"On Your Feet Cowboy"

[vkm91941]

Got this from TOB...


As the subject alludes to, I wanted to start a post about the dance scenes in BbM and the emotion overtones associated with them.

I was driving home, listening to the soundtrack and "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" came on. For the first time I realized how fitting that song was. It's played while Jack is dancing with LaShawn after being snipped at by Lureen and cruised by Randall. Taking the song in consideration, it seems Jack is contemplating, maybe for the first time, whether to not to stay with Ennis and weighing the fact that they belong together against the reality that they probably can't be together,

I don't want to say goodbye
All I want to do is live with you.

Together our two hearts are strong
Don't you know know that's where our hearts both belong?


A very heart-wrenching thought process for Jack, I'm sure.


So I just wanted to know: what to you guys feel when you see certain dance scenes? I think all four are great scenes...with their own level of tension.


I could not agree with the OP more

[serious crayons]

Good thread, Victoria. My favorite is when Ennis dances with Cassie to the Allman Brothers' Melissa (on their date with Alma Jr.). This one is particularly meaningful because it is Ennis himself who picks it out on the jukebox. Here are the lyrics that you hear as they hit the dance floor:

Knowing many, loving none,
Bearing sorrow havin' fun,
But back home he'll always run
To sweet Melissa... mmm...

[moremojo]

Good thread, Victoria. My favorite is when Ennis dances with Cassie to the Allman Brothers' Melissa (on their date with Alma Jr.). This one is particularly meaningful because it is Ennis himself who picks it out on the jukebox. Here are the lyrics that you hear as they hit the dance floor:

Knowing many, loving none,
Bearing sorrow havin' fun,
But back home he'll always run
To sweet Melissa... mmm...

I love Melissa; it tears at my heart in such a bittersweet way everytime I hear it. I was pleasantly surprised to hear it when first seeing the film. You're right that, significantly, Ennis is seen choosing this song (after we hear the conclusion of Tammy Wynette's 'D-I-V-O-R-C-E'), and it might also be significant that Ennis first wishes to sit down with the two ladies after it begins to play. He only goes to the dance floor at this moment because Cassie insists that he do so.

[slayers_creek_oth]

Good thread, Victoria. My favorite is when Ennis dances with Cassie to the Allman Brothers' Melissa (on their date with Alma Jr.). This one is particularly meaningful because it is Ennis himself who picks it out on the jukebox. Here are the lyrics that you hear as they hit the dance floor:

Knowing many, loving none,
Bearing sorrow havin' fun,
But back home he'll always run
To sweet Melissa... mmm...

I gotta agree here...powerful song if you actually listen to it...

[Meryl]

I love the scene when Jack dances with Lureen as "No One's Gonna Love You Like Me" is being sung.  It's the most obvious, but it works beautifully.  There's Lureen looking adoringly at Jack smiling at her, and then he looks over her shoulder with the saddest expression, as if he knew that he was looking ahead to a life of settling for something that was only a shadow of what he really wanted. 

[Rayn]

Got this from TOB...
I was driving home, listening to the soundtrack and "I Don't Want to Say Goodbye" came on. For the first time I realized how fitting that song was.

Yes, yes, that's exactly how I feel and hear the song too vkm91941!  I think Jack was interested in Laureen for your beauty and her money as well and she is so taken by him.  I feel sorry for her mostly, sorry because she never really has all of Jack, and wants him so.  I felt so bad for her when he asks LaShawn to dance!  And then there's damned Randall complicating everything for Jack.  Wouldn't it be nice if people could make the right choices of mates and be happy with them?   I guess some people are lucky in love and some aren't.  I also feel sorry for the young waitress who falls for Ennis.  Poor thing, but she wasn't all that aware of where Ennis' heart actually is.. and who can blame her?  How could she have known?  Ennis is not an easy man to understand unless you get to know him and that's hard enough to start with...


Rayn

[Kelda]

I don't want to say goodbye is def my fave song on the soundtrack. Its beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

I think it would make a great first dance at a wedding..

[kirkmusic]

I got a good laugh while reading the screenplay when I got to the first Ennis/Cassie scene.

"Cassie and Ennis are the only people on the dancefloor.  It is immediately clear that Ennis cannot dance."

I just read in the HEATHx3 thread that he's actually a very good dancer.  Even more kudos to him as an actor because it's difficult for people who can dance to act like they can't.

[Sheyne]

 

Poor Ennis.. Can't say why that line tickled my fancy but boy, it did..

