Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
The Brokeback Cult
Meryl:
Originally posted by meryl_88 Friday, March 3, 2006:
--- Quote ---But sainthood would also be a heady experience for them, I think.
--- End quote ---
Let's not forget that Heath and Jake are Hollywood celebrities. I feel certain that there is probably very little we can do that would surprise them. ;)
--- Quote ---I think this is going to get very tricky if we try to define too much here. Look at everyone arguing about Christianity on the Big Board, and the nastiness on the Munich board.
--- End quote ---
I love you all! You're embracing our Cult with such enthusiasm. :)
But before going further, maybe I should say it was always my intention that anything we come up with on this thread should be in a spirit of affectionate good humor. It's meant to be fun and a means of expressing friendship and respect for each other and the wonders of Brokeback.
Of course we all share deep, deep feelings about this film, its themes and its artists. The parallels we're making between those feelings and organized religions are based on love, pure and simple. But one parallel we don't need is arguing over dogma. If we can't have light hearts and allow for all sorts of different ideas (both serious and comic), it won't be fun any more.
So use your creativity and come up with hymns (we can have a whole collection of them if we want), holy days, rituals, saints and whatever strikes you as relevant. But most of all, keep your sense of humor at the forefront. :)
Meryl:
Originally posted by Yaadpyar on Friday, March 3, 2006:
Meryl - Amen! I mean, YeeHaw to all of it. I must admit to reading some of this wonderful post over the phone to a friend just to share with her how incredibly clever and funny and smart ya'll are, and she (thankfully) laughed as hard as I do every time I read this thread.
I'm with you all the way on our Cult. I was going to use the caveat that if we have any instances of sleep deprivation I'd have to sign-off, but I think we're all suffering from that already with the late nights here!
I so want to see a compendium of the best of these conversations printed. It would be like the Talmud in Judaism. There is the Torah, which is the Sacred Text, the first five books of the Old Testament. Then there is the Talmud, which is a compendium of commentaries from learned scholars about the Torah, also considered a critical text.
So - first there's Annie's story, then the screenplay, then the movie, and then the commentaries by the learned scholars (IMDb message boards, etc.). I think I'm starting to scare myself with the parallels...
Meryl:
OSCAR NIGHT RITUALS
Originally posted by meryl_88 Friday, March 3, 2006:
HEY BROKIES, TELL Y'WHAT, we need some sort of sacred ritual for Oscar Night. How are we going to approach it with proper reverence, whether we be alone or in groups?
Our gods, prophets and demi-gods will be visible in real time and will commune with us via satellite. This is an historic moment for the Cult. How shall this be done?
Suggested pre-Oscar ritual:
1. Repeat as often as necessary: "S'alright, s'alright, s'alright..."
2. Wear lucky underwear and socks daily. If people avoid you, then it's working.
3. Consume at least one of the following daily: whiskey, beer (long-necked bottles preferred), beans, cherry cake, elk meat (especially lucky).
4. Visualize Schamus, Lee, Ledger, Gyllenhaal, Williams, McMurtry, Ossana, Prieto and Santaolalla in a smiling group, statuettes in hand.
5. Avoid any article with "Crash" in the title
6. Upon any mention of Roger Ebert, look mean and spit into a coffee cup.
Posted by jscheib (JeffWrangler):
When you put it that way, I guess I may need to begin the evening with a Ritual Meal of canned beans, after which it may be advisable to don the Sacred Garments. However, since somebody mentioned in another post that ballots had to be in by this Wednesday, I'm afraid it may be too late for the cultic ritual mojo to do any good.
Posted by Yaadpyar:
Part of the sacred ritual is to to bind a community together, so it's got to be something we can all do individually or together, and Academy ballots be damned.
Options (with examples following):
- Eating sacred food (beans, whiskey, cherry cake, apple pie, trouts, coffee, elk)
- Wearing sacred vestments (cowboy hat & boots, checkered shirt, jeans, rodeo belt buckle)
- Speaking sacred words (I swear, I wish I could quit you, Jack Nasty, It could be a sweet life, It could be like this-just like this-always, It's 'cause a you I'm like this)
- Sacred grooming (washing with hot water heated in a campfire, growing a huge mustache or sideburns, shaving from a tin cup, grabbing a toothbrush before goin' fishin')
- Singing sacred verse (Water Walking Jesus, A Love That Will Never Grow Old)
- Performing sacred acts (washing shirts in river naked except for boots and hat, sticking boots into campfire, sleeping in a tent with a co-worker, herding sheep)
Any of these work for ya'll? Any more to add? Shall we pick a few we can agree on?
Posted by jscheib (JeffWrangler):
--- Quote ---Part of the sacred ritual is to to bind a community together, so it's got to be something we can all do individually or together, and Academy ballots be damned.
--- End quote ---
Never mind the sheep. ...
--- Quote ---Eating sacred food (beans, whiskey, cherry cake, apple pie, trouts, coffee, elk)
--- End quote ---
Anybody got a recipe for cherry cake? All anybody in my family ever made was cherry pie.
--- Quote ---Wearing sacred vestments (cowboy hat & boots, checkered shirt, jeans, rodeo belt buckle)
--- End quote ---
Heck, that works for me any time!
--- Quote ---Speaking sacred words (I swear, I wish I could quit you, Jack Nasty, It could be a sweet life, It could be like this-just like this-always, It's 'cause a you I'm like this)
--- End quote ---
"Jack, I swear. ... Jack, I swear. ... Jack, I swear. ..."
