Author Topic: Foreshadowing  (Read 8070 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

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Foreshadowing
« on: January 29, 2008, 12:17:01 am »
Heya,

While watching BBM on Friday I became inspired to try to start a new discussion on the general topic of foreshadowing in the film (I don't know how well this topic will work for the story since the story is structured so differently from the film).  Forgive me if this topic repeats subjects that have come up here and there in the past... in thinking about this I'm drawing on a lot of ideas that have circulated around Open Forum for a long time.

I think foreshadowing happens with regard to lots of different topics within BBM.  But, to me one of the most striking examples to start with is the subject of Jack's death.

In thinking about Jack's death... we don't know exactly how it came about, but we do know that in either scenario (accident or murder) it involved his truck and devices associated with trucks.

It just really strikes me at the moment, more than it has in the past, how much Jack's entry into the film may foreshadow his fate.  I mean, one of the very first things we see him do is get out of his difficult old truck and kick the the rear of the truck after we witness the malfunctioning tire.  I've always seen that tire at the very beginning as sort of cute... like the truck has a high-spirited personality that mimicks Jack's own personality.  But,  it strikes me at the moment as possible that it serves as some kind of warning about his death.  A double-edged thing.  And, then later at the end of the '63 summer after Jack and Ennis have come down from the mountain, we see again that Jack is having trouble with his truck and Ennis needs to help him.  The other, much later, major moment of foreshadowing concerning the sad subject of Jack's death seems to be the dance he has with LaShawn... and particularly what she's talking to him about as she rambles on and on.  I'm sure there may be other instances of foreshadowing on this topic that I've missed here.

And, I have one other point to suggest about Jack's entry into the film (which I know has been discussed before).  This has to do the way the close up shot of his face (right after he gets out of his truck, tries to approach Ennis and then turns his face in profile) is juxtapoed with a "square" of waving green grass seen in the background to the side of the frame.  This so clearly reminds me of the "square" of grass we see outside of Ennis's trailer window in the very final shot of the film... I think it's truly gorgeous and poignant.  I guess that grass could be considered a kind of bookend image too.  At the beginning when everything was still possible, optimistic and the romance was at it's very beginning budding stage and then the somber ending. 

I think maybe this question of foreshadowing is possibly a nuance on the concept of the "bookend", but I don't know that the two things are always the same.

The topic of foreshadowing could be very big and general, and doesn't necessarily have to center around the topic of Jack.


Hope you're all doing well Friends.  :-*


« Last Edit: February 09, 2008, 04:59:04 pm by atz75 »
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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #1 on: February 09, 2008, 01:30:37 pm »
Hey Bud,

Sorry I'm just now getting around to posting on this great topic. Wow, some of the examples you mentioned are ones I'd never thought about before: kicking the tire, his profile juxtaposed against the grass.

It's almost too well-known an example of foreshadowing, but what popped into mind first when I saw this thread was the scene of Jack washing the shirts in the river. The vulnerability of him being naked, his worried expression, the spooky music, the slaughtered sheep ... it all seems such pointed foreshadowing that i used to consider it proof that he was murdered. Nowadays, I'm not so sure about the murder part, but it definitely hints at tragedy ahead.


Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #2 on: February 09, 2008, 05:05:15 pm »
Heya K,

Thanks!  Yep, definitely the dead sheep that the naked-laundry scene seem to be a bit about foreshadowing too.

The more I think about the two options for how Jack died... the closer they are in a certain sense.  I mean there's something odd about the idea that Jack was killed by either a tire or a tire-iron.  There's something very surreal about those two things being presented as the only two options... while at the same time those two things are directly related to one another.  I wonder if Lureen's description of Jack being killed by a tire exploding is almost meant to be seen as a trigger that gets Ennis thinking immediately about tire-irons (almost like a word association).  In some sense, this actually makes me lean a little more towards the accident scenario when I think about these options as words... and what those words might mean in Ennis's head (and how he might extrapolate or project meaning).


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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2008, 07:01:49 pm »
  I mean there's something odd about the idea that Jack was killed by either a tire or a tire-iron.  There's something very surreal about those two things being presented as the only two options... while at the same time those two things are directly related to one another.  I wonder if Lureen's description of Jack being killed by a tire exploding is almost meant to be seen as a trigger that gets Ennis thinking immediately about tire-irons (almost like a word association). 

I think you're right. If Lureen had said Jack was killed by a heart attack or cancer or drowning ... heck, almost anything else, there'd be no space between what she said and what Ennis believed. Even a car accident would leave much less room for doubt, since it usually involves witnesses and maybe different sorts of injuries.

But the tire and tire iron both occur on deserted roads (except for whoever's wielding the tire iron). And the tire scenario is unusual enough to arouse suspicion.