[ednbarby]

I love the scene when Jack dances with Lureen as "No One's Gonna Love You Like Me" is being sung.  It's the most obvious, but it works beautifully.  There's Lureen looking adoringly at Jack smiling at her, and then he looks over her shoulder with the saddest expression, as if he knew that he was looking ahead to a life of settling for something that was only a shadow of what he really wanted. 

Beautifully put, Meryl.  Do you know, I can't listen to this song on the soundtrack because it makes me so sad for that very reason - it tears me up thinking of Jack settling.

[Mikaela]

From Meryl
There's Lureen looking adoringly at Jack smiling at her, and then he looks over her shoulder with the saddest expression, as if he knew that he was looking ahead to a life of settling for something that was only a shadow of what he really wanted.

Oh yes! And the fact that he's been smiling and seeming to somewhat enjoy himself up to the point where the lyrics reach "I know sometimes you've been so lonely...", and *then* gets that very sad and forlorn expression.    Yes, he's been lonely, and blue. Surely that plays a big part in why he's settling for the shadow of what he wanted. *sigh*


On to another matter: Does anyone else get distracted by the other couple on the little dance floor when Ennis and Cassie dance to "Melissa?"  Everything that can be seen of the woman is tattooed. I can't help looking at that every time, wondering why they chose such a conspicuous extra. Perhaps she just gives a realistic flair to the scene and the locale....

[serious crayons]

On to another matter: Does anyone else get distracted by the other couple on the little dance floor when Ennis and Cassie dance to "Melissa?"  Everything that can be seen of the woman is tattooed. I can't help looking at that every time, wondering why they chose such a conspicuous extra. Perhaps she just gives a realistic flair to the scene and the locale....

YES. Especially because back in them days tattoos of any kind were relatively rare. I'm no expert on small-town Wyoming circa 1983, but I would venture to guess she'd have been pretty unusual.

"Such a conspicuous extra" is a good way to put it. Maybe she won a walk-on part in one of those contests.

[SFEnnisSF]

I love the scene when Jack dances with Lureen as "No One's Gonna Love You Like Me" is being sung.  It's the most obvious, but it works beautifully.  There's Lureen looking adoringly at Jack smiling at her, and then he looks over her shoulder with the saddest expression, as if he knew that he was looking ahead to a life of settling for something that was only a shadow of what he really wanted. 

Hi Meryl,

I love this scene too. 

[Mikaela]

Maybe she won a walk-on part in one of those contests.

But even so, they could have made her put on a jacket or something. So they must have thought all that decorated skin had a purpose or at least wasn't out of context in the scene. Perhaps she can be seen as a contrast to Cassie; - a reminder that Cassie *is* a very attractive woman compared to many others around Rivertion who might have been interested in having a go at a relationship with Ennis.

[serious crayons]

But even so, they could have made her put on a jacket or something. So they must have thought all that decorated skin had a purpose or at least wasn't out of context in the scene. Perhaps she can be seen as a contrast to Cassie; - a reminder that Cassie *is* a very attractive woman compared to many others around Rivertion who might have been interested in having a go at a relationship with Ennis.

Hmmm. Good point about the jacket. But if they just wanted to show that Cassie is attractive by Riverton standards (which is pretty obvious anyway -- hell, she's attractive by Hollywood standards), would they have needed someone so bizarre to represent the rest of the female population of Riverton? Surely they could have found a less distracting way to send that message.

Others have noted that the guy she's dancing with is wearing a black hat. That is, he is a reminder to Ennis of Jack. So what could tattoos mean in that context? Let's brainstorm. Um ... tattoos are a way of artificially altering your appearance or your image or your natural self, and that's what Ennis is doing by dating Cassie ...?

[starboardlight]

it's been suggested (by whom? I can't recall) that the tattooed woman is meant to show that time was changing and that things were getting more liberal. That such an unusual woman was out in daylight perhaps meant that the people in town were more accepting tof differences than Ennis feared. The fact that her partner is a black hat wearing man might even draw us to believe that Ennis and Jack could actually be out and about together without too much trouble. Thus making his fear all the more tragic, because it may have been possible to have that "sweet life" and be accepted. Just like the Black Hat and White Hat men in the bus station, suggest a possible alternate existence for the Ennis and Jack. I'm not sure I believe that entirely, but it's worth playing with, symbolically.

