Author Topic: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat  (Read 11873 times)

Offline dot-matrix

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The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« on: April 05, 2007, 04:30:02 am »
This fascinating little insight was posted by  RanchDel-T  on the BBM board over at IMDb, i enjoyed it and thought I would share it here  :D


Well...It's taken many years for this supernatural or evolutional phenomenon to manifest itself ......But it has finally came to pass.

Particularly in the eventful and historical year of 2005 when, during the filming of Brokeback Mountain,the characters/wearers hats began to reflect the conscious and unconscious inner psyches of both the wearer's personal and emotional attributes

The cowboy hat is such an integral part and parcel of the cowboys life, we should have guessed it was only a matter of time until it actually took on a life of it's own. Incorporating itself into the wearers life force, much like the spirit inhabits the body at birth.

A cowboy wearing a cowboy hat is like...well...a truism. So obvious or self-evident as to be hardly worth mentioning or given to a second glance.Perhaps because of this,the cowboy hats personification may have been the reality for years before BBM, but has been so subtle,or the vibrations so rapid, it's been undetectable to the naked eye.

Until now.

What I am about to present is not absolute and is up for revision by those more knowledgeable,but it's a basis to what I believe is indeed a reality. So examine it for yourself and feel free to edit as you see fit.

There are at least two components of a cowboys hat of which I have became aware that give away the wearers secrets.

The brim and the band.

I have chosen three of the main characters of BBM and listed them below.I will correspond each individual to what I suspect their hat reveals or speaks of them.

Aquire:

When he first arrives on the scene, his hats brim is flat and his band is twisted tightly. The flatness of the brim indicates several things.He is a rather nonchalant,well seasoned man who has experianced life fully.He "has arrived" so to speak to a stature which says he has "seen it all".So he is indifferant to life and feels he is unikely to experiance any more surprises. If he does, he feels he surely will be unaffected by them. On the other hand this could also translate as his "poker face" which enables him to be unapproachable and aloof . In command until he is ready to call the shots.

The leather band circling his hat is twisted tightly, indicating that inside,he is wound up very tightly himself,is very conservative and most likely a redneck to boot.

Aquires hat brim gives it up a bit, when he is first seen spying on the couple as they frolic on the campground and then hide behind Ennis hat to steal a moment of bliss. Aquires hat is still basically flat but the ends are curled up now as if at sudden alert as he happened upon the unsuspecting couple. Sort of how your toes curl up a bit when...well,you know.

When he works his way down to Jack, Aquires hat band is mostly flat but it has a double band.One on top of the other. Perhaps this suggests Aquire's mind is conflicted,at odds with itself or confused and not sure what to make of this discovery. When we see Aquire next, he is very unhappy with the sheep count and with the hired "ranch hands" neglect of his flock of woolies. Fittingly,his hat brim is at full attention and the band completely wound up tight.

Ennis:

His hat brim makes the most transformation. At the begining the brim is curled up high and perky.Just like a young pups ears or tail,a tribute to his youthfulness along with the accompaning promises and hopes for the future.Through the years,His hat brim become progressively flat,until it becomes seemingly devoid of life to the point where it is completely limp when Cassie spys him eating pie at the bus depot.

His hat brim is limp when he first meets Cassie at the bar when she grabs him and steers him to the dance floor but it does seem to revive a bit when he starts dating her.However,at that point of time his hat is made of straw,not the tough rugged material which is normally worn by authentic cowboys. I'm not sure what that suggests.Perhaps something akin from his true nature or perhaps the less sturdy material suggests his vunerablity .

At the begining,Ennis hat band is in a twist and wound up tight.Suggesting he too is "wound up tight" inside,conservative and not very trusting or approachable.The first time we see his hat band ease out and flatten is when he is with Alma at the drive-in so he feels at ease and comfortable with her.The other occasions his band is flat and at ease is when he is with Jack of course.It's flat when he meets Jack for their first "fishing" scene and all fishing scene's afterwards.

Jack:

His hat brims are ALWAYS at full attention and NEVER loses it's resiliency. He is always optimistic and playfully perky as a young pup.

The band on his hat at the beginning and for most of the film, is mostly smooth and flat with three sections that are twirled with three twists(I guess this has something to do with the number three and its significance).This also may suggest Jack is easy going for the most part(the smooth flat band) but can be impulsive( as indicated by the sudden small twists).

There is a short, sorta decorative tail in the back of Jacks hat.My thoughts are this indicates a break from convention,a touch ( or more) of rebelliousness. It caused me to think of the liberal 60's peace and love movement,particularly the long haired hippies(ponytail?). I am no authority on cowboy hats but I suspect to most cowboys of that era,the tail may be the equivalant of a male wearing an earring long before it became acceptable,so it may leave Jack suspect...If you know what i mean.

