Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
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j.U.d.E.:
Oh my! There's so much good stuff on here!
Andrew, your post gave me goose bumps..
--- Quote ---But I still yearn to make things better, not just for myself, but for everyone else who feels like that growing up, isolated, alone, because they aren't and need to know that. You end up regretting so much when you allow others to shape you and hold you back. I used to live in fear, and I believe that the message of BBM is the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. Why deprive yourself love and happiness, only to end lonely, depressed, and wishing you had done things differently?
--- End quote ---
.. no words .. other than so true!..
I've been BBM-hooked since approximately Oct/Nov of 2005. I had been a fan of Heath ever since seeing him in "The Four Feathers" and though I don't remember exactly, I think I went to IMBd to find out about upcoming films with Heath and probably stumbled over BBM. I remember there was talk about Ang Lee (due to pressure?) "de-gay-ing" the film and fans seemed upset about it happening again.. chickening out. I remember being annoyed too, about reading that most/some of the love scenes were apparently being cut. I don't know how much was cut in the end, but some of the love scenes stayed in, as we all know!
The other thing that attracted me to BBM was Ang Lee (I knew him from "The Wedding Banquet" waaaay back - loved it!) and Annie Proulx ("The Shipping News" with Kevin Spacey - love him!). So the combination of it all, made me very curious about BBM! I went to buy Annie Proulx' short story right away (but I'm still angry at myself for reading it and too much stuff on IMDb before seeing the film - I knew way too much when I first saw BBM and much of the surprise factor of some scenes was gone..). I must admit, that Jake Gyllenhaal wasn't a household name to me at that point – I had seen and liked him a lot in "The Good Girl", but that was all I knew. But the thought that he was about to play opposite Heath Ledger as his love interest, made me curious (again) and knowing the fact, that those boys were going to be the main characters did not bother me at all!
From IMDb BBM I found my way and fled to IMDb PT (by following Victoria and her waving hand! :-*)) and then I became a BMost refugee like all/most of you (thank you Philip!)! I'm thankful each day, to be able to share it with fellow Brokies or Tremblay'ans or whatever we're called, though I miss the fact, that among my friends nobody has been hooked by it as much as I have.. I know there will be a time, when the madness will wear down (10 years from now, or so.. ;D) and I fear that moment, but right now, I'm spending so much time on BBM, it frightens me! My work is lagging behind (it will backfire sometime soon, I can feel it.. ;D), but I can't unhook! I have seen it 8 times (in four different countries: UK, France, Belgium and Germany) in the theatres and plan to see it again, before it's gone. Though I can't wait to own the DVD, because each time something/someone in the theatre and audience bothers and bugs me. I can't wait to see it in complete darkness, no noise, just me and my thoughts and yours!
I'm still not entirely sure why it hit me so much.. it's war in my head and it's a little disorienting. I don't know how to figure it out, but I know others here have similar trouble putting their feelings about BBM into words. It's some kind of relief, but it constantly keeps tugging at my soul.. I'm aching and I don't know how to make the pain stop.. Though, maybe I don't want to right now..
--- Quote ---I love living at night sometimes (when everyone else is asleep; I love silence, sometimes.
--- End quote ---
Same here! It's when I'm most productive – it's during the nights, that I had the easiest time writing my dissertation back at Uni, listening quietly to pre-outed George Michael's "Older"..
--- Quote ---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.
--- End quote ---
Ditto! BBM and other films/series/actors (I'm almost ashamed to admit it..) have made me much more pro-active in past years, though there's still a lot of work!
Sorry, a bit long.. Thank you for reading. Thank you all for sharing!
~ j U d E
serious crayons:
Hi, fellow Brokies. I am 48, married, two kids, freelance writer. I just moved to the Chicago area a few months ago. I don't really know anybody here yet, so these days my best friends are you guys! (Note to fellow Chicagoans: I'm sorry I missed out on your movie outing; I don't mean to be snobbish but it is very hard for me to get out of the house except weekdays when the kids are in school.)
It seems funny to be giving such basic statistical data, because meanwhile elsewhere on this board, and back on the imdb boards, I have -- as I mentioned in an earlier thread -- confessed things to you guys that I wouldn't tell my therapist or my best friend! Or, I later realized, my husband (funny he should be third on the list). I am very cautious about revealing my Brokaholism to others. My husband thinks I have seen the movie twice (the real number is seven). He is not aware these boards exist, let alone that I am addicted to them. I mentioned to my therapist in passing that I'd seen BBM seven times and I saw her eyes widen before she caught herself and pretended to take it in stride. So I decided not to elaborate; anyway, I'm kind of afraid to hear her diagnosis. I did tell my best friend I'd seen it seven times (she was shocked but, under my influence, she is up to no. 4). But when I mentioned the main imdb board, I wouldn't tell her my screen name. Some of that stuff is just too personal! Well, as you can guess, I'm kind of an Ennislike person.
