Author Topic: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.  (Read 3210 times)

retropian

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BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« on: December 25, 2008, 06:13:13 am »
Lately I've been perusing old threads here that I never got around to reading before. I don't know why that is, but I'm enjoying reading what people posted from a few years ago and absorbing some new ideas I hadn't previously encountered. Here is a post I found that I think deserves it's own place. Especially today; Christmas day.

Scott6373
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  Re: An Epiphany for Ennis?
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2007, 01:19:49 PM » 

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This pretty much sums up how I feel the stroy left Ennis.  I think it's broader than acceptance of his homosexuality.

Regardless of what the liberal left thinks, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is a profoundly Christian film.  Unfortunately, the radical religious right, who have launched many campaigns against this film, haven’t seemed to catch onto this.  Not much of a surprise, considering their own profoundly blinkered view of Christianity.

As a gay man, and a former Catholic, I still find myself struggling to reconcile who I am with the religious foundations I have been given.   This personal perspective isn’t a film review, but a reaction, or if you prefer, a revelation.  One that comes as close as I may ever get to that elusive reconciliation.  What I did learn is that this reconciliation is not between me and a church, but rather, my heart and my head.  My head yelling loud and clear that the concept of “God” is a relic and completely irrelevant, and my heart speaking in hushed tones that nothing as fundamentally beautiful as this earth and our collective humanity, could have emerged from anywhere but “God”.  The truth for me, has landed, still uncomfortably, somewhere smack in the middle of the argument.  So what is the answer to my spiritual excursion?  Keep walking.

“The Gay Cowboy Movie”, may be the first, and arguably the best film with homosexual central characters, that is only superficially about homosexuality.   BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is about far more than two men having sex. People, straight, gay or somewhere in between, are responding to this film because of themes that run deeper than sexual orientation.  It gets to the subjects that haunt contemporary Americans in a way that has almost nothing to do with gay rights.  This story and this film are about grace. 

On its own, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN delivers a story that serves as the deepest kind of nightmare for religious folk of all political stripes: the nightmare of grace denied, dreams deferred, and most terrifying: responsibility to the consequence of our choices.  Grace is a choice.  Grace isn’t something merely to pursue.  It is something with which you can fulfill passions, something to commit to unconditionally, something to proclaim.  That’s what gives life meaning.  To choose not to embrace it when it is offered, is to become a phantom human being. 

Ok, so what is grace?  The Greek word for “grace” is charis, and is kindred to the word chara, meaning joy.  Ironically, it was the British Evangelical Preacher G. Campbell Morgan  who said, “Grace is that which gives joy.”  Theologian Dr. R. W. Dale’s definition is worth remembering:  “Grace is love which passes beyond all claims to love.  It is love, which after fulfilling the obligations imposed by law, has still an unexhausted wealth of Kindness.“  To me, it is ultimately indefinable in any meaningful collective way.  This is what I believe grace to be.  It’s very simple.  Grace is love, and sometimes, we need to go as far down as we can possibly go before we recognize that.  Sometimes, we have to be “crucified” and “die” before we resurrect ourselves by the acceptance of grace into our hearts.

Having seen the film several times, what struck me first is how much it brings into sharp relief the difference between the “law” and the “gospel,” as well as the direct parallel with the life  and teachings of Jesus Christ.  The “gospels”, as we have come to know them, were written many years after the death of Jesus.  In their time, they were considered heretical by all the “laws” that existed.  What Jesus taught, or tried to teach in his lifetime is contained in those gospels, though more than likely floridly embellished by his zealous disciples.  His teachings were almost in total opposition to the religions and political powers of his age, and yet here we are, fighting the same battles that he was fighting, only this time, his teachings are being twisted and re-invented as weapons that promote and encourage oppression, hatred, and persecution.  This stark light of reality is perhaps one of the reasons (among many) why this film is making so many, so uncomfortable. 

Like Jesus’ teachings, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is one of the great statements that proclaims the triumph of a gospel over the law.  In that, it is in company with the greatest work of American Literature: Mark Twain's "Huck Finn."

It is author Annie Proulx's greatest literary moment, when "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN" references Twain's "Huck Finn."  When Huck, convinced that by freeing "Jim" from slavery, he will go to hell, declares, "Then I will go to hell!" It is a stunning and provocative moment in the greatest of all American novels. The ignorant Huck, in damning himself to hell, actually opens himself to the grace that gets him into Heaven.

Like Twain’s masterpiece, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is steeped in the Christian concept of grace and the Pentecost. Proulx makes the discussion of the Pentecost a key moment in her short story, and it is retained beautifully in the screenplay.

Poor, ignorant Jack, whose mother never told him what the Pentecost really was, misunderstands it as being the theology of the Rapture.  Strangely enough, it is Hollywood itself that has perpetuated this notion of the Pentecost being that horror film time when the bodies of the “true believers” disintegrate, leaving a pool of blood behind, while the soul is transported to paradise…somewhere just to the east of Aruba I think. Jack explains it this way to Ennis as meaning that since they are “sinners“, they are not going to “heaven” when the end of the world arrives.  What the Pentecost actually means, in Christian theological terms, is the descent of the Holy Spirit, whoever he or she is.  For me, it is the offer of the gift of grace…the understanding of love.

