I have seen it with strangers, I have seen it by myself, I have seen it with brokies, on the big screen and the small. I have gotten together with brokies and we have not watched it. It is different every situation.
We could look to a couple of other examples, one being Boys in the Band, which was released in 1970. Kerry has posted much about this film. It was ground breaking in a number of ways as its intent, as I see it, was to portray homosexuals in a positive light. I think it still holds up after nearly......jezus...40 years....
Another example is Making Love, from 1982. It caused a stir at the time, as I remember (I was too young to remember BITB coming out) and it had an effect on the larger population. I watched it then (in 1984 when it was on TV) and I saw it again about a year ago and thought it was as dull as a box of plastic forks.
Brokeback, I predict, will be seen as a catalyst for change. Its loss at the Oscars will certainly ensure its celebrity, as if it needed it. I think it will remain a classic tragedy along the lines of To Kill A Mocking Bird.