Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
"I figured you were sore from that punch"
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: nakymaton on July 04, 2006, 01:02:18 pm ---Ennis is a human tangle of contradictions; that's a large part of why I find him so fascinating.
--- End quote ---
And I wouldn't contradict you on either of these points!
Here's a portrait of Ennis:
:-\ :o :-* :-* :D ??? ??? >:( >:( :-\ :'( :D :) :-\ :-* :'( :'( :'( :'(
Meryl:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on July 04, 2006, 01:16:05 pm ---And I wouldn't contradict you on either of these points!
Here's a portrait of Ennis:
:-\ :o :-* :-* :D ??? ??? >:( >:( :-\ :'( :D :) :-\ :-* :'( :'( :'( :'(
--- End quote ---
All Praise and Glory be to Heath Ledger, who had all that goin' on and then some! :P :-* 8)
serious crayons:
Oh yeah, I forgot to illustrate the second half of Mel's statement that I agreed with.
--- Quote from: nakymaton on July 04, 2006, 01:02:18 pm ---I find him so fascinating.
--- End quote ---
:o :o :-* :-* :-* :-\ :-* :-* ??? ??? :-* :'( :'( :'(
dly64:
--- Quote from: nakymaton on July 04, 2006, 01:02:18 pm ---I think the punch is the result of all of those things... but I think it's mostly the result of experiencing all sorts of contradictory feelings. (I mostly take issue with the argument that Ennis is primarily reacting to Jack's inappropriately nonchalant manner while taking down the tent. Yeah, that might be part of it, but I think that Ennis's response has more to do with whatever complicated and confusing stuff is going on in Ennis's head and heart, and not so much with exactly what Jack does or doesn't do. I think that almost everything Ennis does is, in large part, a response to stuff going on inside Ennis. Well, except for purely physical reactions, like catching keys. Ennis's physical reactions are so fast and uncomplicated, compared to his emotional reactions. So maybe I'm contradicting myself and not making any sense.)
(And how many times have I used the word "contradict" in this post? Aw, shoot, I'm not going to try to phrase it better.)
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--- Quote from: nakymaton on July 04, 2006, 12:07:06 pm ---Doesn't Jack murmur something like "It's all right" as he wipes Ennis's blood? There's something about Jack's actions that recall the 2nd tent scene (as well as the scene after Ennis encounters the bear).
And that makes Ennis's punch all the more painful. (Emotionally painful, I mean.)
(Which is not to say that I blame Ennis. But I don't blame Jack either.)
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Mel – I agree with everything you are saying. I think that the punch is a combination of Ennis’ reflexes and an inability to deal with the emotional pain …. a pain that he can not understand or even begin to express. The one emotion Ennis doesunderstand is anger … so he lashes out at Jack. IMO, the timing is not a coincidence … Ennis hits Jack when Jack is comforting him. It does hearken back to SNIT. Could it be that the comforting invokes a fond memory that Ennis knows will not be repeated? Could it be that Ennis wants to hurt Jack as a way to express how much he is hurting? I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that this sequence is one that I find confusing and extremely painful to watch.. Both Ennis and Jack are anguished at the thought of leaving BBM and the uncertainty of what will follow. Each one handles it very differently … Ennis - very child like … Jack - rather stoic. I think this scene is meant to be confusing. After all, doesn’t that evoke what both Jack and Ennis are feeling at that moment?
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: nakymaton on July 04, 2006, 01:02:18 pm ---I think that almost everything Ennis does is, in large part, a response to stuff going on inside Ennis. Well, except for purely physical reactions, like catching keys. Ennis's physical reactions are so fast and uncomplicated, compared to his emotional reactions. So maybe I'm contradicting myself and not making any sense.)
Tell you what, I think that Ennis is capable of holding a lot of contradictory emotions inside himself. And it may be that Ennis lashes out the most when the contradictions become too much to take. So the Mexico threat may be the result of fear of losing Jack AND not wanting to deal with that living together thing again AND the tacit admission that Jack is gay and, by extension, Ennis is also gay. Contradictory? Yes. But Ennis is a human tangle of contradictions; that's a large part of why I find him so fascinating.
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Hey there Mel! That was a fantastic post. I definitely agree that Ennis is so introverted that he often or usually responds to "stuff going on inside Ennis." And, Katherine, I also agree that Ennis often tries to deflect attention/ blame/ tension away from himself and on to whomever he's arguing with. He does this with Alma ("once burned"), Cassie ("it looks like I got the message in any case") and then Jack with the Mexico conversation. In a way, I think that's just his style of arguing and also demonstrates a certain amount of stubborn-ness. This being said, I think there are other moments when he demonstrates his deep concern for other people and/ or his sense of guilt. I think maybe his recurring urge to deflect blame is a flip-side of his tendency to carry a lot of guilt (warranted or not) inside himself too. I think his question to Jack in the motel about the punch is a perfect example of this. I also sort of think that Ennis's change of tone with Cassie in the bus stop (when he says "sorry... I probably wasn't much fun...") he's backing down from his frequent "don't blame me" stance and is demonstrating some empathy for Cassie (even if just a bit... but you can tell he really does feel bad about the situation with her too... even if it's not his primary concern).
Something's been on my mind a bit,...It's a bit OT (and also a bit rambling), but I might as well bring it up here since the topic of Jack continually pushing to live together has come up here in recent posts. I think that Jack might have found inspiration for this idea, not just from their domestic arrangements on Brokeback, but also from the motel scene when Ennis says (I think probably two of the saddest lines in the whole film) "I doubt there's nothing we can do. So, I'm stuck with what I've got here." Jack probably heard that "I'm stuck" comment as something that he could try to "fix" and kept suggesting this option of living together. Ennis's statement there is probably the ultimate example of a "stander" attitude in that he's resigned to stay in his current situation without really even pondering alternatives. So, maybe Jack heard this and thought that if he presented Ennis with some alternatives he might be able to shake Ennis out of his rut in Riverton. But, the main point here... is that Jack did hear Ennis complaining about not liking his life in Riverton (the idea that he was "stuck" there... is certainly not a happy way to think about one's home). By the time of the "I did once" comment... had Jack almost given up on his idea of helping Ennis "fix" things? And, yes, I totally agree that by the time this comment came around in the argument Ennis is terrified of losing Jack. I think we get our first flashes of this worry in the post-divorce fiasco scene. When Jack turns to leave Ennis looks at Jack in a really concerned/ intense way and says "Jack" in a way that makes it seem like he's finally switched his attention away from the guy in the truck/ his awkwardness, etc. and is now noticing how upset Jack is.
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