Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
<-- Introduce Yourself -->
dmmb_Mandy:
Beautifully put Andrew (littledarlin) hun, it's so great to get to know more about you. And it's great getting to know everyone here! It really is so nice knowing that I'm not alone in my passion & obsession with this beautiful film.
I've been here at BetterMost for about a week, so I thought I'd come and finally introduce myself. For my friends here who know me already, this will be boring since they know most of this already (and I copied & pasted some stuff from the "Distinguishing Mandy & Mandy thread").
I'm a 22 year old straight (slightly bent) female, living in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (the oldest city in North America ). I was born in Labrador so technically I'm not a Newfie. :) I've been with my BF for about 3.5 years. I'm a 4th year UNI student, English degree, graduating next month. Then I'm doing a second degree (in French), and then considering Law School, who knows!? I like school. I'm a fairly easy-going person. It takes a lot to shock me, and I'm very accepting & open-minded. I adore movies of all genres really. I just love relaxing with a good movie. I worked at a video store for several years back in my home town and boy, that was awesome! Music is another passion of mine. I play saxophone (baritone) & guitar. I love all kinds of music (metal, rock, alternative, just about everything really). I love learning new languages. I speak French & Spanish (and a little Portuguese, but not very much!!). I LOVE reading, writing (poetry & short stories mostly, though I plan to write a novel & screenplay someday), painting, anything artistic really; I just love expressing myself in different ways. I grew up as the youngest & only girl (3 older brothers) so I learned early on how to be tough & independent. I love playing games (video games, board games, card games..etc). Most of all, I love having good, meaningful conversations with interesting folks (like all of you!)
When it comes to my passion for Brokeback Mountain, well I've been a huge Jake fan for a while and I've always been fairly fond of Heath, and when I first heard of the movie sometime mid-last year, I immediately read the short story and fell in love! And then I thought "WOW, I can't WAIT to see Jake & Heath as Jack & Ennis". I secretely obsessed about BBM for months before I was able to see it, which wasn't until mid January here in St. John's (and I refused to download it, I wanted to lose my BBM virginity in theatre, I wanted to experience it on the big screen, in all its beauty). I lurked around the IMdB Brokeback forum for the longest time, reading about other people's obsessions and yearning more and more for BBM. I've seen it several times now, and it's hard to explain exactly what it is about BBM that captivates me so much. My friends say: "Why do you like it so much? How do you even identify with two gay men? And Cowboys afterall!" Why should I need to justify myself for something I hold so dear to me; I'm not asking them to understand, just to accept it. But I love the film for their love, their passion, and ultimately their tragedy, which made me reflect on my life & taught me to appreciate love in all its forms. Finally, I am sooo glad I joined IMdB and then eventually found my way into all of your lives here at BetterMost ;D
JCinNYC2006:
Newfoundland! I was just reading about Annie Proulx's book 'The Shipping News' and how it's set there. Some of the IMDb boards didn't like it because 'Newfies' found it didn't portray them in a very modern or realistic way. Wow that's so interesting!
Juan
dmmb_Mandy:
Yeah I read the book AND saw the movie. I enjoyed both, but I agree that it doesn't exactly portray Newfoundlanders correctly. A lot of Newfies think that she made us out to be brutish (that whole scene where they destroy the guy's trailor or something? I can't remember what happens exactly, it's been a while since I've seen it), although I don't really agree with that, I don't think she made Newfies out to be that bad. BUT, let me just say, I have never ever heard of anyone in Newfoundland eating a Squid Burger, c'mon!! LOL!
But, overall I enjoyed the story & the movie, they were entertaining & interesting, even if not exactly true to life.
Oh, BTW, some of the Newfie accents in the movie were just terrible!!
Jeff Wrangler:
Greetings, all!
I'll try to keep this short and factual. I'm not good at or comfortable with talking about myself, but since Clarissa sent a very nice postcard to us folks at Chez Tremblay to come over and introduce ourselves, here I am. ...
