I don't agree with every last tiny detail.
S’alright.
Regarding some of the home furnishings, I hate to be one of those people who says this but, well, some of them seem sort of incidental to me. I know, I know, nothing is incidental.
When I bring up an object, I do it because it’s extremely prominently used or displayed one time (e.g., the little cowboy figurine in Jack’s room), OR because it’s prominently used or displayed several times (e.g., knives) OR because its color jumps out of the screen as opposed to other objects in the same scene (e.g., the green bowl in the Twist home). I try really hard to not bring up objects that don’t somehow ask to be noticed.
The least green scene of all must be the Earl flashback, hunh? The setting is completely arid and lifeless -- the force of nature is dead in that place.
Also, when Ennis rides away after TS1, he rides along a rockier, less green landscape than we see the rest of the time on Brokeback. Maybe because the relationship's viability is momentarily in question?
Because I believe the green=relationship theory, I agree. The Earl flashback scene is a great scene juxtaposing Earl’s and Rich’s relationship with that of Jack and Ennis.
One exception to the scarcity of green when they're apart: when Ennis is on the road crew, and he turns away from Timmy (after Timmy talks about breakin his back) and gazes off at all the green in the distance, thinking of his relationship with Jack. The tar-crew job -- the prospects for Ennis' bleak future sans Jack -- means, by definition, paving over green.
Actually, I think you make a good point for this scene supporting the green=relationship theory.
I also view this scene as linked to the two other significant appearances of pavement. Yes, there are paved roads everywhere in the film, but only 3 significant appearances of pavement:
First, the tar scene – Ennis is on the pavement, and the man’s comments evoke Brokeback, raising a suspicion in Ennis about people knowing. Second, the post-Thanksgiving fight scene – Ennis is pummeled down to and on the pavement immediately after Alma did her best to make sure that that was a Thanksgiving Ennis would remember – again, suspicion. Third, the suspicious mind scene – Ennis’ suspicions about people knowing have magnified across these scenes so much so that he displays actual paranoia in his question for Jack about going to town and then out on the pavement. He should stick to dirt roads…
The green bowl at the Twists is a home-furnishings interpretation I think I do agree with.
It just screams out to be noticed. Nothing else in the house pops in color like that bowl. In fact, it, like the orange horsey and the orange blanket (?) in Ennis’ Riverton apartment seem to have been colorized in final production.
I re-read your comments about red and white and then I read my original comments and I tried to put your view into what I wrote. Some of it certainly fits. But here are some sticky wickets for me:
If an object or color is significant, I try to relate its significance to how it’s used, how it’s seen, what’s happening, what has just happened, or what is about to happen.
With the two vests, I can see Ennis’ vest fitting with passion, because of its following the ear rub of the reunion river scene. But, then it also fits with death or dying, for the same reason. As to Jack’s vest, why, in particular, would it be displaying passion in this scene? Just to display passion or because it’s linked to something else? I can’t find the link when it comes to passion. Also, the cooler has changed from green to red. In the death or dying theory, the green relationship cooler has changed to a symbol of the dying relationship. In the passion theory, it doesn’t seem to connect with the green cooler used before. See, I think the cooler is an important prop because it changed color from its first appearance to its second. Had the cooler first appeared as green in the river reunion scene and then changed to red for the “you’re late” scene, then I could see it as the green relationship being infused with passion since this scene exemplifies both of them being comfortable with the new rules of their relationship as set up in the river reunion scene.
Also, concerning red alone, there are several notable blood scenes. Ennis’ head wound – I don’t see passion here, I see Jack being disappointed. He gave a loving, healing gesture to Jack and the blood red killed that off with Ennis’ refusal to allow it. Earl’s crotch in the flashback – I don’t want to speculate on a passion connection here (sorry!); but, the red=death or dying seems to fit. The blood on the shirts – the blood came out of Ennis. The death/dying theory seems to fit. It was immediately before this that Ennis was most open, most vulnerable, most content, most … everything good. His blood symbolizes his death or dying – emotionally. Just as Jack began his death at the post-divorce scene, Ennis began his on that last day on the mountain. Again, not either of their physical deaths, but a death of, well, their passion. The shirts strongly represent the union of Jack and Ennis (spiritually, metaphysically, friends, lovers, the whole shebang) so when Ennis wiped his blood on the shirts (Jack helped him, of course), he permanently etched his emotional death onto their relationship. And it stayed there until it was too late. (Jack really should have washed those shirts, I guess.)
