Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Rearview
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: atz75 on August 05, 2006, 02:36:42 am ---So here's a question... why is Jack associated with rearview mirrors?
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And Ennis very explicitly DOESN'T look in his rearview (that is, look back at Jack) the many times he rides away in his truck or on horseback.
Mikaela:
--- Quote ---So here's a question... why is Jack associated with rearview mirrors?
--- End quote ---
Or is it Ennis who is associated with the mirrors? I remember one BBM review that made a point of Ennis being so often seen through mirrors, being confined and restricted by the finite and small spaces those mirrors create.
It may have to do with reflections - what he wants to reflect vs. what he does reflect - especially to Jack, perhaps? But it might perhaps also have something to do with the "real" Ennis being hidden from view or so inaccessible that he sometimes can only be studied indirectly - when he's not aware of it?
I'm as yet undecided what I think is the intended interpretation but I have been pondering this a bit.
The rearview mirrors at the beginning and end of their time on BBM are obvious bookends...
And here, for good measure, are a couple of other Ennis-in-mirror instances. Yes, I know the last one is from an outtake so feel free to completely disregard it. :)
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on August 05, 2006, 01:37:04 pm ---And Ennis very explicitly DOESN'T look in his rearview (that is, look back at Jack) the many times he rides away in his truck or on horseback.
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Yeah, that's a good contrast between Jack and Ennis. In the flashback when Jack turns around to watch Ennis ride away... it's almost like a "rearview" gesture (since there's no mirror available)... It's a gesture of looking back or letting his gaze linger for a longer amount of time. And, of course, like you say this is precisely a moment when Ennis doesn't look back. So, my question remains... Why? Is it a question of being sentimental?
It's interesting that despite Jack looking back (especially in the scene where he's driving away and sees Ennis on the road at the end of the '63 summer) he misses out on some crucial information. He misses the crucial moment of seeing Ennis duck into the alley to cry. If he had kept his gaze on that mirror a bit longer and had seen that... maybe things would be different (another minute moment of missed opportunity?). So, in turning to watch Ennis ride away in the flashback is he also still missing out on some kind of knowledge about Ennis? And, in never seeming to look back, are we supposed to think that Ennis is missing out on some level of understanding about Jack?
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: Mikaela on August 05, 2006, 02:33:14 pm ---Or is it Ennis who is associated with the mirrors? I remember one BBM review that made a point of Ennis being so often seen through mirrors, being confined and restricted by the finite and small spaces those mirrors create.
It may have to do with reflections - what he wants to reflect vs. what he does reflect - especially to Jack, perhaps? But it might perhaps also have something to do with the "real" Ennis being hidden from view or so inaccessible that he sometimes can only be studied indirectly - when he's not aware of it?
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Wow, Mikaela! Great post and thanks for those visual aids! I think you were posting your response as I was posting my last post. Anyway, this seems to be an interesting nuance... Jack is the one who looks in the rearview mirrors whereas Ennis is the one who is shown/seen/depicted in those mirrors. Yes, I think the reflection of Ennis is maybe a metaphor for how difficult it is to see the "real" Ennis or the "interior" Ennis. And, I think what I said in my last post goes nicely with some of your points... Information is so difficult and inaccessible about Ennis that even when Jack does look back he misses the vital bit of information (really based on timing) about Ennis crying. From Jack's viewpoint in the rearview mirror, Ennis looks upright, stoic, casual and comfortable. His vertical silhouette in Jack's mirror is almost the opposite of the crumpled, crying mess of an Ennis that we see in the alley way.
Front-Ranger:
I like what U say, Mikaela and Amanda...plus Ennis as seen in the mirrors usually has some kind of obstruction. His hat over his face, or a toothbrush in his mouth. In addition to him being seen as a reflection, he is also often seen looking out of windows, as if he is boxed in and looking to get free. But the boxes and frames are created by himself, he has boxed himself in. In his words, "I'm caught in my own loop."
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