Black Hats, White Hats

[ednbarby]

On my most recent viewing, yet another question came up that I don't think has been addressed yet here (and if it has and I've missed it, I apologize).

We all know that when Ennis and Jack are apart, there always seems to be a black hat in the background whenever Ennis is out in public.  But has anyone else noticed that there seems to be only one black hat in Ennis' backgrounds, but there are always more than one in Jack's?

My little viewing party and I (mind you, after a few glasses of wine on Saturday night) came to the consensus that the single black hat in Ennis' world means there is only one other man for him, whereas the multiple black hats in Jack's world mean that though he loves Ennis best of all, he is secure enough in his own sexuality that he can be satisfied, at least for a little while, by other men.

What do you think?

[TJ]

I would say that the reason that (the movie) Ennis has a smaller wardrobe of hats is that he is too poor to own very many or even more than a couple of hats at a time over the years. My version of logic also fits the original Annie Proulx story.

I don't think that there is any special symbolism in the hats at all.

I have more than one black cowboy hat, all felt type, and that is because they are not the same style of hat. I even have cowboy hats in various shades of brown and they are made of different materials.

One of the reasons that you see another cowboy with a black hat in the background in the movie is that is just what the wardrobe guys gave for the atmosphere person, aka extra, to wear.

[serious crayons]

My little viewing party and I (mind you, after a few glasses of wine on Saturday night) came to the consensus that the single black hat in Ennis' world means there is only one other man for him, whereas the multiple black hats in Jack's world mean that though he loves Ennis best of all, he is secure enough in his own sexuality that he can be satisfied, at least for a little while, by other men.

I'm with you, Barb. I haven't noticed this, in fact I still have barely registered the background hats at all. But this makes sense. Keep that wine flowing!

[Brown Eyes]

**most excellent topic**

I always thought the black hat/ white hat issue had to do with the ying and yang idea.  The idea that Ennis and Jack are "opposites" but rely on one another and each also contains a little bit of the other.

It's nice that the hats in the background aren't always consistent.  It would be too much if all the hats in the background of Jack were always white, and vice versa.  I think we just see Jack in crowds a lot more than we do Ennis.  And on a simple level, this explains why there are more hats (of each color behind Jack). I mean, Jack goes to busy, crowded bars (Ennis goes to pretty small, lonesome bars), Jack is a performer (and is surrounded by lots of crowds at the rodeo), goes to "proper" dinner dances with Lureen and other couples, etc.  Jack is simply more social and "worldly" (in that he travels, seeks out companionship etc., while Ennis tries to hide from people, and doesn't seem to seek out the same social atmospheres as Jack).  However, for both Ennis and Jack, I think there are significant moments when background hats and their colors are really symbolic and important.  There are lots, but I'll just mention a few for now.

-I think the key example is in the Cassie/pie scene at the bus station.  Many people have noted the poignant detail of the two men (one in a black hat and one in a white) at the bus counter buying a ticket and getting out of town.  A sad reminder of what Jack and Ennis could have done together.

-One of my favorite moments of Ennis and a black hat is in the scene where Alma Jr. is watching Ennis and Cassie dance.  The only other couple dancing near them is a man in a black hat and a woman with lots of tattoos.  The man in the black hat is tilting his head in such a way that he looks like a "generic" guy in a black hat... It seems like a big clue about what's on Ennis's mind.  Almost like a thought bubble in a cartoon...

-An interesting and complex moment with Jack and background hat colors is in the Jimbo bar scene.  Clearly Jack seems attracted to Jimbo as a kind of "Ennis substitute" made clear by the white hat (the freaky, too white hat) and the white shirt.  When Jimbo rejects Jack and walks to the pool table his buddies close in around him to listen to what he's saying... and in that group there are two black hats and two white hats.  I don't know exactly how to read that, but I've always noticed it.  Ever since my first few viewings.

-And, regarding Jack and white hats... People have noticed that at the rodeos there are often an abnormally large number of guys in white hats in the stands.  Also when he's selling tractors there are often mostly men with white hats.

OK, I'll stop before I go on and on about the man in the white hat that walks out of the frame behind Ennis during the parting conversation with Jack during the Brokeback summer while Jack and Ennis are leaning on the black truck...
 

[Aussie Chris]

OK, I'll stop before I go on and on about the man in the white hat that walks out of the frame behind Ennis during the parting conversation with Jack during the Brokeback summer while Jack and Ennis are leaning on the black truck...

LOL - I love you Amanda!  I watched BBM a couple of days ago and after weeks of listening to your observations, I can say I had a tremendous time watching for hats and knowing glances, etc.  These just never registered for me in the dozen previous viewings!  What can I say, I think I'm missing a chromosome.

Ok, so I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to this degree of symbolism, but I did notice that Jack in Black Hat and Blue Shirt is really only the first impression we get with him, after coming down from the mountain he doesn't have these colours.  He wears a fawn coloured hats from then on, not that dissimilar to Ennis'.  Is this symbolically relevant?

