Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Sacrilege
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: dot-matrix on April 04, 2007, 10:16:35 pm ---Is it even possible to "dream" above your station in life? I don't think so. Being a Fashion Designer is something that was very within your Aunt's reach as a young woman if it was something she really wanted.
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Was it, though? I think sometimes it's possible to have a dream, but if you don't have any idea how to take the first step to realize the dream, or anyone to encourage you or help you on that first step, maybe that dream stays a dream.
injest:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 04, 2007, 10:23:30 pm ---Was it, though? I think sometimes it's possible to have a dream, but if you don't have any idea how to take the first step to realize the dream, or anyone to encourage you or help you on that first step, maybe that dream stays a dream.
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thank you Jeff.
I wanted to go to college. But I had no idea how to even start...my mother wanted me to quit high school and I had to be out by June of the year I graduated. So she was no help...and facing the prospect of finding a job and a place to live....college was the last thing on the list....
Front-Ranger:
I thought Jack DID lower his expectations after the divorce debacle. And he stayed with Ennis a decade or so longer even though he knew Ennis would never give himself to him. That's why, at the lake, he said, "I did once" with such regret.
Phillip Dampier:
--- Quote from: injest on April 04, 2007, 08:45:37 pm ---Have you ever thought that maybe we are looking at the story the wrong way?? Maybe it IS about standing it??
That some dreams just aren't going to come true so we have to learn to deal with life without them...we have to face reality.
There comes a time that you just have to realize that you just don't have the ability to fulfill your dreams. So to continue beating your head against a stone wall is ridiculous and useless and robs you of living your life to the fullest....
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There are some things in life we have no power or control over. My mom's cancer was an example of that. For things like that, applying the Ennis "if you can't fix it, you gotta stand it" philosophy is about the best you can do. But as far as fulfilling other dreams within yourself, I've found that people can be incredibly dynamic and can accomplish quite a lot, or at least give it a shot. It seems more often that people don't even try.
Look at the 20 years of excuses Ennis gave Jack for not giving their relationship a chance. Jack's character got labeled as reckless by some movie critics and "a dreamer" by his father - always talking but never delivering. But it didn't come from a lack of trying. And consider the alternative of being a John Twist, where time and life has basically stood still for year after year. Even Jack's room stayed the same.
We give in too much to fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and for some, fear of success. For a lot of folks, living a half-fulfilled existence that you know and have experience with is far easier than risking the unknown for that sweet life, so they don't even try. And then, eventually, you get to the point where you regret that.
The message I took away from this film is that it's always worth it to take some risks. You can't win if you don't play the game! Unfortunately, it was too late for Jack and Ennis, and that fact alone was a major kick in my rear end to start taking those chances today.
This home called BetterMost exists -only- because of Jack and Ennis and that message. Before Brokeback, I would have been a lot of talk, but no real action. I took my shot and here it is. I made mistakes along the way, asked for help when I needed it, but kept on going forward. I'm a better person because of it.
dot-matrix:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on April 04, 2007, 10:23:30 pm ---Was it, though? I think sometimes it's possible to have a dream, but if you don't have any idea how to take the first step to realize the dream, or anyone to encourage you or help you on that first step, maybe that dream stays a dream.
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Oh I totally agree with that, but that doesn't make the dream impossible just improbable. I wish I were more eloquent because I know I'm not making ya'all understand what I mean here.
--- Quote from: injest on April 04, 2007, 10:23:18 pm ---see this is where I think people who have never been TRULY poor understand reality. We hear these incredible stories about people that overcome poverty and go on to be doctors or lawyers or millionaires....but we hear them BECAUSE they are unusual and rare...if a LOT of people were overcoming poverty everyday...it wouldn't be news!!
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Poverty, any kind of poverty wither the working poor or those who experience the extreme understand how hard it is to crawl out of. Once you're mired in it, you are well and truly stuck, at the very least it feels that way. But dreams are free and they are no respectors of persons. Both rich and poor people have dreams. I guess it just depends on your out look on life in general. We were poor when I was small, Dad had built the ranch up and we were comfortable by the time I was in high school but those early days of hand me down dresses and beans, beans, beans forever shaped who I am today. I went to college but only because I worked my butt off and got a full scholarship. My brother went into the Army for his education. I am a glass is half full person, don't cut your nose off to spite your face, there is nothing so bad today that won't look better tomorrow. I cannot visualize a world were we didn't have dreams, there would be no hope, and can people whose lives are not perfect be happy without hope? I just can't see it. :'(
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