I read the story maybe two years ago and liked it a lot, but no more than I like any really good short story. I went on with my life as usual. About a year ago, when I heard they were making the movie and who would star, I like many others also rolled my eyes. I liked Jake from other movies, but ... Heath Ledger? That cute teen idol kid? Well, I guess they're going to wreck it. Couldn't they get a serious actor?
By the time the movie opened, I had seen Lords of Dogtown and realized Heath could act. I had read a lot of reviews and seen all the praise. But I still didn't rush out to see it. I guess I thought it was going to be sort of preachy, and I already felt like a member of the choir. It seemed like something more dutiful than fun. Finally in late January I had a free night for a movie: Munich, The New World or Brokeback? I chose Brokeback, I think, simply because the timing was best.
And my life hasn't been the same since.
Why have I thought of Brokeback absolutely nonstop since then? Why have I gotten no work done, why have I haunted these boards obsessively? I'm not sure. I love movies. I love complex, nuanced, multilayered literature. I've always liked revisionist westerns. My childhood favorites included Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and (for those of you old enough to remember) the TV show Alias Smith and Jones -- two other shows involving two cute cowboys. Obviously, this movie is a masterpiece. I'm usually not much of a romantic, but I find the romanticism in BBM thrilling. And I think Ennis and Jack are hot, the love scenes breathtaking.
But I also think it has something to do with what's going on in my "real" life. My husband and I are no Ennis and Jack -- not by a long shot -- and I miss having that kind of a relationship. My household sometimes reminds me of Ennis and Alma's: kids screaming, me sitting in a frowsy bathrobe with a cup of cold coffee, my husband sneaking out to ... well, to work usually. So now I am in a very Ennislike situation. Am I stuck with what I've got, or do I go out looking for that sweet little cow-and-calf operation?
While all those reasons make sense to me, even taken together they still don't quite explain why this movie has completely taken over my brain. Sometimes I wonder if I am under a spell.
Anyway, I am so happy to find you all, without whom I would not have survived the past few months with my sanity, such as it is, intact.
Katherine
isabelle:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on April 06, 2006, 01:59:26 pm ---Hi, fellow Brokies. I am 48, married, two kids, freelance writer. I just moved to the Chicago area a few months ago. I don't really know anybody here yet, so these days my best friends are you guys! (Note to fellow Chicagoans: I'm sorry I missed out on your movie outing; I don't mean to be snobbish but it is very hard for me to get out of the house except weekdays when the kids are in school.)
It seems funny to be giving such basic statistical data, because meanwhile elsewhere on this board, and back on the imdb boards, I have -- as I mentioned in an earlier thread -- confessed things to you guys that I wouldn't tell my therapist or my best friend! Or, I later realized, my husband (funny he should be third on the list). I am very cautious about revealing my Brokaholism to others. My husband thinks I have seen the movie twice (the real number is seven). He is not aware these boards exist, let alone that I am addicted to them. I mentioned to my therapist in passing that I'd seen BBM seven times and I saw her eyes widen before she caught herself and pretended to take it in stride. So I decided not to elaborate; anyway, I'm kind of afraid to hear her diagnosis. I did tell my best friend I'd seen it seven times (she was shocked but, under my influence, she is up to no. 4). But when I mentioned the main imdb board, I wouldn't tell her my screen name. Some of that stuff is just too personal! Well, as you can guess, I'm kind of an Ennislike person.
I read the story maybe two years ago and liked it a lot, but no more than I like any really good short story. I went on with my life as usual. About a year ago, when I heard they were making the movie and who would star, I like many others also rolled my eyes. I liked Jake from other movies, but ... Heath Ledger? That cute teen idol kid? Well, I guess they're going to wreck it. Couldn't they get a serious actor?
By the time the movie opened, I had seen Lords of Dogtown and realized Heath could act. I had read a lot of reviews and seen all the praise. But I still didn't rush out to see it. I guess I thought it was going to be sort of preachy, and I already felt like a member of the choir. It seemed like something more dutiful than fun. Finally in late January I had a free night for a movie: Munich, The New World or Brokeback? I chose Brokeback, I think, simply because the timing was best.