[TJ]

We also have to remember that if the movie were to based on the lives of real people, and the movie makers were not trying to inject symbolism into the scenes, the hats themselves would have no special meaning whatsoever.

While in the old Western movies, the good guys always wore white hats, the good guys in the real Old West usually wore what they could afford to buy.

I amusing ask "What does yin and yang (a Chinese philosopy) have to do with the color of cowboy hats in Wyoming?"

[starboardlight]

We also have to remember that if the movie were to based on the lives of real people, and the movie makers were not trying to inject symbolism into the scenes, the hats themselves would have no special meaning whatsoever.

I would disagree with that. Just because we dramatize a real person, doesn't mean that we can't employ interesting story telling devices to help out the story development. Look at the various historical plays done by Shakespeare. Julius Caesar is rife with symbolism and foreshadowing. I do think the hats take on symbolic meanings here. They don't affect the story progression directly, but they do offer us a second and third layer of meaning and interpretations.

I amusing ask "What does yin and yang (a Chinese philosopy) have to do with the color of cowboy hats in Wyoming?"

The yin/yang dynamic comes from Ang Lee's eastern background and offer us an understanding of the dynamic between Ennis and Jack. It describes not only the fact that the men are opposite in personality, but also the fact that they somehow complete one another. In addition, they exert a push/pull influence on one another through out their lives. It's an interpretation to be sure, and until Ang Lee comes out and say it is or it isn't there, we can argue about it. We do know that in his various film, Ang Lee draws from Asian traditions, symbolism and imagery to help tell his stories. It's assumed that he does the same here, even if Wyoming is not China. The references simply add another layer of meaning that we can choose to read into or to ignore depending on your take of the film. To me the reading of yin-yang to describe the men's relationship fits like a glove, so I'm with Amanda in recognizing it as being significantly poignant.

[ednbarby]

Amanda, I've noticed the two white hats and two black hats at the pool table every time, too.  I'm not sure how to read that, either, but I can't shake the thought that it is somehow significant.  Perhaps following the yin and yang symbolism, black hats are one kind of man and white hats are another.  Are black hats secure in their sexuality and white hats are not?  That doesn't work, because there are way too many white hats in all of Jack's backgrounds.  Are black hats fixers and white hats standers?  I think I'm maybe getting warmer on that one.

[Brown Eyes]

LOL - I love you Amanda!  I watched BBM a couple of days ago and after weeks of listening to your observations, I can say I had a tremendous time watching for hats and knowing glances, etc.  These just never registered for me in the dozen previous viewings!  What can I say, I think I'm missing a chromosome.

LOL, thanks Chris.  You're a sweetie.  Also thanks for all the interesting comments ednbarby and starboardlight...  I like your idea, ednbarby, that black and white might have particular meanings... like fixer vs. stander (by the way, I feel like I'm speaking in a special Brokeback language when write things like that... fun!).  I don't know what to make of Jack switching to light hats once in a while (reunion kiss and post-divorce).  Why doesn't Ennis change his hat color ever?

And, thanks starboardlight... you explained perfectly what I meant by yin and yang.  I think that's a really important component of the movie actually.

[ednbarby]

LOL, thanks Chris.  You're a sweetie.  Also thanks for all the interesting comments ednbarby and starboardlight...  I like your idea, ednbarby, that black and white might have particular meanings... like fixer vs. stander (by the way, I feel like I'm speaking in a special Brokeback language when write things like that... fun!).  I don't know what to make of Jack switching to light hats once in a while (reunion kiss and post-divorce).  Why doesn't Ennis change his hat color ever?

And, thanks starboardlight... you explained perfectly what I meant by yin and yang.  I think that's a really important component of the movie actually.

I agree - I think the idea of yin and yang (two halves of the same whole, broken down the middle, pushing and pulling at each other) is central to the movie.  Along the lines of the Broken In Two discussion, I think the name lends itself to this concept.  I know, I know - Annie Proulx has never said this is why she named it what she did, and maybe it wasn't even a conscious choice on her part.  Regardless, I think Ang Lee took it and ran.  He said he liked "the taste of" the title Brokeback Mountain.  I take this to mean that there is a whole lot more meaning there to him than just a quaint name for a particular range.

And I think Jack's willingness to change his hat color shows his flexibility - his willingness to do whatever he has to do to keep his love alive.  Ennis' lack of change in hat color can similarly be seen as symbolic of how rooted he is in the way (he thinks) things have to be.  I just watched Memoirs of a Geisha the other night, and one part of the narration struck me in an Ennis-y/Jack-y way (there I go with the special BB language again ):  The older sister was "like a tree - rooted steadfastly in the earth, unmoving, solid."  But Chiyo was "like water - and when water finds itself trapped, it carves out a new path."