Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
The Infamous Electric Carving Knife - A Moment of Levity
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on March 03, 2008, 12:13:23 pm ---Well, very few of us are as free of stereotypes and prejudices as we like to think we are. And while Ennis and Jack may challenge masculine stereotypes in terms of sexuality, someone like Monroe doesn't fit the stereotypes much better. The actor has an unfortunate arrangement of features, described variously as bland and baby-faced, that would lead people to make negative assumptions about him. In a traditional Western movie, Monroe would have been the Western town's general storekeeper; here, he's translated into the Riverton grocer who wears an apron and knows what "condiments" are. IMO, this character gives viewers who might feel some uneasiness about the implied challenges to American/Western/masculine stereotypes a kind of safety valve: now, here's a character that one can safely consider a "sissy" -- he even uses an electric knife. That isn't a comment about BBM fans generally and certainly not about anyone on this thread, but Monroe, in addition to being a necessary plot device, does serve the classic dramatic function of a "foil." And I guess it's possible that Ang Lee did intend that, come to think of it.
Of course, this character isn't much developed in the movie and even less in the ss, but I'd really question as to whether he can be considered "less of a man" than some of the other characters, especially Lureen's father. The "stud duck" displayes his perceived masculinity by dissing his son-in-law and insisting on carving poultry; Monroe is willing to have his stepdaughters' father at Thanksgiving dinner. And for that matter, he was willing to hang in there and wait for the woman he loved.
Well, I guess we've meandered pretty far from slicing up that turkey..... ;)
--- End quote ---
Not to mention, too, that Monroe apparently does a better job of supporting a family on his own, whereas Ennis is pretty much of a dud in that respect, and Jack rides the coattails of his father-in-law and his wife.
But sure enough, in Monroe we have the sissy storekeeper who knows what a condiment is, watches figure skating with his step-daughters, and uses a parvenu electric carving knife--and he's straight, whereas our macho stereotypical Western heroes sleep with each other.
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on March 03, 2008, 12:32:05 pm ---Not to mention, too, that Monroe apparently does a better job of supporting a family on his own, whereas Ennis is pretty much of a dud in that respect, and Jack rides the coattails of his father-in-law and his wife.
But sure enough, in Monroe we have the sissy storekeeper who knows what a condiment is, watches figure skating with his step-daughters, and uses a parvenu electric carving knife--and he's straight, whereas our macho stereotypical Western heroes sleep with each other.
--- End quote ---
Yep, this is pretty much exactly how I see it.
(Although, at least it can be said that Ennis isn't a complete dud in terms of supporting his family... he at least feels a sense of responsibility about it... eventhough he's not very effective at actually generating a lot of money for them).
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: atz75 on March 03, 2008, 12:35:27 pm ---(Although, at least it can be said that Ennis isn't a complete dud in terms of supporting his family... he at least feels a sense of responsibility about it... eventhough he's not very effective at actually generating a lot of money for them).
--- End quote ---
Sure enough. Why I said dud instead of dead-beat, because he surely isn't a "dead-beat dad." He just doesn't do a very good job of it, and economics is clearly one of the reasons Alma leaves him.
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on March 03, 2008, 12:39:51 pm ---Sure enough. Why I said dud instead of dead-beat, because he surely isn't a "dead-beat dad." He just doesn't do a very good job of it, and economics is clearly one of the reasons Alma leaves him.
--- End quote ---
OK! Sure enough - right back atcha! :)
serious crayons:
It's interesting to examine stereotypes about masculinity as they apply to Monroe, and I don't think I've ever seen this discussion take place explicitly before.
I think clearly Ang Lee deliberately send signals that Monroe is "sissified" -- the babyish look, the apron, the electric knife, the figure skating, the fact that he takes a suspiciously long time to rush to Alma's aid when she screams for him from the kitchen.
The question is, what is Ang trying to say?
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on March 03, 2008, 12:13:23 pm --- In a traditional Western movie, Monroe would have been the Western town's general storekeeper; here, he's translated into the Riverton grocer who wears an apron and knows what "condiments" are. IMO, this character gives viewers who might feel some uneasiness about the implied challenges to American/Western/masculine stereotypes a kind of safety valve: now, here's a character that one can safely consider a "sissy" -- he even uses an electric knife. That isn't a comment about BBM fans generally and certainly not about anyone on this thread, but Monroe, in addition to being a necessary plot device, does serve the classic dramatic function of a "foil." And I guess it's possible that Ang Lee did intend that, come to think of it.
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here, but it sounds like you're attributing Monroe's "sissy" characteristics to slightly different motivations than I would. I agree (with what I think you're saying) that in the traditional Western, Monroe's role would be to set off the "masculinity" of the main characters -- the sheriff or marshal or bad guys. He's not going to be the one reaching for his pistol in the middle of Main Street at high noon, or throwing the bad guy down the bar, whiskey glasses flying -- he's going to be hiding behind the bar or cowering in the grocery store with the women folk.
But I think Monroe's role is more complex in BBM, and I don't think he's there just to give insecure viewers some comic relief. Yes, in some respects, he makes Ennis look tough by comparison. Imagine him trying to shoot an elk. Or how he'd react to the bikers at the 4th of July.
And yet, as others have pointed out, Monroe expresses his "masculinity" in a different way. The "sissy" can get his wife pregnant and support the children after the "tough guy" has failed to do so. When Ennis displays classic tough-guy behavior -- when he beats up the bikers or fights the truck-driver outside the bar -- he's motivated quite directly by insecurity regarding his sexuality. Similarly, I think Monroe's character is another way of turning traditional images on end, showing that people aren't always what they seem and that our assumptions about those stereotypes can be wrong.
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