I've been a journalist and a researcher for quite sometime now and one thing that I have learned is that when in doubt go to the source. In this case Brokeback Mountain's source is Annie Proulx herself and the short story she wrote. She's the one who came up with Ennis and Jack, their love and sad story. In other words she gave birth to them so if anyone can provide the most accurate information about the characters and their depiction in the movie is her and everything she has written about the story and the movie.
In my opinion to say the short story, and the screenplay are"extraneous material," and to consider Annie Proulx's comments just speculation and interpretation, is to diminish Brokeback Mountain's true value. Proulx is the creator of all this, the one who came up with a story that moved us so much, and that brought us here in the first place. And I personally think she deserves more respect than that, as an author and as a person.
I agree with you that Annie Proulx is the ultimate authority on Jack and Ennis as characters. She wrote the story after witnessing an anti-gay mini-tirade at a local bar/restaurant on the part of the owner who was evidently displeased with two men who were customers in his place and he drew conclusions about their relationship in the form of nasty remarks after they had left. Proulx's story is an extension of how two guys might cope in an atmosphere of distrust, ignorance, and fear in the rural mountain west.
If you listen to a lot of the audio interviews and read the articles (where links still work) in the Movie Resources section, you'll find tremendous insight into the reasoning for the choice of the screenplay adoption team, how they wrestled with adopting Proulx's story for the screen, how Proulx was amazed at how well most of it turned out, and just how the process unfolds of turning a quick short story into a multi-hour film. Proulx has been extremely supporting of the film staying largely true to her story, and she has complimented the movie screenwriters for doing so.
But Proulx has been extraordinarily consistent about what she feels should be taken away by viewers after the film. It's the theme of this entire site and has been since the very first day - everyone is expected to finish the story in their own lives, and they do it based on their own life experiences which will certainly color their interpretations and the "moral" of the story.
Now for everyone:
BetterMost is not just a movie fan site. There are others out there that already do a wonderful job just dwelling on the movie. This site was created to help people figure out the film and then figure out how they are going to finish the story in their own lives and, with the support of a growing community of users here, help move beyond the film itself and open a new chapter in one's life.
The "trap" out there, for lack of a better name, is to get so caught up in the minute details of the film that one misses the greater point - the calling for one to not just see this as a film on a screen, but for many of us, a convincing call to awaken, evaluate, and evolve through change and growth. For some that means dealing with sexuality issues, for others like me it was more about missing/lost opportunities, and for others it's about struggling through relationships. And yes, for some, it's just a great movie that doesn't provoke any major need for change in one's own life, but just to understand what the movie was all about.
All of these are valid.
Who among us does not remember the days of wandering around dazed after this movie. The longing to figure it out by searching out information online, talking to friends, the obsession for many which led them back to the theater again and again. The emotional impact was overwhelming for a lot of us.
We must always be sensitive that when others share their visions and views about the film, if they do not mesh with our own views, that can literally cause a negative emotional response for some people. That means we must be sensitive about the feelings of other users here, to make sure they realize we are not attacking them for sharing our own views. At the same time, people sensitive to different views need to remember that other points of view are welcome here and agree or disagree, in most cases, the people sharing them are not attacking you just because they share a different perspective.
We are mostly all adults here, and we are strong enough to withstand contrary views about things. Some of those views may open new interpretations one may not have considered before. Just remember the one big rule that we do have here - no personal attacks on others. We debate issues, not our users here. Our community is only as strong as our weakest link, so being a positive and supporting individual here helps us all stay strong.