There is only one occasion where Jacks hat band is twisted tight all around and that is where he first arrives at Ennis and Alma's apartment. I imagine this signifies his anticipation, anxiety and the uncertainty of what to expect fron Ennis when he meets him upon their first reunion.

Even though his hat brims remain perky and "optimistic", his hat bands flatten considerably and appears pale towards the end of two decades with Ennis and at the final lake scene.The band is completely non-descript .I am sure it's easy to guess this indicates Jacks expectations and optimism of a life with Ennis have diminised substantually
.

http://www.cowboyhathistory.org/
Life is not a dress rehearsal

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2007, 07:00:29 pm »
This is funny and true! I'm sure these details were intended.

I was reading about the costume design for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, another of Ang Lee's films, and there was careful attention to colors, fabric textures, and prints and subtle changes were made to advance the story.

"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Artiste

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2007, 09:56:12 pm »
Wow, wow!!

Brillliant! Brilliant!

So very, very interesting!!

What about the women's hats??

Hugs!!

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #3 on: April 07, 2007, 12:46:00 am »
HMMMMMMM...
I have 3 Cowboy hats. ALL THREE have Jack's brim. And yes, there was a big choice of hats;  I chose those after a great deal of looking, tried on at least 20 hats before I found the black one I liked, and that had to be subliminal because the next time I saw Brokeback it hit me that I had bought Jack Twist's black hat.

The white straw one, i tried on just as many because I wanted that same sort of brim, it was me. Why I don't know but it was. And is.

The tan one, I bought on sight: it was a $300.00 Stetson on sale at Shepler's for $99.00 AND it fit perfectly AND had That Brim.

Hat's today come with bands. Most people replace them with either handmade bands or they hunt for one they like which is pre-made. I had the band on my black Wrangler hat taken off and bought a really nice band, which had--god help me--a tail of sorts but lost the band when the hat was knocked off my head during OUR Reunion kiss with my fiance at Denver Airport. So the next day I bought one I wasn't too fond of up in Cheyenne, because I needed a band on that hat to look good in when I proposed.

The straw hat had a band which really looked good on the hat, so I kept it.

Now the one on the TAN hat was so ME I said no way I'm taking it off.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Aguirre's hat was a specific style called Rancher. It was predominant until I think the 1940's when a 'cool dude' rodeo kid turned his brim up. It looked so cool that all the horny young rodeo cowboys followed suit because they thought they looked better and would get more girls. This style is called Rodeo.

All the other horny young cowboys picked that style up as soon as they saw it. Today it predominates.

There is one other brim, which is EXTREMELY curled up on the sides. You see that brim on pissed off country singers,  bad ass teenaged boys and cool dude twenty-something males. 

You look dumb in that hat unless you are completely attitudinal. At least I do, I'm too old for it. I tried one on and my son said Pop stick with your usual brim, you look idiotic in a curled up brim
LOL
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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2007, 12:50:59 am »
The brim on my straw hat keeps getting more and more curled up until I don't think I can stand it any more!!

And Jack I love your black cowboy hat, it fits me perfectly! Do you know how much I covet it? No, you don't! I especially love the red lining.

"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2007, 12:54:40 am »
Me too, that red lining is just SO cool lol!! I'm really tickled you like my black hat. Thanks

You can get that hat blocked Lee.
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline Artiste

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2007, 10:01:22 am »
May we see pics of you with those rancher hats on brokenbackjack?

Can't wait to view that!!

Hugs!!

Offline Artiste

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2007, 10:02:53 am »
Front-Ranger, pics of you too with that/those BBM hats??

Hugs!!

Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2007, 10:45:44 am »
Oh well, since you asked...this is me'n'EDelMar in Bay City, Michigan, at the Oscar night screening of Brokeback Mountain. We all boycotted the Oscars together this year.
And Jack, I only seem to have pics of you with the tan hat on, none with the black hat. This is a GBOAS!! Git yourself over here, never mind this ice storm, and let me take a picture of you!!



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Offline Lynne

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Re: The secret Life of the Cowboy Hat
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2007, 10:53:13 am »
Thanks for posting that, Dot, - what a nice analysis!  Did you tell RanchDel-T you were going to do it?  You oughta invite them to BetterMost if they're not here already!

I love the picture of you and Ennis in your hats, Lee!  I bet y'all had THE best time in Bay City - excellent!

-Lynne
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