Author Topic: Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?  (Read 52047 times)

Offline miniangel

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Re: Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?
« Reply #30 on: August 10, 2007, 12:00:20 am »
It took me a while to get back to this. Here's some observations about the first scene and the "last" scene at the Twists (the final bit with Junior feeling more like a coda to the main story.)


truck crosses landscape right to left
Ennis walks from truck, carrying paper bag, looks back at truck
Ennis shakes paper bag (after Aguirre slams door in his face)
Aguirre sits at table
Aguirre mentions Brokeback Mountain for the first time
His speech is interrupted by the phone
Jack waits for Ennis at bottom of steps


Mrs Twist waits for Ennis at top of steps
Mr Twist sits at table
His speech is interrupted by Ennis going upstairs
Mr Twist mentions Brokeback Mountain for the last time
Ennis shakes paper bag (as he says "Thank you for this" to Mrs Twist)
Ennis walks to truck, carrying paper bag, looks back at house
truck crosses landscape left to right


The scenes are linked in the story also but not visually, obviously.

Offline serious crayons

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Re: Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?
« Reply #31 on: August 10, 2007, 02:25:03 am »
Wow, really good, miniangel! I've seen the trucks and paper bag connected, of course. But I've never seen anyone point out the bag shaking, the mention of Brokeback, the waiting at the bottom of the stairs, the interruption, the looking back.

Good ones! Thanks!  :)

Offline Meryl

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Re: Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?
« Reply #32 on: August 10, 2007, 11:01:36 am »
Very well observed, miniangel!  Thanks!  8)
Ich bin ein Brokie...

Offline brokeplex

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Re: Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?
« Reply #33 on: August 17, 2007, 04:53:57 pm »
excellent observations, when I first saw the film I noticed Ennis's truck going from left to right screen after he visits the Twists and I remembered at that time that  at the start of the film Ennis arrives in a truck traveling from right to left screen.  after reading this thread I'll watch the movie again for the  nth time and look for the parallel structures mentioned

Offline brokeplex

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The Film as a Palindrome
« Reply #34 on: February 15, 2008, 11:48:05 am »
Skipping thru the movie the other day I noticed Ennis's truck heading from left to right across the screen after his visit to the Twist ranch. I remembered that in the first scene in the movie, he arrives in Signal in a cattle truck which heads from right to left across the screen. I immediately thought palindrome, a film that is constructed like a palindrome. We all remember palindromes from high school English class, right?

Able was I ere I saw Elba. read the sentence forward or backwards and it reads the same.

Has anyone else noticed that visuals in the film seem to constructed like a palindrome? I have since noticed other evidence of palindromic filming here, I won't share yet, I'm curious if anyone else has noticed this.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2008, 05:40:26 am by Penthesilea »

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: The Film as a Palindrome
« Reply #35 on: February 15, 2008, 12:21:51 pm »
Hi Brokeplex,
yup, we've discussed this. If you want, I can merge the two threads, but you're welcome to keep this thread as a new one about the same topic. It's up to you, jes lemmie know, k?
Here is the main thread where we talked about it: http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,9793.0.html

The topic also came up in other threads from time to time. If you're interested, search words might be palindrome and inkblot.

As far as I know, there's also a thread about the topic in the "IMDB Remarkable Writings Rewound" forum. I'll look for it later.

Great topic BTW  :) Maybe you found some examples which we didn't have yet. Looking forward to hear more.

Offline Artiste

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Re: The Film as a Palindrome
« Reply #36 on: February 15, 2008, 08:09:28 pm »
Interesting brokeplex!!

Penthesilea too!!

More please...

hugs!!

Offline brokeplex

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Re: The Film as a Palindrome
« Reply #37 on: February 16, 2008, 03:15:41 pm »
How funny, I went to the thread you mentioned and I had totally forgotten about it, in the thread I even posted a mention of a truck going from left to right and later in the film right to left. (must be my creeping slow timers)

just off the cuff I noticed a few things that may qualify BM as a palindrome

1) the white shirt inside the blue shirt taken outside the Twist's closet / later Ennis exchanges the shirts and puts them back inside his closet

2) Thanksgiving dinner with the Twists and Newsome's / later the Thanksgiving dinner at Monroe and Almas charming little house

3) Ennis knocking down Jack down on their last day / later Ennis getting pounded into the ground after the Thanksgiving dinner

4) Ennis seeing the gutted Ewe after TS1 / later Ennis imagining Jack beaten to death

5) Aguirre's "marriage" ceremony of the boys  in his trailer  / later the Delmar marriage ceremony

6) the post office scene when Ennis first hears from Jack / later same post office when Ennis get word of Jack's death

7) Jack washing Ennis's shirts in the creek / later Alma washing Ennis's shirts in the sink

8) TSI / TSII

if you would like to merge this, that would be great, maybe it will spark someone's interest, meanwhile I'll start taking my vitamins so my memory gets better.

Offline Artiste

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Re: The Film as a Palindrome
« Reply #38 on: February 19, 2008, 03:28:08 pm »
Very much interesting!

More please...

hugs!

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Brokeback's filmic structure a palindrome ?
« Reply #39 on: March 20, 2008, 05:35:20 am »
*bump*