Black Hats, White Hats

[tiawahcowboy]

IMO, this should have been a light vs. dark in regard to hat colors in the movie.

Ennis does not wear white hats; in fact, he wears them in shades of grey and brown.

Jack is a black-hat man and it might be, like a lot of cowboys, he just prefers black hats. I have a friend who likes cowboy hats and black is the only color he will buy or want people to buy for him. Oh, he wears baseball style caps of all different colors, especially if they identify him as a macho kind of guy.

In the book, Jack only works there kinds of jobs, ranch type, sheep herder, and rodeo cowboy before his father-in-law dies and he becomes an employee of Lureen in her farm machinery company and with a vague managerial title he becomes a buyer of her outfit.

Ennis never wears a hat for dress-up occasions in the movie. His cowboy hats he wears are "multi-purpose/multi-task" hats; he wears the same kinds while working, too.

[ednbarby]

Actually, my referring to black hats and white hats when starting this thread was meant to be a nod to the idea of Jack and Ennis being the yin and the yang.  I realize Ennis' hats aren't truly white. 

I like the idea Amanda touched on a few posts back that made me think of that conversation we had earlier about the guys at the pool table in the Jimbo scene, and why some are in black hats and some are in light hats - that maybe the black hats aren't so much fixers vs. standers as black sheep - special and singular in some way.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

[tiawahcowboy]

Actually, my referring to black hats and white hats when starting this thread was meant to be a nod to the idea of Jack and Ennis being the yin and the yang.  I realize Ennis' hats aren't truly white. 

I like the idea Amanda touched on a few posts back that made me think of that conversation we had earlier about the guys at the pool table in the Jimbo scene, and why some are in black hats and some are in light hats - that maybe the black hats aren't so much fixers vs. standers as black sheep - special and singular in some way.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

Since the original source of the "yin and yang" is from an Oriental religion which people like me chose not to observe which conflicts with my own spirituality, I would much rather not mess with that discussion. That's the same reason I do not mess with horoscopes and/or astrology charts.

The Jimbo scene was a figment of Larny McMurtry's and/or Diana Ossana's imagination. In no place in Annie Proulx's short story does Jack talk to a rodeo clown. Besides, the actor who played "Jimbo" was not even a big as the man who was the "clown," actually called a "bullfighter" in real rodeos.

Professional Bull Riders, Inc. has three men who dress up like clowns in the rodeo arena. Two of them are bullfighters and their purpose is to insure both the safety of the rider AND the bull in each event. The third man is the barrell man and he is sort of a back-up for the bullfighters. He has to have a great sense of humor and he tells jokes between rounds and even pokes good-natured fun at the announcer and people in the audience. Yes, he has to be a stand-up comedian and he often stands up on the barrell he uses during the rodeo, too.

One can discuss contrasting themes in a book or in a movie, or even still in real life, and not even mention religion related terminology at all.

[Brown Eyes]

Back to clothes: in the swingset scene, Ennis is wearing a tan vest with a red lining -- he's back with Alma, but keeping his love (symbolized by the red) hidden and close under his regular tan. And if I'm not mistaken, Jack is wearing a vest like that in the reunion kiss scene. Not sure -- I am going to try to watch it one more time tomorrow, so I'll check.

Yup, Jack is definitely wearing a tan vest during the reunion kiss.  During the initial hug Ennis is really grabbing onto it... sort of clinging to it.  Well, this is definitely an interesting observation Katherine.  I don't remember what color lining Jack's vest had, but he's clearly wearing a red shirt.  So, it's a red color underneath the tan vest... mirroring Ennis's tan vest with the red lining.  So maybe this is the unfolding of the "ink-blot" pattern of the movie's structure that's been mentioned in threads here and there.  This scene mirrors a scene that's relatively close in timing/ proxiimity (i.e. the reunion scene) since they're both quite near the center of the movie/ ink-blot.  So the opening shot of the movie with the semi-truck seen in the distance against the dark mountains mirrors Ennis's truck going the opposite direction but against similar mountains towards the very end of the movie.  Since the one shot is at the very beginning, its mirroring shot would have to be far away in terms of timing and proximity.  I think the whole ink-blot idea is very interesting (though hard to describe!) and it, like the black and white hats, seems to have a lot to do with the yin and yang idea.

that conversation we had earlier about the guys at the pool table in the Jimbo scene, and why some are in black hats and some are in light hats - that maybe the black hats aren't so much fixers vs. standers as black sheep - special and singular in some way.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

Barb, the more I watch the Jimbo scene the more interesting the background details become.  I get so distracted by some of the interactions in the background that I sort of tune Jack and Jimbo out a bit (which is not such a good thing maybe...).  My favorite background detail in that scene lately is the table that Jack walks by once he finally decides to get out of there.  There's a table (situated more or less right behind where Jack and Jimbo had been sitting at the bar) and there is a couple of guys (of course one with a black hat and one with a white hat) calmly drinking together.  As Jack leaves they both move their arms at the same time to put their drinks down.    Their contentedness at being together reminds me of the two guys leaving together from the bus station during the Cassie and pie scene.  I guess, all reminders of what could have been for Jack and Ennis...
 

