Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
<-- Introduce Yourself -->
CoyotePiper:
Gay guy living here in southern New England. I'm an "Ennis" type, am a conservative Republican, and go for Jack or Randall types. I'm fairly athletic and am a hardcore snowboarder, free-style ice skater, and bicyclist.
Yes you read that right, a conservative Republican snowboarder.
I discovered BBM back in mid December when I casually picked up a copy of Details which was floating around the office. The issue which had Jake G. on the cover and which interviewed him. I had never heard of him before, nor of Donnie Darko or really any of his films. I was vaguely aware of Jarhead and seem to recall Day After Tommorrow perhaps. He looked kind of cute on the cover so I read his story.
The interview referenced BBM so I made a mental note and jumped on IMDb to research the film. The last time I had been on IMDb was when Return of the King was in theatrical release. (hence my balrog handle)
I downloaded the Proulx short story which was linked there in PDF and was hooked.
Have seen the film 18 times now beginning with week 2 of theatrical release. Sometimes 3 times in a week at first. It consumes my online life, as well as my waking hours. Some days more intensely than others. BTW, you do stop crying after seeing it 18 times, and you don't always sit through the credits listening to Willie Neslon. I see it alone 100% of the time and have seen it in 5 separate theatre venues now, in Boston, Providence,RI, and suburbs of each of those cities.
THe music/soundtrack deeply affects me and I spend lots of time practicing the guitar instrumentals - The Wings, The Opening, Snow, Riding Horses, and The Brokeback Theme. I'm ordering a harmonica online shortly with the intention of learning how to play one.
I hang out some on EnnisJack and although I like IMDb it is overwhelming over there and it seems some of the old timers have moved on. I'm over here for a little more intimacy in a posting envoirment. Funny how one's online friends are basicly disembodied electrons and yet they become good friends?
Phillip Dampier:
--- Quote from: CoyotePiper on February 18, 2006, 10:12:15 pm ---Gay guy living here in southern New England. I'm an "Ennis" type, am a conservative Republican, and go for Jack or Randall types.
--- End quote ---
Welcome aboard. A gay conservative Republican in New England? ;D
--- Quote ---I discovered BBM back in mid December when I casually picked up a copy of Details which was floating around the office. The issue which had Jake G. on the cover and which interviewed him. I had never heard of him before, nor of Donnie Darko or really any of his films. I was vaguely aware of Jarhead and seem to recall Day After Tommorrow perhaps. He looked kind of cute on the cover so I read his story.
--- End quote ---
I think those of us who recall Day After Tomorrow, which they are showing repeatedly (again) on the pay cable networks, don't bring a lot of fond memories from it. If you haven't seen Donnie Darko, it's an amazing film and I'd advise renting it. It definitely falls outside of mainstream Hollywood movies, that's for sure. It also has another one of those soundtracks that grabs you, especially if you were growing up during the 1980s. Day After Tomorrow for Jake was equivalent to Ang Lee doing The Hulk. Bad idea gone horribly wrong. I had seen promos for Jarhead but it looked like one of those movies you'd expect Vin Diesel to be in, and with movies here at $8 a ticket, I'll pass. My cousin saw it and said it was deeper than the trailer let on. I'll wait to see it on HBO, I guess.
--- Quote ---The interview referenced BBM so I made a mental note and jumped on IMDb to research the film. The last time I had been on IMDb was when Return of the King was in theatrical release. (hence my balrog handle)
--- End quote ---
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of those must-see things for me at a time when I am seeing fewer and fewer movies. Another epic story very well done. But I sensed from it that the entire thing was definitely a "guy movie." The director didn't seem what to do with his female characters and the sweeping themes of heroism and such made for a good film, but it carried zero emotional investment for me. Meanwhile, a shirt hanging in a closet causes people to burst into tears and wander around like zombies for days after. I'm not ready to call Brokeback a "chick flick," but there was an amazing difference for me between these movies. Both were excellent. The only other movies I largely consider must-see are the Harry Potter films, which are great adventure and also make you wonder why going to school in your area was never as exciting as Hogwarts. :)
--- Quote ---Have seen the film 18 times now beginning with week 2 of theatrical release. Sometimes 3 times in a week at first.
--- End quote ---
In scene 17 when they are riding on horseback and they encounter a prairie, how many flowers are on screen. :-) Someone who has seen in 18 times could tell me. I haven't come close to that. In fact, on subsequent viewings, I spend most of my time and attention on the opening summer at Brokeback scenes. When I saw it the first time, it seemed a slower part of the film, but not annoyingly so, but you later come to regret not having even more time spent there because that seems to be the only truly peaceful and happy prolonged section of the film, except for the kiss outside Ennis' place.
