Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
Am I the only person...
ednbarby:
I can understand where you're coming from, Jeff. It's been hard enough for me to discover that straight female friends who I thought were open-minded and compassionate can say basically the same thing and be so insensitive. I just keep thinking that thank God my husband got it. I'd trade my next 20 friends not getting it in order for him to. To find out I'm married to someone so insensitive would have been devastating. It may sound crazy, but I think it really would have been the beginning of the end. We watched Memoirs of a Geisha last night, and he warmed my heart, again, at the end when he said, "That was nice and all. But it was no Brokeback Mountain." ;D
As for Lureen's lack of acceptance of Bobby's learning disorder, I can relate to that, too. My son is in that boat - he is very mildly autistic and is also starting to show signs of dyslexia. I've been able to come to terms with it from the beginning. But quite a few people in my own family have not. Luckily, my husband isn't one of them. But both of my parents keep saying, "There's nothing wrong with that kid that a little discipline won't fix." ::) And I know a few women with kids who have much more serious problems than Will who seem unwilling or unable to accept that their kid might need some extra help. That's a fairly common predicament, unfortunately. Doesn't mean the women are insensitive or selfish so much as that they just don't want to face the thought that they may in some way be responsible because of the way their pregnancies or childbirths went.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on May 08, 2006, 09:42:44 am ---Thanks for agreeing, Barb, and I should probably just appreciate that, but I also have to take issue with "cold as ice." She sounds very rehearsed, and probably isn't thrilled to hear from Ennis, with good reason. But, as you say, her encouraging him to go see Jack's folks is a truly kind thing to do. I think Alma is WAY more bitter than Lureen. But you're right, she also has more to go on.
And Jeff, your post arrived just as I was about to post this. That is a disturbing experience. What if you wrote back and said, in effect, "HUNH???" and then briefly summarized what you think DOES happen. I don't have any friends who have dismissed the film (mainly because most of my friends have inexplicably not seen it, at least last time I checked). However, I have two or three friends who liked it but only mildly. So I pointed out as many of the amazing things about it as I reasonably could in a short conversation and in each case, I think, their appreciation was deepened. Some people , even intelligent and sensitive people, just aren't attuned to its subtleties and as a result don't get it.
--- End quote ---
Thanks, Katherine, that's a good suggestion. I guess I've just been so disappointed in, baffled by, and even hurt by his response that I haven't had the heart to respond to his e-mail. Not when it's more fun to discuss the film with people who do "get" it, even when our interpretations vary. :)
I've somewhat reluctantly had to give up assigning any significance to the "rehearsed" element in Lureen's conversation with Ennis. I've seen it pointed out that she is, after all, Jack's widow and undoubtedly has had to tell that tale many, many times, regardless of whether her story is the truth or a lie. Now here comes Ennis's phone call, presumably a couple of months after the fact, and she has to tell the story all over again.
Barb, I'm sure in the end Will will be very fortunate that you and your husband have been able to come to terms with his problems. I really only mentioned Jack's complaint as a way of pointing out that I think Lureen comes off better in the film than in the story. In the film, in the "blue parka" conversation with Jack, she comes off to me as a busy procrastinator--yeah, yeah, she'll get around to calling the school about getting a tutor for Bobby--not necessarily as refusing to acknowledge that there is a problem, which is how Jack in the story portrays her.
BTW, from everything I've ever read in your posts, your husband is a prince. Keep a good grip on him, girlfriend! :)
ednbarby:
I agree, Jeff. Lureen does come off better in the movie than in the book on that regard. And that my husband is a prince. I keep reminding myself of that everytime he nags the crap outta me (he's a nitpicker extraordinaire, but if that's his biggest shortcoming, I'm doing very well. :))
henrypie:
Hey Barb,
I'll give you ONE MILLION DOLLARS if you let me watch Brokeback Mountain with your husband. Just one night. Then everything goes back to the way it was before.... or does it?
Heh heh.
Kd5000:
I'm had that discussion, verbally person to person with ppl about Ennis not being gay. IT's the way ppl are trained to view gay characters on film. Ennis doesn't come out and say it like in so many films/tv shows/Oprah that he's gay. Ppl are familiar with internalized homophobia or latent homosexual or gay guy who is so non-sterotypical... It takes time for ppl to change their viewpoint
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