And my life hasn't been the same since.
Why have I thought of Brokeback absolutely nonstop since then? Why have I gotten no work done, why have I haunted these boards obsessively? I'm not sure. I love movies. I love complex, nuanced, multilayered literature. I've always liked revisionist westerns. My childhood favorites included Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and (for those of you old enough to remember) the TV show Alias Smith and Jones -- two other shows involving two cute cowboys. Obviously, this movie is a masterpiece. I'm usually not much of a romantic, but I find the romanticism in BBM thrilling. And I think Ennis and Jack are hot, the love scenes breathtaking.
But I also think it has something to do with what's going on in my "real" life. My husband and I are no Ennis and Jack -- not by a long shot -- and I miss having that kind of a relationship. My household sometimes reminds me of Ennis and Alma's: kids screaming, me sitting in a frowsy bathrobe with a cup of cold coffee, my husband sneaking out to ... well, to work usually. So now I am in a very Ennislike situation. Am I stuck with what I've got, or do I go out looking for that sweet little cow-and-calf operation?
While all those reasons make sense to me, even taken together they still don't quite explain why this movie has completely taken over my brain. Sometimes I wonder if I am under a spell.
Anyway, I am so happy to find you all, without whom I would not have survived the past few months with my sanity, such as it is, intact.
Katherine
Katherine... so much of what you say resonates in me, this is incredible! The kids screaming, the no-work-getting-done with this obsession that I thought I was successfully fighting, the hubbie (boyfriend in my case) having his fit of immense annoyingness, like every 6 months (I can go from loving him to pieces, to wishing him out of here), the nr of times I've seen BBM (5) with the nr he thinks (2)... Maybe we should get out into the wild sometimes you and me, fish some... (LOL, Kidding, of course!).
But yeah, thanks for sharing. I TRULY sympathize. I think it is no coincidence that it seems to be people our ages who get most affected by BBM (39 myself).
--- End quote ---
luigival:
--- Quote from: latjoreme on April 06, 2006, 01:59:26 pm ---
While all those reasons make sense to me, even taken together they still don't quite explain why this movie has completely taken over my brain. Sometimes I wonder if I am under a spell.
Anyway, I am so happy to find you all, without whom I would not have survived the past few months with my sanity, such as it is, intact.
Katherine
--- End quote ---
Hi Katherine,
and everybody else. Loved your post and cannot agree more on your quote of feeling under a spell: maybe we really are... Otherwise I wouldn't justify how a 45 years old reputed professional - me!- has been so obsessed and caught by this story in the past four months. I swear the last period of my life has been an emotional rollercoaster after having seen BBM: I'm "afraid" it released all the need for passion and romance I had been hiding so well for so many years behind a facade.
Just kidding, of course, about the spell thing, but glad to see we can share our passion for BBM on these pages, and thanks to Phillip for creating this great site.
Luigi
fernly:
Luigi, and all,
Good question - justify how a 45 (54 for me) years old reputed professional - me!- has been so obsessed and caught by this story in the past four months. I swear the last period of my life has been an emotional rollercoaster after having seen BBM: I'm "afraid" it released all the need for passion and romance I had been hiding so well for so many years behind a facade.
I chanced across the BBM trailer on the net, was drawn in, didn't know why, looked for the short story, read it, was entranced by the power of Annie's words and characters, saw the movie, absolutely stunned, saw it again, didn't have anyone to talk to about it, beyond, "Saw a really good movie." (Have seen it about 11 times in the theater, lost track around #7 and haven't told anyone besides you guys that number.) Read the reviews, happened across IMDB, found the words in people's posts that I needed to begin to understand what I'd seen. I have never participated in a message board before and find it has now become necessary. Thank you so much for welcoming us refugees here to BetterMost, Phil.
I'm a straight mother of wonderful grown children, a teacher (a great job), living near San Francisco. A divorce and a series of other sadnesses led me to work very hard for years at avoiding new close relationships of any kind (no more room in my heart for the chance of any more regret or loss). That finally got tiresome early last year, and I'd been working since at taking some chances, emotional and otherwise and finding some happiness in that process. Now I find myself with a story, a movie, with two guys named Ennis and Jack in my head, and in my heart, which seems to have room again for passion, regret, and loss, and love. I feel like I've been hit by lightning.
Lynn (fernly, fern)
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