Speaking of this and foreshadowing, I think the fact that Ennis helps Jack with his truck -- getting it going in Signal, then loading it up before the final lakeside argument, subtly suggest Ennis' role as protecting Jack when he's around ... and then not being there to protect him in the end.




Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2008, 07:31:30 pm »

Speaking of this and foreshadowing, I think the fact that Ennis helps Jack with his truck -- getting it going in Signal, then loading it up before the final lakeside argument, subtly suggest Ennis' role as protecting Jack when he's around ... and then not being there to protect him in the end.


Yes, you might expect that I'll agree with this too.  Ennis is successfully able to help Jack start his truck at the end of the '63 summer... it sort of seems like whatever fiddling Ennis is doing under the hood of Jack's truck does the trick (I hadn't considered his role in helping Jack "pack" at the beginning of the lake argument before... interesting).  In general, yes, I think there's definitely a huge element of guilt in Ennis's imaginings about Jack's death in terms of his not-being there.  The dead sheep/ naked laundry scenario is much the same it seems to me since this is also about Ennis not being there to protect that sheep that died. 

In the dead sheep case... it's sort of interesting because Jack is the cause of Ennis not being there to protect the sheep.  So, if this is extrapolated into Ennis's broader thought process about the best way to protect Jack and to protect himself... well, it's hard to articulate but maybe this has something to do with the degree to which Ennis might blame Jack for recklessness, or (later) for even something like suggesting living together (which equates to danger for Ennis).  Because I do think there's something about Jack's desire to move forward with the relationship or make it more permanent or close (living together) that Ennis just simply doesn't understand, at least until after Jack's dead.  Maybe it could be said that Jack's desire to keep Ennis close (within his own space, i.e. tent/camp) begins with TS1 where the circumstances lead to Ennis staying with Jack for the first time.  When you look at Jack's suggestions and mannerisms leading up to TS1), it seems pretty clear that he's been wanting the two of them to stay in camp from the beginning.   So, the idea that the sheep died because Ennis was distracted and spending time with Jack, somewhat in contradicton, leads to a broader idea that he must protect Jack (and himself).  I guess this scenario helps illustrate the relentless loop that Ennis might feel he's caught in with regard to his mindset and his perception of his life's circumstance (in very broad terms).

Thinking more about the discussions about the fairness of where they're required to "live" on Brokeback (either the pup tent or in camp)... maybe this is the beginnings of their struggles over the concept of living together, which sort of dogs them for the rest of their relationship.  Jack complains that it's unfair of Aguirre to require the use of the pup tent from the beginning.  And, I don't think the job-switch was the solution he was hoping for... it seems that from the very earliest moments on BBM he was hoping that Ennis would live with him in camp (or as the original sheep-herder... that Ennis would let Jack live with him in camp since Ennis was the original tender).



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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2008, 01:59:02 am »
  I guess this scenario helps illustrate the relentless loop that Ennis might feel he's caught in with regard to his mindset and his perception of his life's circumstance (in very broad terms).

Yes, that's a good way to put it. In having sex with/living with Jack, he endangered sheep/Jack.

Quote
Jack complains that it's unfair of Aguirre to require the use of the pup tent from the beginning.  And, I don't think the job-switch was the solution he was hoping for... it seems that from the very earliest moments on BBM he was hoping that Ennis would live with him in camp

It's interesting to notice that Aguirre forces them to live apart. Especially when you think of Aguirre as the eyes of society (binoculars) and the God who performs the marriage service, but also presides over the Brokeback Garden of Eden. It's another one of those ambiguous, multi-faceted BBM metaphors.

A brief comment on the parallel between Ennis fixing Jack's truck in Signal and helping pack it up at the lake: I've always felt that there was simply to round out the "mirror" that exists between the two scenes: they argue, they say goodbye at Jack's truck, Jack says he's going to visit his folks, Ennis collapses, etc. But extending it to connect to Jack and the tire iron/explosion enriches the connection still further, I guess.

Also, regarding the slaughtered sheep. Others have mentioned that Alma's outfit on the day of the reunion matches the colors of the sheep: red on the inside covered by white. Usually this is mentioned as foreshadowing "doom" -- i.e., the end of the marriage -- for Alma. But really, it makes more sense to think of it as foreshadowing Jack's doom. Immediately after the tent scene, we see the sheep; now, immediately after the reunion scene, we see that color combination again -- and again, on someone to whom Ennis has shirked his "responsibility" and "neglected." In that sense, she foreshadows Jack's doom more than her own.

In that context, too, I wonder if Lureen's red-and-white outfit takes on a more foreshadowing meaning? Perhaps not, though, because in her case it isn't a sign of Ennis' "neglect."


Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #6 on: February 11, 2008, 04:48:29 pm »
There's also the concept that Jack was supposedly killed when he was "pumping up a flat" being as how he was the man from Lightning Flat, who played a harmonica that was flattened when that mare threw him. He was dodging flats all his life until, one day, "she got lucky."

Great topic, Amanda! I'm sure we can go far on this thread, since there is so much foreshadowing in both the story and movie.

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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2008, 05:34:16 pm »
There's also the concept that Jack was supposedly killed when he was "pumping up a flat" being as how he was the man from Lightning Flat, who played a harmonica that was flattened when that mare threw him. He was dodging flats all his life until, one day, "she got lucky."

Great topic, Amanda! I'm sure we can go far on this thread, since there is so much foreshadowing in both the story and movie.




Thanks Sister-Mod.... Didn't you post a picture somewhere here in Open Forum once showing Jack and Ennis around the fire pit on Brokeback surrounded by utensils and tools that seemed to have significant meaning, maybe in terms of foreshadowing.  I remember a lot of the metal tools were sort of aimed at Jack... do you still have that picture somewhere?


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Offline brokeplex

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2008, 01:28:39 am »
did anyone else notice the axe handle that visually connects with Jack's head during the scene where the boys talk about rodeo around the campfire?

in fact I remember several times while the boys were sitting around the campfire that axe handle keeps visually connecting with Jack. also during the campfire scenes, there are angles that allow the end of the campfire stand looks like a tire iron.

Offline Artiste

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2008, 11:30:42 am »
Interesting!

Interesting!

In a sense, I wonder now why the BM movie does not foreshadow St-Valentine or used that??

There are two Thanksgiving scenes, but no St-Valentine scene in the BM movie, why??

Would that have killed the foreshadowings in the BM movie??

Hugs!!

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2008, 01:48:07 pm »
Well... there may be no Valentine's Day in BBM.  It's actually very hard to imagine how Ennis or Jack would react to that holiday or how they would even see it as relevant to their relationship.

But!  I do think the filmmakers include a little visual reference to "cupid's darts" towards the very beginning of the movie.  When Ennis and Jack are at the bar, there's a dart board behind Ennis's head with darts aimed as if they've come from Jack's direction.  And, of course, Jack is essentially sitting in a "ray of sunshine."  Both of these things are pretty over-determined romantic ideas.  So, I think along with the spark from the shared cigarette lighter... this scene is supposed to signal the intitial sparks of attraction (how ever subconscious they may be at this point).  It's also important to note that the darts in this early scene are essentially in the same position as the block of knives in Ennis's trailer at the end.


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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #11 on: February 13, 2008, 02:45:43 pm »
Good observation, Amanda!

And I agree that there is no Valentine's Day in BBM because showing Jack and Ennis on VD wouldn't advance the plot in any way. They wouldn't be exchanging valentines. It would be just an ordinary day for both.

But then, there's no Christmas, New Year's, Easter, President's Day, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, Flag Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day or Veteran's Day either, and I haven't felt the movie was remiss for not including them.




Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2008, 10:15:02 pm »
Good observation, Amanda!

And I agree that there is no Valentine's Day in BBM because showing Jack and Ennis on VD wouldn't advance the plot in any way. They wouldn't be exchanging valentines. It would be just an ordinary day for both.

Yes, absolutely.  I certainly don't think either Ennis or Jack would have ever thought about their relationship in the context of something as conventional as Valentine's Day.  However, the more I actually think about this the more I find myself thinking about the ways in which both Ennis and Jack did demonstrate romantic tendencies (maybe even despite themselves).  The thing that I keep thinking about is Ennis's delight in receiving Jack's first postcard.  Granted, he's excited because this is the first contact in 4 years... but still there's something recognizably romantic in the way he's registering excitement over that card.  It's sort of easy to imagine standing in his shoes and imagining the kind of giddy (romantic) excitement that comes with the gesture or receiving something in the mail from a love-interest.  I mean, the constant exchange of postcards... on the one hand is a practical aspect of their relationship (that in a sad way facilitates all the deception and the "hiding" that the boys do over the years... the postcards and "fishing trips" provide their cover)... but at the same time, there's something very sweet about the desire to send something/receive something like that to/from a lover.  They're not exactly love letters... but they're like bizarre little stand-ins for the idea of a love letter.  And, I'm sure receiving the cards was always a jolt of excitement and relief for both Jack and Ennis during their daily lives in Childress and Riverton.

Also, Jack's desire to steal Ennis's shirt and keep it hidden and unwashed for all those years is an undoubtedly romantic urge/ gesture.  I think the undeniably romantic gesture of preserving the shirt and then pairing it with his own, is one of the reasons that finding the doubled-shirts hits Ennis so hard.