--- Quote ---Sacred grooming (washing with hot water heated in a campfire, growing a huge mustache or sideburns, shaving from a tin cup, grabbing a toothbrush before goin' fishin')
--- End quote ---
I would not advise the campfire part if you live in a high-rise building in a major city. There's this little legal point called "Risking a catastrophe."
--- Quote ---Singing sacred verse (Water Walking Jesus, A Love That Will Never Grow Old)
--- End quote ---
Other possibility: "He Was a Friend of Mine."
--- Quote ---Performing sacred acts (washing shirts in river naked except for boots and hat, sticking boots into campfire, sleeping in a tent with a co-worker, herding sheep)
--- End quote ---
Again, not so feasible if you live in a major city. I could pitch a pup tent on the q.t. in my living room if I had anybody to share it with.
Posted by meryl_88:
--- Quote ---When you put it that way, I guess I may need to begin the evening with a Ritual Meal of canned beans, after which it may be advisable to don the Sacred Garments.
--- End quote ---
Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Excellent preparation.
Now, what to do during the Red Carpet interviews? As we wait for our Holy Ones to arrive on the scene, we could smoke like a chimney and consume bottles of beer and pace the room. Or we could hang a symbolic pair of binoculars around our neck, as a way of invoking their appearance.
I have determined that whenever Heath appears on screen, I will speak the sacred words: "Nice to know you, Ennis Del Mar." When Jake appears, I will speak the sacred words: "Jack F3ckin' Twist!" When Michelle, Anne, Ang, Larry, Diana, Rodrigo or Gus appear, I will murmur a respectful "Yeehaw." Throughout the evening, other sacred words as mentioned by yaadpyar such as "Jack, I swear" and "It could be a sweet life" as well as "S'alright, s'alright, s'alright" will be used as necessary to renew the spirit.
Just before the actual broadcast, I will light a symbolic campfire (I have a giant green candle with several wicks that should do the job) and sit with my feet near it. I will place my teakettle nearby (my coffeemaker is glass) with a wooden spoon, ready for banging on when applause is called for. I will have purchased a small flask of whiskey for the express purpose of taking a swig when we win a statuette.
As the time for the Best Picture award draws near, I will remove all breakables from the vicinity of the TV, as I intend to recreate the sacred Rodeo Dance performed by Jack in the movie just before he falls over so dramatically.
There, I feel better for having formulated some sort of plan. Anyone else want to weigh in with suggestions?
Posted by jscheib (JeffWrangler):
Meryl, I'm nominatin' you for high priestess!
We need an East Coast version of Ang-fest. Maybe after the DVD is out.
Now I've GOT to quit this board (for the night) and GET SOME SLEEP!
Meryl:
THE MANTRA
Posted by Yaadpyar on Saturday, March 4, 2006:
Meryl -
I think we've got an Oscar night plan! If I can watch them alone, I'm will emulate this, at least in spirit.
In reading over your preparations, it occured to me that the thrice-spoken whisper of "s'alright", a sacred phrase on its own for so many reasons, could be like a special incantation. Something you whisper to yourself that invokes the good will of the gods.
Like, when you're at bat, and want extra power to hit a home run, you whisper it. Or when you have to do something scary, for extra courage you say it to yourself (the way Jack did to Ennis).
We know the transforming power of those words...
Posted by meryl_88:
Yes, I think your singling out this phrase as a mantra of special potency is significant. It will be to us as "Om" is to the mystics of the East.
Originally posted by Yaadpyar on Thursday, March 2, 2006:
So - our sacred phrase (at least to me) of "I Swear" will have to have some agreed upon, if unspoken meaning. So many have tried to articulate the significance of it, but perhaps it is so sacred in part because its meaning cannot be spoken. Sort of like to Tao - the Tao that can be named is not the Tao... I do think it's the critical phrase that the cult resonates around.
In eastern meditation a mantra is chosen - a sacred chant that connects the chanter to the eternal, so perhaps our mantra is "I Swear."
From Wikipedia: This article is about the religious poem. A mantra is a religious syllable or poem. Their use varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra. They are primarily used as spiritual conduits, words or vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee. Other purposes have included religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or eliminate enemies. Mantras originated in India with Vedic Hinduism and were later adopted by Buddhists and Jains, now popular in various modern forms of spiritual practice which are loosely based on practices of these Eastern religions.
Meryl:
THE SACRED MYSTERIES
Posted by meryl_88 Saturday, March 4, 2006:
Yaadpyar, for a moment I thought you were going to mention the controversy that has swirled around the words "S'alright, s'alright, s'alright," there being of course several passionately defended theories as to exactly what was uttered in the two Sacred Tent Scenes and by whom.
Perhaps when the DVD is released, or even in a future interview with Jake or Heath, this question will be put to rest. For now, though, I think it could be safely referred to as one of the Sacred Mysteries, along with, perhaps, the truth about how Jack met his end, whether by Tire Iron or by Accident. The gods assuredly know these things, but it is not yet given to us to partake of that higher knowledge.
Posted by Yaadpyar:
Meryl -
I stay away from these controversies - and potential schisms, and will let others duke it out, but I do love the Sacred Mysteries notion. I have communed with the BBM gods, and know my own answers...
Posted by -starboardlight:
--- Quote ---Tire-Ironites and Accidentalists
--- End quote ---
Wouldn't that be the Ironites and the Rimmites?
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