will turn into a discussion about visual aspects of BBM and how it relates to other famous cinematic images or advertising images, etc. So, like Chrissi said, the Marlboro Man is just one example of an image that seems to relate to BBM, and hopefully folks will be able to bring their own examples here to this thread. And, in presenting these comparisons with other media images, I'd really like to hear what people thing those other sources mean... or how those other sources may help in expanding an understanding of BBM.
Katie77:
I've got to agree with both of you on the similarities and likenesses to the Marlboro Man and James Dean.
If they are who,Heath used to form his peronna of Ennis, well, he did a very good job of it.
He also captured the innocence of James Dean....although so very handsome, there was no sign of vanity, the pouting bottom lip....shows a kinda of "sulking" for the hard life that was dished up to him, the seriousness on his face, shows a maturity beyond his years, capturing the fact that he had to grow up fast to survive on his own.
I dont know if anyone else felt this, but when the scenes of Ennis and Alma were on their honeymoon, skiing, Ennis was so completely different in appearance and personality than he was as the Ennis we met on the mountain.He was not the cowboy we had just met on Brokeback, he was a typical young man of the sixties, enjoying a holiday in the snow....maybe this was used to show how worlds apart his beginning with Jack was, compared to his beginning with Alma was....
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