The offer of this gift to Ennis and Jack, happens only when, and could only happen if, they break the "law".  Stated differently, by following their hearts, regardless of what they have learned to be right and correct, they open themselves up to grace.  This realization won’t come to Ennis until it is too late, but the last scene of the movie is one of the most beautiful representations of Paul's biblical declaration that beyond the law, there remains three things: faith, hope, and love.  For Ennis, faith and hope are gone, but he holds on to his love. He has loved, unconditionally, and in that, there is the hope of redemption. Indeed, the director of the film, Ang Lee, has said in interviews that he wanted the film to end on a note of redemption. Though difficult to see, it did!

Despite the multitude of detractors this film will have, many, many Christians will find this film a great representation of the concept that beyond the law that condemns, "faith, hope, and love, abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

It may be that by their last meeting, Jack and Ennis’s faith and hope for a future together is all but shattered, but what the ensuing scenes showed, was that their love remained. After faith and hope are gone, and all that remains is love. That is when we are saved.

In the final moments of the film, the reality of crucifixion and resurrection is wrapped in loss and devastation, and finally revealed in astonishing simplicity.

The "crucifixion" of Jack, opens up the possibility, however feeble, for Ennis to come to an understanding of the grace of resurrection.  His resurrection!  Ennis won't miss his daughter’s wedding, because he now knows what love means. Because of Jack, Ennis has joined the human race, and thus, he has joined the family of those who have been graced with the true meaning of love.

He has learned that there is only one law that needs to be followed in order to be loved by God unconditionally: one must come freely, and without prejudice, to love someone, sometime, somewhere unconditionally.  A simple enough requirement, and yet as difficult as a "camel passing through the eye of a needle.”  Jack and Ennis's love made it though the eye of the needle.

Getting one’s love through “the eye of the needle” is a lifelong spiritual journey.  It’s long, rewarding, arduous, joyful, devastating, and ultimately, the only thing we are really here to do. 

For me, “The Gay Cowboy Movie”, may be the first, and arguably the best film with homosexual central characters, that is, in totality, about grace.

Offline Lynne

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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2008, 06:51:47 am »
Thanks for resurrecting Scott's post, retropian.  I agree that it is quite a good treatise on Brokeback Mountain from one Christian point-of-view.  I'll make sure he sees this, in case he as additional comments.

Lynne
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retropian

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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2008, 09:11:13 am »
Thanks for resurrecting Scott's post, retropian.  I agree that it is quite a good treatise on Brokeback Mountain from one Christian point-of-view.  I'll make sure he sees this, in case he as additional comments.

Lynne


Cool. I think it's a great post. Even though I am not a religious person, I could see the Christian motif's in the film. I think it's a very rewarding topic and that Scott presents a very succinct summation of those motif's. He's the only person I know of who suggests that Grace is the subject of the film and that is a very interesting idea to me.
Ian

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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2008, 11:47:33 am »
Ian - here's a link to another 'historical' thread from the Brokeback Mountain Resources area.  A few posts into it, there's an article by Jenkins where Brokeback Mountain is discussed as Epiphany.

I believe that I've verified that all links are functional.  If anyone has any trouble, let me know.

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,1137.0.html
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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2008, 08:16:45 pm »
I never saw this before! Thanks for reviving it!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

retropian

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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2008, 08:47:19 pm »
Ian - here's a link to another 'historical' thread from the Brokeback Mountain Resources area.  A few posts into it, there's an article by Jenkins where Brokeback Mountain is discussed as Epiphany.

I believe that I've verified that all links are functional.  If anyone has any trouble, let me know.

http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,1137.0.html

Yes, thanks for the link. It is a very interesting thread.

Offline Artiste

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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2008, 11:35:03 pm »
Good interesting Scott composition!

Of course:
      faith, hope, and love, abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love."

               

...

One must not forget also that these, Ennis and Jack, are what could or can be called homosexual men and no need to degrade that, as too many do! Gays are not called gays for nothing as to want gay or joy in their life/lives and in humanity in order to enrich it !!!

But, unfortunately, rare are straights, and even gays, that do call them gays or even consider them gays in this Brokeback Mountain movie, unfortunately! Why? Prejudice against gays? Lack of education and culture? So-called religion and/or non-religious attitude ? Historical brainwashing as gay bashing is OK ? Fear? Why? Why? Why?

Much remains can be said about Annie's story and this film, but not many desire to dwell about its truths to let freedom ring ![/b][/color]

Au revoir,
hugs!

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Re: BBM and the concept of Grace. A Christmas post.
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2009, 10:12:30 pm »
In the movie Jack and Ennis were not called gay, and I think the reason for this was because the movie (and story that the movie is based on) had to be true to the historical times and geography. At that time in Wyoming, the word gay had not come into common usage. Instead, the word queer was used, which is the word that Ennis used.

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