Besides, there are a number of other examples of various levels of passion occurring for or between certain characters that do not seem to have any red around symbolically. Also, note Mrs. Twist’s hair. It almost makes her look like a dyed-hair woman. Her hair color doesn’t seem to have anything to do with passion, but it does seem to have to do with her death -- on an emotional level, again, living her life in that white house with Old Man Twist. (Boy, I sure hope Ennis visited that sweet, needful old lady again… if I ever find out he didn’t, I’m gonna kick his ignorant ass into next week!)
You mentioned red with Lureen and her passion, dull red with Alma and her not being as passionate. The problem I have with this is that Lureen’s red is not just red. It’s red and white. I mean A LOT of red and white. Same with Alma at the reunion kiss scene. Same with the dead sheep. Taking red for passion and white as an end to the relationship, I can see it with Lureen (as foreshadowing) and Alma, but not with the sheep. The sheep is directly connected to the FNIT. The FNIT wasn’t really so much about passion as it was lust. And, the relationship didn’t experience any death through the FNIT or the sheep; rather, it got significantly better immediately after the dead sheep scene, turning to gentle love.
Also, Jack’s red and white truck makes its first appearance when Jack wasn’t tending to his (or Ennis’) marriage, not at a time when passion and the end of their relationship were mingled. Here, their relationship burst into a new expression of itself which they were content with for a good number of years.
As far as white on its own, re-reading everything you and I each wrote, I can see how either works. But, it’s that obvious and repeated pairing of red and white that doesn’t seem to add up if red=passion and white=the end of a relationship.
Incidentally, there's a red-and-white plaid shirt hanging in Ennis' closet at the end.
Yes. I’ve noticed this and I forgot to include it in my original post. I do think it’s significant that it’s a shirt that is red and white, right next to THE shirts. Applying my theory, Jack not tending to the relationship (symbolized by THE shirts) brought about a death or dying in the relationship. I believe this applies well, especially when you take THE shirts back to BBM, back to the fight scene. The relationship began its death because Jack didn’t take the lead as he was always supposed to do. This, as you know, I’ve covered in another one of my threads.
That last remark seems a little unfair -- Lureen cares about as much as any wife should be expected to care about her husband's goddamn parka if he can't keep track of it himself. But you're right, it does suggest she has no power to ward off his death.
Yes, you’re right. Re-reading it, it was unfair and untrue. I do believe that Lureen loved Jack and that her love would not have diminished had Jack actually been there emotionally. He “loved” Lureen, but I don’t think he was ever really “in love” with Lureen.
Twenty lashes for me with a raw, limp slab of elk flesh.
We haven't even gotten into gray -- Ennis' dad's jacket, Ennis jacket in the final scenes, the blackish/grayish blues that Jack wears post-divorce scene (and, interestingly, in the wood-chopping scene with Aguirre) -- but there's always enough time for that, always enough time.
I didn’t bring this up because I thought it would be more appropriate in a thread about clothing. And there are some good, juicy morsels lurking out there for a thread on clothing.
As ALWAYS, it’s been a pleasure!
Oops! One last thing I forgot and then remembered...
The appearance of the Jolly Green Giant in the supermarket scene. He stands out like a sore thumb. An indication that while Ennis has transferred some of his relationship to Alma (her smock), his relationship with Jack is looming large above and near him. It's right after this that Jack and Lureen have their big homecoming for beautiful baby boy Bobby, where "rodeo" drops the keys thrown to him to get him out of the "real" Newsome family causing Jack to send the postcard, seen in the next scene where Ennis of the sea sees what we seen seemingly in the previous scene. Sorry, I got a bad case of the always asinine alliteration affliction...