Quote
But then, there's no Christmas, New Year's, Easter, President's Day, Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, Flag Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day or Veteran's Day either, and I haven't felt the movie was remiss for not including them.


 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:  Good point.  It is sort of interesting to note that the two holidays that are represented are so solidly nationalistic/patriotic/American.  I wonder if there was an underlying reasoning for choosing to depict the 4th of July and Thanksgiving rather than, say, a religious holiday (or something that might be more universal)?

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Offline serious crayons

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2008, 09:36:18 pm »
Yes, absolutely.  I certainly don't think either Ennis or Jack would have ever thought about their relationship in the context of something as conventional as Valentine's Day.  However, the more I actually think about this the more I find myself thinking about the ways in which both Ennis and Jack did demonstrate romantic tendencies (maybe even despite themselves).

Yes, I agree. I just can't see them exchanging frilly valentines, though. Or even manly cowboy valentines!  :laugh: Because they wouldn't want to risk anything that open.

But I can imagine them pining for each other that day.

Quote
It is sort of interesting to note that the two holidays that are represented are so solidly nationalistic/patriotic/American.  I wonder if there was an underlying reasoning for choosing to depict the 4th of July and Thanksgiving rather than, say, a religious holiday (or something that might be more universal)?

I've always assumed the 4th of July was a deliberate attempt to play on the "cowboy as American icon of masculinity" myth and its ironies in Ennis' situation. Also, I think there are deliberate parallels between the two sets of holidays. We don't see Jack celebrate 4th of July per se, but I think we can assume the Jimbo incident happened somewhere around that time.

So in the earlier July 4 (or thereabouts) scenes, both Ennis and Jack have their masculinity challenged or questioned in some way. Ennis "wins" by beating up the bikers and Jack "loses" by getting rejected by Jimbo.

In the later Thanksgiving scenes, once again both men have their masculinity challenged or questioned. This time the outcomes are reversed; Ennis attempts to solve the situation with a physical fight, which he loses. Whereas Jack "wins" in a war of words when he tells LD off.

I think the parallels are deliberate, though I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to say. Why did Ennis win at first, but lose later? Why did Jack lose at first, but win later? Was the ultimately greater effectiveness of verbal rather than physical conflict intended to make a point?



 

Offline brokeplex

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2008, 09:44:03 pm »


I think the parallels are deliberate, though I'm not entirely sure what it's supposed to say. Why did Ennis win at first, but lose later? Why did Jack lose at first, but win later? Was the ultimately greater effectiveness of verbal rather than physical conflict intended to make a point?
 

I'm not sure why, but it does set up more parallels in their lives and points us in the direction that the film is a palindrome. thanks for pointing these out.

Offline Sammi

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #15 on: November 27, 2009, 03:17:50 pm »
On the topic of forshadowing... When they are camping in '67 (their reunion), during the scene where Ennis is talking about "This thing grabs a hold of us, in the wrong place, wrong time", the camera shows Jack with his eyes looking downward.  And as soon as Ennis says the words "We're dead" Jacks eyes look up.  I think the way this is filmed, for Jack to raise his eyes up at that moment is pretty symbolic.   I took it as a bit of foreshadowing, like Jack was being warned of his own death. 

I also have thought that was the moment that Jack realized how fearful Ennis was , but I don't think Jack shared the same fears.  The look on his face when Ennis says "we're dead" is almost like "who the hell cares".  I think Jack would have rather lived the way he wanted and if it got him killed then at least he had enjoyed the sweet life for a while.  I think he would have prefered that over all those years of anguish and staying "safe".

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Re: Foreshadowing
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2009, 02:48:23 pm »
I think the way this is filmed, for Jack to raise his eyes up at that moment is pretty symbolic.   I took it as a bit of foreshadowing, like Jack was being warned of his own death. 

I also have thought that was the moment that Jack realized how fearful Ennis was , but I don't think Jack shared the same fears.  The look on his face when Ennis says "we're dead" is almost like "who the hell cares".  I think Jack would have rather lived the way he wanted and if it got him killed then at least he had enjoyed the sweet life for a while.  I think he would have prefered that over all those years of anguish and staying "safe".
I agree with you a hunerd percent, Sammi! Another instance of foreshadowing that I think is pretty powerful is in the story, when it talks about the boneless blue sky, so blue that Jack thought he could "drown looking up." In this case, he predicted his own method of death. Ironically, Jack did not feel like suffocating his natural self, as you point out, but he did die by suffocation, through drowning, and it was Ennis who went on living a suffocated life. Sad.
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