[Brown Eyes]

Heya starboardlight,
I was just about to mention the guy in the black hat.  I've never really pondered the tattooed woman too much because I'm always focused on the guy with the black hat.  I mostly see that particular guy as a sign that Ennis is dreaming of Jack at this moment.  I think both of Ennis's dancing scenes with Cassie are meant to show his true lack of interest - having to be dragged out to the floor and (in the first dance) trying to keep her at arms length.  Jack is at least usually more willing to dance and seems to be pretty good at it, at least in comparison.  I guess this is no surprise since Jack is generally more social.

[serious crayons]

Jack is at least usually more willing to dance and seems to be pretty good at it, at least in comparison.

Yeah, what's that line about this scene from the cowboy etiquette thread? Something like, "If by chance you are required to dance with a woman, hold her at arm's length and smoke furiously until the situation subsides."

OK, I guess I like the idea Nipith mentions for the tattooed woman. I was thinking earlier, the chances of there being a woman living in Riverton with so many tattooes are probably a million to one today -- let alone in 1983. So the idea that she could be calmly dancing in the local tavern without drawing any particular attention is a signal that Ennis is being too paranoid.

[Brown Eyes]

Yeah, what's that line about this scene from the cowboy etiquette thread? Something like, "If by chance you are required to dance with a woman, hold her at arm's length and smoke furiously until the situation subsides."

OK, I guess I like the idea Nipith mentions for the tattooed woman. I was thinking earlier, the chances of there being a woman living in Riverton with so many tattooes are probably a million to one today -- let alone in 1983. So the idea that she could be calmly dancing in the local tavern without drawing any particular attention is a signal that Ennis is being too paranoid.

LOL!!!

[Mikaela]

From latjoreme
 tattoos are a way of artificially altering your appearance or your image or your natural self, and that's what Ennis is doing by dating Cassie ...?

I like that interpretation. Makes sense to me.

it's been suggested (by whom? I can't recall) that the tattooed woman is meant to show that time was changing and that things were getting more liberal. That such an unusual woman was out in daylight perhaps meant that the people in town were more accepting tof differences than Ennis feared. The fact that her partner is a black hat wearing man might even draw us to believe that Ennis and Jack could actually be out and about together without too much trouble. [snip]  I'm not sure I believe that entirely, but it's worth playing with, symbolically.

I like this interpretation, too - but it somehow seems to be too optimistic compared to the entire tone of BBM. 

Somehow, takinng in the whole scene, I think it speaks to me about how many more superficial things may change, but some deeply personal and important things tragically remain unchanged: While women (and men) might have more style choices in how they dressed and presented themselves, and it's accepted that they choose the kind of extreme personal expression that being tattooed from top to toe represents, men like Ennis still make efforts to put up a smoke screen to hide who they really are. And they still very well may be right in thinking that their true self would not easily be accepted.

[David]

Um, sorry, but the symbolism of the tattoed girl in the bar is not to show how liberal things have gotten.

Ang Lee is showing us the cultural (and Financial) differences in Jacks and Ennis's lives.

Jack and Lureen are at a charity dance to raise money for a Childrens fund.  Everyone there is well dressed.    In contrast we see Ennis hanging out in a dive bar with biker chicks.   No offence to any tattoed biker chicks on the board!     

[YaadPyar]

Um, sorry, but the symbolism of the tattoed girl in the bar is not to show how liberal things have gotten.

Ang Lee is showing us the cultural (and Financial) differences in Jacks and Ennis's lives.

Jack and Lureen are at a charity dance to raise money for a Childrens fund.  Everyone there is well dressed.    In contrast we see Ennis hanging out in a dive bar with biker chicks.   No offence to any tattoed biker chicks on the board!     

I'm going with David on this one...

[serious crayons]

I'm not heavily tattooed or a biker, but I do hang out in dive bars from time to time -- sure rather do that than go to a charity dance. No offense to any charity-dance frequenters on this board!

Your explanation makes sense, too, David. On the other hand, I don't think we need someone with head-to-toe tattoos to prove the bar is divy, any more than we need her to show us Cassie is attractive. The extra is still unusually conspicuous.

I'm going for answer C, all of the above.

[Brown Eyes]

I'm not heavily tattooed or a biker, but I do hang out in dive bars from time to time -- sure rather do that than go to a charity dance. No offense to any charity-dance frequenters on this board!

LOL.  I quite agree.

It does seem that we're meant to notice the differences between Jack and Ennis's social worlds.  It not only shows the growing class or financial difference but also a different attitude towards socializing in general.  Jack is usually shown in bars/dance halls that are full of people and lively, while Ennis is the opposite in going to smaller bars.  The dance floors in Ennis's bars are never full.  I guess this is meant to be more of a visual clue that Ennis is a loner (as if we needed more proof).