Taking Chances, by E. L. Van Hine and L.H. Nicoll

[MaineWriter]

Where the HECK did someone find that picture for Rudy, Leon and Lang?!!!  They're fabulous!

Sorry for being absent this week -- had lots of RL come down the pike.  Maybe can see myself getting clear of it shortly.

Monica

I believe that picture was David's contribution. Good to have you back, Monica!

[notBastet]

Alright, friends, two revelations I had while driving home from work today (I promise there is E and E relevance):

Recent hangup 1 - reconciling movie Ennis and Jack with short story Ennis and Jack... I've been very distressed about this for the past 24 hours, not quite sure why (may relate to only getting three hours of sleep).. anyhow - Revelation 1 - this 'Brokeback thing' that has grabbed hold of all of us, obviously also grabbed hold of everyone involved in the movie; instead of writing or reading a fanfic or joining an internet group, they made a movie!  Thus, there is no need to reconcile the two because they are completely different.  (Okay, someone else somewhere suggested the screenplay was the first fanfic, so my revelation is just a logical extension/understanding of what that person was saying.)  Just like I don't begrudge an author their AU, I don't begrudge Ang his Ennis, or Jake his Jack, etc...

Recent hangup 2 - something has been nagging me about Jack... I've felt like I've been holding a grudge against him but not understanding exactly what the grudge was.  Revelation 2 - figured it out.  In the short story in the hotel scene, he lies to Ennis.  Ennis asks him a direct question about whether he did it with other guys, and Jack lies.  I don't think Ellery has ever lied to Ennis.  Well, now that I realized the cause of the grudge, I can get over it.

I'm sure that made no sense.  But thanks for letting me take up space.

Cheerio!

[neatfreak]

This is OT, but this thread is where I hang out:

I went to see "Pirates of the Carribbean II" today with my son and his friend. A nice piece of fluff with great acting -- as always -- from Johnny Depp. I enjoyed it while it lasted, but the experience ended with the credits; it was like a really good dessert, but the goodness ended with the last bite.

How unlike this whole Brokeback experience! Time and again I am reminded of the uniqueness of this whole event, which is still unfolding and of which the Laramie Saga is inextricably a part. (There! Not so OT!) My heart is continually tugged by thoughts and people, and I've never been like this in my life. As a former Ennis, I love the new me. And sharing the experience with all of you has been both lifesaving and uplifting. I swear...

[louisev]

Thanks for explaining your dilemmas, Kelly.
The film and the short story are certainly very different, and one of the nice things about the film is that it does manage to preserve a great deal of the original short story... but there are a lot of differences... they are different "takes" and also different media.  You can't literally"film" a story.  It has to be translated into the visual and oral media.

As far as Jack goes... yes, Jack did lie, and he also left out a lot of himself in relating to Ennis... I like to think he did that to spare Ennis's feelings, but he also did so to make his own life more agreeable for him.  And that does make him dishonest... however, I also think that makes him kind... in his own Jack way.  He knew Ennis would be upset if he found out he had had sex with other men, and so he covered that up in order to pacify him.

[louisev]

I think you make an important point in your OT discussion there, neatfreak:


How many Ennis's out there saw BBM... and CHANGED?

If Ennis were immune to change then how could all of you Ennis-identified people... grow and change and have wonderful new insights in your lives?  This to me, is the proof that Ennis himself... would inevitably change after the events in BBM!

[notBastet]

And that does make him dishonest... however, I also think that makes him kind... in his own Jack way.  He knew Ennis would be upset if he found out he had had sex with other men, and so he covered that up in order to pacify him.

You are right here...  I think that's why he did it too.  He wanted Ennis loved and happy, he didn't want to upset him.  However, I have been thinking, what if Jack had 'fessed up to it...  maybe, just maybe, that might have helped Ennis come to terms with himself a bit earlier in life.  It was just a little thing nagging me, I've always thought Jack brought as much baggage to the 'relationship' as Ennis did... (that's okay, we've all got baggage, it was just a missing piece of the baggage puzzle in my mind.)  Maybe if Jack had 'fessed up there would have just been a gigantic fight, who knows.  But to me, the 'what if' there is just another layer to the tragedy.

(Ellery certainly has baggage as well!)

[notBastet]

neatfreak - that was a sweet and lovely thing you said back there.  thanks.

[MaineWriter]

I am not quoting but this is in response to nB's comment about Jack lying...

This is one of the problems and one of the reasons people can so easily get into screaming fights about this story/movie, etc....what exactly is "canon"? I know Louise uses the New Yorker story, but the story published in the Wyoming stories book and the story to screenplay book is different...and not just the addition of the prologue paragraph. (I believe it was Natali, [Opinionista] who actually went through and did a line by line comparison....that document is floating around here somewhere). People tell me (I haven't seen her in person) that Annie has publicly stated that the "Close Range" story is the one she wrote. She was unhappy with the New Yorker edits. So what is canon? The first thing published? The author's vision?

Then a movie gets made and we have more versions...multiple screenplays, plus a story on film. What is a fanfic writer (and reader) to believe? For me, for my story, I guess I took the movie as canon, in that I had Jack admit to Ennis he had never lied to him. I don't think movie!Jack ever did lie (correct me if I am wrong on this). Story!Jack, as nB noted, did. As commented on, that one lie changed many things. In my view, for my story, there were no lies. Of course, there were other issues.

As for Ennis and Ellery...no, no lies. Info not divulgied, yet, yes...but no lies.

[louisev]

The only reason I used the New Yorker story is because it was all I had.  I didn't get "Close Range" (mainly because the summaries of the other stories did not appeal to me.  So it wasn't so much that I "spurned" the "original story" but that I didn't (and don't) have it.

[David]

"Hey Ellery?  I'm over at the Grocery store and they're out a Vasoline!"