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

Ennis as a Great American Character?

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nakymaton:
NPR (US National Public Radio, for people outside the US) has a new series entitled "In Character." There's a series of radio pieces that discuss and analyze great characters. I've only caught a few of the pieces, but they've been great.

As I was clicking through the NPR website today, I had a thought:

Ennis belongs in that series.

Listeners can nominate characters, so we could push for him. There's also a blog that posts reader essays, from time to time.

I've been away from this movie and story for too long, so I'm asking the rest of you: if you were to tell NPR why Ennis is an archetypal character, why he should be discussed and remembered for ever and always, what would you tell them?

(Links to info:
Series: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17914370
BlogL: http://www.npr.org/blogs/incharacter/2007/12/welcome_to_in_character.html)

Front-Ranger:
I'll put my thinking cap on, Mel!!

Course, as Annie said, you can't have Ennis without Jack, so he's gotta be a great American character too. He's the bullrider while Ennis is the bronc rider (both did their share of "fffllllyyyin thru the air").

Artiste:
Thanks nakymaton! Great thread!

I would tell them: Ennis is real! (Like a saint is and talked about... forever!!)

Hugs!

Jeff Wrangler:
The series is all about fictional characters?

Maybe Ennis belongs there for the very reason that some people hate Brokeback Mountain. He exposes the homoeroticism below the surface of that great American archetype/icon the cowboy.

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on January 30, 2008, 05:22:52 pm ---He exposes the homoeroticism below the surface of that great American archetype/icon the cowboy.
--- End quote ---

Yes! Plus, as a Marlboro-man style cowboy, he's supposedly the classic rugged individualist. But in fact, Ennis is the ultimate conformist -- someone who lets his fear of breaking societal rules ruin his life.

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