Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
What is behind Jack and Ennis' hats?
dly64:
I have often wondered about Jack and Ennis’ hats during their scenes together …
• TS1 – Ennis takes his hat off before entering the tent, which seems logical since he is going to lie down. But he was wearing his hat when he was sleeping outside.
• Post TS1 – Ennis is uncomfortable with the events that happened the night prior. When Ennis talks to Jack about this being a “one shot deal,” they are both wearing their hats
• TS2 – Ennis takes off his hat before entering the tent. The hat covers his groin, then covers his heart. Jack gently removes the hat, which exposes Ennis’ vulnerability and symbolizes the beginning of his acceptance of having a relationship with Jack.
• Post TS2 – Ennis and Jack are playing around and tussling. When they fall down, Ennis takes his hat off and the hat obscures Aguirre’s view of them kissing.
• The “punch” scene – they both have their hats on at the beginning… it is a tense situation.
• They leave each other … they both have their hats on
• Reunion – Ennis has his hat off, Jack has his hat on. Quickly, Ennis throws Jack’s hat off right before the kiss.
• The motel … no hats (and we can surmise nothing else, either)
• In the mountains …. Both their hats are off at the beginning of their conversation. When Jack mentions the “sweet life,” Ennis puts on his hat.
• Post divorce scene – very tense situation – they are both wearing their hats
• Post Thanksgiving scene (where Jack suggests Ennis moving to TX) … they are both wearing their hats.
• Their last trip together …. They are both wearing their hats until, after Jack makes himself vulnerable, their hats are off in TS3 (with Ennis holding Jack).
• Their fight – hats are on the whole time.
• The one exception to my train of thought … the “dozy embrace” their hats are both on.
Am I making too much of this? It just seems that, with the exception of the “dozy embrace,” their hats either reflect a moment of happiness (when off … open?) or a moment of tension (when on … closed?)
Your thoughts!?
Note: I am referring only to the hats after they begin their intimate relationship … not before.
Modification: I just happened to think about the "dozy embrace" ... in Jack's memory, Ennis cannot embrace Jack face to face because Jack is a man. Could the hats reflect the "closed" part of Ennis? Hmmm ... just another theory.
moremojo:
Interesting train of thought, and I probably don't have too much time to respond in any depth at the moment. But I wanted to point out that the film's supreme moment of grief (for me, anyway)--"Jack, I swear..."--sees Ennis hatless. There is great love here, but also great loss, and it's also possible that Ennis has fully accepted by now everything that Jack was, what he now knows himself to be, and what they had (and will have) together.
jpwagoneer1964:
Generally they did not wear hats inside, always custom to take them off.
There was a thing between them where Ennis would knock Jack hat off, tussle, reunion.
Usually hats are always worn outside.
nakymaton:
--- Quote from: jpwagoneer1964 on August 17, 2006, 11:17:22 am ---Generally they did not wear hats inside, always custom to take them off.
--- End quote ---
And isn't the etiquette that it's ok to wear a hat inside if there's no place to put it? So, for instance, there are men wearing hats all over the place at the Childress benefit dance where Jack meets Randall.
And that means that it's a big breach of etiquette when Jack doesn't take off his hat when he's introduced to Alma after the reunion, right? (Of course, neither Jack nor Ennis is thinking with his brain at that point, I would say...)
(And from a practical standpoint, it is hard to kiss a man wearing a hat. ;D It's like the nose problem that teenagers have when they're figuring out how to kiss, only a lot worse. Except that I guess taking off a nose isn't a good option. ;) )
Edit: but to get back to Diane's question. Ennis treats Jack's tent as "indoors," like it's a house (though he treats the pup tent the same way... he isn't wearing his hat when he wakes up in the snow, is he?).
serious crayons:
I'm on the same track as you, Diane. I have always thought that hatlessness indicates allowing oneself to be more open to the other person and/or vulnerable, whereas being hatted means being more closed off, guarded, self-protective, resistant.
One really distinct example of this is, as you say, when they're by the river after the reunion: Ennis is hatless when he's sendin up a prayer of thanks, but when Jack mentions the sweet life, he immediately puts the hat on.
The person who takes the lead in lovemaking is responsible for removing the other person's hat: in TS2, Jack takes Ennis' hat; in the "happy tussle" Ennis knocks Jack's hat off (he's comfortable enough to initiate now); in the back seat of the car Lureen removes Jack's hat; in the reunion scene, Ennis knocks Jack's off.
I think clothing layers have a similar significance. The fewer layers of clothing the person has on, the more open they are to the other person. Again, in TS2 Jack is shirtless but Ennis, more hesitant, has a shirt on. But by the happy tussle they are both completely comfortable with each other and both shirtless. When they arrive at the campsite after the reunion they immediately peel off their clothes, because they are completely and mutually into each other. There are a bunch of other examples.
A major exception, again, is in the dozy embrace. Why does that scene break the hat and clothing layer rule? It wouldn't have to. It could as easily have shown them without heavy jackets on. Maybe those are the obstacles that, unbeknownst to them at the time, would always keep them apart?
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