Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
TOTW 05/09: Things that made you go "hunh?"
LauraGigs:
Well, undies by themselves would probably dry pretty quickly in the sun and wind... but I imagine the nudity was to show Jack's vulnerability, especially as juxtaposed with the dead sheep.
Front-Ranger:
go commando...that cracks me up!!
The reason for the nude scene, IMO, is twofold. As is customary when camping out, you wash yourself AND your clothes at the same time. Or you wash yourself and your pots and pans, unless you are Ennis. In that case, you just roll your jeans pant legs up real tight, wade in, and wash the coffeepot. Unless the coffeepot has boiled over, in which case...but that's another thread!!
But the point that is subtly made is that Jack and Ennis approach life differently. Ennis is all buttoned up whereas Jack lets it all hang out. ;D
Second reason is that there is a corollary on the mountain to most events that happen down on the flatlands, and laundry is no exception. To explore this idea further, please visit the thread The Laundry Room right here on the Open Forum.
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: LauraGigs on July 27, 2009, 04:11:24 pm ---Well, undies by themselves would probably dry pretty quickly in the sun and wind... but I imagine the nudity was to show Jack's vulnerability, especially as juxtaposed with the dead sheep.
--- End quote ---
Yes, I completely agree with this. I think the montage there of the dead sheep, Ennis's face and Jack's naked body is really important. Having Ennis in the middle produces a kind of equation. The vulnerability of the sheep is equated with the vulnerability of Jack (and relates to the longstanding urge Ennis has to protect Jack and keep him safe). This also speaks to a really old argument I used to make about the sheep being equated to vulnerable gay men in general (or vulnerable at least in Ennis's head). I think the sheep killed as a victim of predator loss is very much related to Earl, who was also killed by predators. And, then this relates to Ennis's firm belief later that Jack was also the victim of predators in his own death.
A lot of this, I think has to do with visualizing Ennis's thought process.
Mikaela:
Well, it made *me* go hunh? in terms of the actual straightforward storyline. It still does.
Of course there is symbolism galore in it, as in every little thing in the film. That wasn't what gave me pause. Their trick was to make the symbolism meld seamlessly with a realistic narrative, something they normally achieved unbelievably well. IMO this is not one of those places.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Mikaela on July 27, 2009, 04:44:50 pm ---Well, it made *me* go hunh? in terms of the actual straightforward storyline. It still does.
Of course there is symbolism galore in it, as in every little thing in the film. That wasn't what gave me pause. Their trick was to make the symbolism meld seamlessly with a realistic narrative, something they normally achieved unbelievably well. IMO this is not one of those places.
--- End quote ---
There is also the point that for whatever Hollywood reason, each of the four "principles" has a nude--or at least seminude--scene. We've seen Heath nude, so we have to (get to ;D ) see Jake nude. We see Michelle's breasts, so we have to see Ann's breasts. :P
Oh, and BTW, the use of this smilie :P doesn't mean I find the sight of the women's breasts distasteful. It is to indicate that I think it's kind of stupid that "they had to do this," give each star a nude/seminude scene, whether or not it was necessary to the plot. And I guess that's the definition of "gratuitous nudity." As happy as I am to see Jake Gyllenhaal nude, or even only seminude, and regardless of any symbolism that may be superimposed on it, for me the scene of Jack doing the laundry in the altogether is completely unnecessary. By contrast, the view of Heath "warshing" in the background while Jake peels potatoes--and the muscle in his jaw twitches ;D --is important to advance the plot--and, moreover, it comes right out of Annie Proulx's text.
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