My name is Jeff. I'm a single gay male living in Philadelphia. My birth date is May 6, 1958 (so if you want to know how old I am, you do the math <G>). I was born in Central Pennsylvania and have lived in Philadelphia since 1986, when I moved here for a job opportunity. I live in the heart of the Center City gayborhood and own my own condominium home. Virtually all of my professional life has involved some aspect of research, writing, editing, or proofreading. My educational background is in history, and I have co-authored two reference volumes on colonial Pennsylvania.
I've had several coming outs in my life, and who knows how many more I may experience? I didn't come to understand, or face up to, the fact that I'm gay until the rather advanced age of 26. I had another coming out two years later when I moved to Philadelphia. A year after that I came out to the leather/levi/fetish community, where I have made a home ever since. In 1992 I became a member of our local leather fraternal organization, and have since held the offices of secretary and treasurer, and served as presidential officer for one 2-year term, 2000-2002. In 2005 I was honored with life membership status for my service to the organization.
I've been subscribing to The New Yorker for, oh, probably more than a quarter of a century, and I remember reading "Brokeback Mountain" in 1997. I wasn't aware that the story was being filmed until I stumbled on an ad for the movie in the Friday edition of the Philadephia Inquirer a week before it opened here. I thought, "I need to see this right away, as soon as it opens, it won't last long." HA! The film has been like another coming out experience, life changing for me as for so many others. I see aspects of myself--and not necessarily good aspects--in Ennis as the character is depicted on the screen, and the movie has made me realize that I have some work to do.
I have had one relationship, unfortunately very short, as my "little bear cub" passed away less than a year after we met. This loss is one unfortunate reason why I identify with Ennis.
I was raised Lutheran and currently am a member of the Episcopal parish around the corner from my home. Other interests, besides everything BBM, include collecting model trains (HO scale) and historical reenacting (the Middle Ages and Renaissance).
Well, I guess this turned out to be longer than I anticipated. ...
MaineWriter:
Another refugee from Chez Tremblay, checking in.
I'm Leslie, a happily married mother of two, living in the greater Portland, ME area. We have a retired racing greyhoud, too, as part of our household and are thinking about getting another.
I'm a nurse, although I don't wear white stockings and uniform. :) My career has been mostly in research and academia. At present, I own my own business and serve as the editor-in-chief of two professional nursing journals. I also do consulting for research and statistics, writing and publishing. I keep current on clinical stuff through reading and volunteering at the Portland Community Free Clinic, which provides free care to those without insurance who cannot afford healthcare.
How did I learn about BBM? Actually, we were at my sister's house in Northampton, MA for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving evening, my sister, mom and I went to the little art theater in town to see "Shopgirl." They had a list where people could write their suggestions of movies they want to the theater to show...and the list had page after page saying "Brokeback Mountain." Curious, and not familiar with this title, I went home and started surfing the Internet for info. At that point the New Yorker archive still had the short story online--I read it and was hooked.
I saw BBM for the first time in Boston on Dec 27th, and like everyone else here, I couldn't get it out of my mind. It opened in Portland on Jan 6th. I saw it 6 times in the theater plus I have an early release copy of the DVD which I have watched...I don't know...on that score, I have lost count.
The strangest thing that has come out of my obsession is that I have started writing fiction. The first thing I wrote was "Brokeback Fever: A New Clinical Entity." (That is posted over in the fanfic forum if anyone wants to read it.) Then I started reading fanfic and writing my own! I'm loving doing it, I just wish it didn't take so much time as I am seriously behind on what I should be doing in my real job. (If anyone is interested in the fanfic, links to that are also in the fanfic forum. The story is called "A Love Born From Steel.")
My children and husband know about my obsession--I think they think I'm a little bit nuts, but all in all, they are supportive.
The best part is that I have made some terrific new friends through these boards. I think we have a wonderful community and I am so happy to be part of it.
Love to all,
Leslie
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