--- Quote ---It consumes my online life, as well as my waking hours. Some days more intensely than others. BTW, you do stop crying after seeing it 18 times, and you don't always sit through the credits listening to Willie Neslon. I see it alone 100% of the time and have seen it in 5 separate theatre venues now, in Boston, Providence,RI, and suburbs of each of those cities.
--- End quote ---
The Wings probably touches me more than any other song on the soundtrack. I'm still annoyed how short of a song it is and I've been looking around for music similar to it to broaden out my aural wallpaper when typing away on the computer here. I'll have to start a thread so we can all build some playlists. The second big song for me is Emmylou Harris' A Love That Will Never Grow Old. That one hits me more than any of the other songs, and of course in context in the film, it's destined to get you.
--- Quote ---I hang out some on EnnisJack and although I like IMDb it is overwhelming over there and it seems some of the old timers have moved on. I'm over here for a little more intimacy in a posting envoirment. Funny how one's online friends are basicly disembodied electrons and yet they become good friends?
--- End quote ---
Absolutely. I want this to be a place where we connect with each other on what I hope will be a longer term basis. There will be some group projects in the coming weeks. One I want to do is for us to grab those digital cameras and go out into our own locales and snap some pictures and put them online. For me, never being a big traveller anyway, I'd like to armchair travel at least. One of the things I am contemplating doing is actually doing a vacation this year, perhaps even to Alberta to see a certain mountain. It is one of the things I want on my goals list for 2006. If I do go, I'm taking video camera, digital cameras and whatever else I can grab and take as much footage as I can and put it up here. If I'm real lucky, I'll find an Albertan on BetterMost to perhaps shoot some video for us before then.
I'm also open to other ideas from folks here about stuff we can do on the site over the coming year. I'm being pushed in the direction of doing a BetterMost podcast of some kind, but I have no idea what the content of that would be, but who knows.
emjayen:
Hi there. I’m a 46 year old gay male living in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. Grew up in northwest Minnesota, lived in Grand Forks, ND for a few years, and thought that the Twin Cities would be the place to find myself, a partner, and an exciting life. Well, it sucks, but things didn’t turn out the way I thought they would. I had an easy time making friends in school and in Grand Forks, but have found it extremely difficult to make and keep friends here in the big city. Although I tried like heck to meet new people and form relationships, for one reason or another, relationships never took off. After years of trying, I decided it was futile, and stopped trying.
I started out a lot like Jack, a dreamer, an adventurer, goal oriented. But now, I’m basically living the life of Ennis… closed off from the rest of the world, pretty much unable to express emotions, and sadly still in the closet.
After seeing Brokeback Mountain for the first time, I spent weeks crying about it. It was stunning and very scary how closely I connected with Ennis. I know exactly how the man feels and what he’s going through! I talked with my one good friend who knows I’m gay about how this film affected me. I told her how scary it was to see my feelings portrayed by such a mal-adjusted character as Ennis. I also told her I dreamed about taking these depressive feelings and channeling them into something positive. I told her how I discovered, through many discussion boards, that there are so many other people out there who feel the same way as I do, and how great it would be if there was some way that we could all come together to work out our problems. Well Phillip, I gotta thank you for taking the bull by the horns and starting this site. I’m hopeful that good things will come of it for me and lots of others out there.
Mike.
BBMGrandma:
Hi Mike and welcome.....it's nice to know you and your feelings. YES.....we've all had very VERY emotional upheavals while engrossed in this story. I can see how you would relate to Ennis....but I truly don't think he was all that 'mal-adjusted' in his life....at least not in his ability to LOVE...and love deeply!! He just didn't know how to handle that love when it came into his life. He was fearful and I TRULY believe he was fearful NOT just for himself...but also for JACK. When Ennis broke down in Jack's arms...inside the arms of the person he loved...he was a child...aching to stay. I think what we all need to learn is how to open up....to let those fears be known....and stand up and slay those 'dragons' that we all keep hidden so deeply inside.
I, for one, have never been able to take ahold of MY needs and let anyone know about them. I've always been the "rock" and helped others. I've discovered that NOW it's time to start taking care of ME....and quit being such a chicken chit....about facing life.
Come on Mike....let's get out there in the world and give it another try. There ARE good people out there....!! If "I" can do it....anyone can!! ;)
Hey PHILIP....can we ALL go to Alberta with ya? What a TRIP that would be...huh? We can all go to 'our' mountain!!
Scott6373:
Gay man living in Massachusetts. I'm 44...ugh. Professional singer...classical. Let's see...I guess I've lived a hell of an interesting life. Seen a lot, and done a lot...so much in fact that I'm rather astonished that I'm still here! Since I'm anethema to overly long posts, I'll just say that BBM literally alltered the course of my life, because it forced me to accept responsability for what I don't like about it...my life that is. Fix it and move on, or realize that it's not fixable, and forget it.
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