[serious crayons]

  So maybe this is the unfolding of the "ink-blot" pattern of the movie's structure that's been mentioned in threads here and there.  This scene mirrors a scene that's relatively close in timing/ proxiimity (i.e. the reunion scene) since they're both quite near the center of the movie/ ink-blot.

When I first encountered the inkblot idea the poster said he had gone through the whole movie scene by scene, and found that scenes at the beginning very closely mirrored scenes at the end (trailer/trailer), then the next scenes mirrored the second-to-last scenes and so on. That's interesting, and must be at least partly true, but I think the mirroring is actually messier than that, more like a web than an inkblot.

For instance, lately I've noticed that the scene where Ennis tells the story of Earl and Rich looks a lot like the scene by the campfire after the bear encounter. Both times Ennis has had a traumatic experience. Both times Jack, sitting on Ennis' right, moves closer and comforts Ennis by gently touching his face. Ennis rejects him the first time but not the second. What does this mean? I guess that the bear, like Earl and Rich, stands for the dangers that lie ahead for them as a couple. (The bear is in or by the river, which we've talked about as symbolizing their relationshp, so that underscores the idea.) Also, the contrast between the scenes shows how much has changed, from Ennis irritatedly snatching the wet cloth away to submitting to, and apparently feeling soothed by, Jack's affection.

Sorry, this has nothing to do with hats. I'm not really sure where it belongs. These days the threads are getting so complex and intensive that I'm starting to feel like when you have something to say you just have to jump in where you can. But if I find a better place for it, I'll move or copy.

[Brown Eyes]

My question is... how did this thread sink all the way to page 5?
 

[serious crayons]

Wow, interesting details, Barbara. And your interpretations all make perfect sense.

Will the symbolism never end?!

This may have been mentioned before (maybe even by me, for all I know!), but I love the pattern of pre-makeout-session hat removal and how it reflects the participants' attitude about the procedings.

In TS2, as Ennis heads into the tent he takes off his own hat -- he is ready and willing to be with Jack. Yet he continues holding onto it -- still a bit nervous and hesitant. Jack gently takes Ennis' hat and sets it aside, encouragingly -- "s'alright."

In the "happy tussle," Ennis teasingly knocks off Jack's hat -- he has reached the level of comfort with their sex life where initiation can be mutual.

When Jack and Lureen are in the back seat of Daddy's car, Lureen takes off Jack's hat. She's leading the way.

In the reunion scene, Ennis appears hatless, already receptive, and as he pushes Jack to the stairwell he passionately knocks off Jack's hat.

[ednbarby]

LOVE it, Barbara and Katherine.  All excellent observations.  The twist gone from the trim - wow - that's exquisite.  And I think you're right, Barbara - it's gone in that last scene to symolize that Jack's strength and will to hold on to Ennis is gone - basically, that all hope and in essence his life force is gone.  His eyes clearly belie that when the flashback ends and he stands there watching him drive away for the last time - all the life is drained out.  But I never noticed the trim on his hats.  Thanks for that.

[2robots4u]

I noticed the variations of hat colors from the start, but I didn't see any significance.  Just that they wore what goes good with their clothes and boots.  Even cowboys have to be coordinated...that means hat, belt, boots must match.  It also means they wore what they had if they couldn't afford a big wardrobe of hats for every "outfit".  That fit Ennis, but Jack, well, he could afford it, and we see several different styles and colors.  Symbolism at work here?  Perhaps.  Every movie can be scrutinized for hidden meanings (the eating scene in Tom Jones comes to mind); sexual inuendos are probably the most obvious, but do we see that sort of thing in BBM?  So at this point, I take that stand that the hats don't mean anything more than what you see.

And by the way, the only hat I was interested in (and it's really not the hat, but what's under it that got my interest)  was on the head of the guy dancing with the dark haired lady in the blue dress doing the twrills in the dance scene that opens the benefit story.  There's a great shot of just his face framed between a couple in the foreground, over the right shoulder of Jack.  I noticed this guy immediately and replay this scene over and over and over, etc.  Just thought you might want to know. (Don't know how to insert the "wink face" here, so please visually insert it for me)...Doug

[serious crayons]

Every movie can be scrutinized for hidden meanings ...  but do we see that sort of thing in BBM?

Doug, there are tons of amazing threads on this board discussing the hidden meanings of all kinds of things in the movie: hats, rotary fans, elk, sheep, bear, binoculars, clothing, colors, snow, water, coffee pots, buckets, laundry, spitting, windows ... and this is an abbreviated list. As far as I know, no movie has ever been as packed with symbolism and metaphors as BBM. The idea that the symbolism is that detailed might sound implausible at first, and certainly some of the symbols that people suggest are subject to debate. But after studying the patterns and all of the significant and fitting ways these items appear in the movie, many (probably even most) people agree that the majority of them make perfect sense.

If you want help finding some of the threads, let me know.

(As for inserting the wink face, just place the cursor where you want it to appear, then click on the wink face above. Like this  -- on your reply it will just be a semicolon and a parenthese, but in the posted version there'll be a face.)