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

Why the Lie?

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dly64:

--- Quote from: latjoreme on August 16, 2006, 01:24:06 pm ---I was just thinking about this yesterday. In the short story, when he orders a postcard of Brokeback from the gift-shop lady, symbolically it's a little like Ennis coming out, in a way. Albeit in code that she wouldn't possibly understand.
--- End quote ---

Never thought of that ... but it is a possibility. Or maybe even his internal acceptance that he is inescapably gay.

Brown Eyes:
Back to the issue of both Ennis and Jack in their daily lives tip-toeing around the word "Brokeback" and keeping the fact secret that they even worked together in 63...   This seems to be one interesting circumstance where they're right in rhythm with one another... both essentially doing the same thing.  I think it helps show that the bonds of their intimacy stayed very intact even from a distance and shows a tacit agreement that these things are meant for the two of them alone (until Jack is dead of course).

In the book when Ennis buys that postcard it does seem like some sort of a coming out moment in that it's so deliberate.  He even needs to have the thing ordered.  So, he's extremely conscious of what he's doing.  It may be more of an issue of him coming out to himself than to anyone else since the meaning of buying a postcard would be lost on almost anyone else.  I think it's nice that the filmmakers consolidated the "Ennis-coming-out-to-himself" moments to the trailer scene at the end.  It makes that last scene appropriately intense.

Shakesthecoffecan:
I think he lied to Alma because he was so paranoid, he wanted to steer away from any lines of thought that would incriminate him.

Proulx has written in her essay that it is hard to accept, but sometimes the movie tells the story better than the story does. The shifting of things makes more sense in the movie. I am not sure Ennis was acknowledging anything about himself when he wrote back to Jack, he just wanted to see him again. (I feel).

serious crayons:

--- Quote from: atz75 on September 10, 2006, 10:44:21 pm --- I think it helps show that the bonds of their intimacy stayed very intact even from a distance and shows a tacit agreement that these things are meant for the two of them alone (until Jack is dead of course).
--- End quote ---

I've been thinking a lot about bookends lately, and I've decided this is one.

Scene: Ennis gets a postcard. Stares at it, shocked and overjoyed. Alma asks who Jack is. Ennis tells her they're fishing buddies. He doesn't refer directly to Brokeback, and lies about them working together.

Bookend: Ennis gets a postcard. Stares at it, shocked and grief-stricken. Lureen asks, "Who? Who is this?" She has been told they're fishing buddies. Ennis refers directly to Brokeback, and tells the truth about them working together.

Brown Eyes:
Heya Katherine,

That's a really interesting observation.  I agree that it functions as a bookend.  I wonder if it also functions as something like foreshadowing.  The idea of "foreshadowing" has been on my mind a little lately and isn't something I recall much in previous discussions.  In some ways bookends and foreshadowing are related, especially in this film.  But, the idea of foreshadowing seems more traditional.  I mean, are we supposed to be able to pick up subtle clues about the way things are going to end up all the way through the film?  For example, are the guys around the pool table in the Jimbo scene meant to foreshadow the (largely edited out) mechanics?

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