Can we please have an end to the ranting?

[Phillip Dampier]

I've been a journalist and a researcher for quite sometime now and one thing that I have learned is that when in doubt go to the source. In this case Brokeback Mountain's source is Annie Proulx herself and the short story she wrote. She's the one who came up with Ennis and Jack, their love and sad story. In other words she gave birth to them so if anyone can provide the most accurate information about the characters and their depiction in the movie is her and everything she has written about the story and the movie.

In my opinion to say the short story, and the screenplay are"extraneous material," and to consider Annie Proulx's comments just speculation and interpretation, is to diminish Brokeback Mountain's true value. Proulx is the creator of all this, the one who came up with a story that moved us so much, and that brought us here in the first place. And I personally think she deserves more respect than that, as an author and as a person.

I agree with you that Annie Proulx is the ultimate authority on Jack and Ennis as characters.  She wrote the story after witnessing an anti-gay mini-tirade at a local bar/restaurant on the part of the owner who was evidently displeased with two men who were customers in his place and he drew conclusions about their relationship in the form of nasty remarks after they had left.  Proulx's story is an extension of how two guys might cope in an atmosphere of distrust, ignorance, and fear in the rural mountain west. 

If you listen to a lot of the audio interviews and read the articles (where links still work) in the Movie Resources section, you'll find tremendous insight into the reasoning for the choice of the screenplay adoption team, how they wrestled with adopting Proulx's story for the screen, how Proulx was amazed at how well most of it turned out, and just how the process unfolds of turning a quick short story into a multi-hour film.  Proulx has been extremely supporting of the film staying largely true to her story, and she has complimented the movie screenwriters for doing so.

But Proulx has been extraordinarily consistent about what she feels should be taken away by viewers after the film.  It's the theme of this entire site and has been since the very first day - everyone is expected to finish the story in their own lives, and they do it based on their own life experiences which will certainly color their interpretations and the "moral" of the story.

Now for everyone:

BetterMost is not just a movie fan site.  There are others out there that already do a wonderful job just dwelling on the movie.  This site was created to help people figure out the film and then figure out how they are going to finish the story in their own lives and, with the support of a growing community of users here, help move beyond the film itself and open a new chapter in one's life.

The "trap" out there, for lack of a better name, is to get so caught up in the minute details of the film that one misses the greater point - the calling for one to not just see this as a film on a screen, but for many of us, a convincing call to awaken, evaluate, and evolve through change and growth.  For some that means dealing with sexuality issues, for others like me it was more about missing/lost opportunities, and for others it's about struggling through relationships.  And yes, for some, it's just a great movie that doesn't provoke any major need for change in one's own life, but just to understand what the movie was all about.

All of these are valid.

Who among us does not remember the days of wandering around dazed after this movie.  The longing to figure it out by searching out information online, talking to friends, the obsession for many which led them back to the theater again and again.  The emotional impact was overwhelming for a lot of us.

We must always be sensitive that when others share their visions and views about the film, if they do not mesh with our own views, that can literally cause a negative emotional response for some people.  That means we must be sensitive about the feelings of other users here, to make sure they realize we are not attacking them for sharing our own views.  At the same time, people sensitive to different views need to remember that other points of view are welcome here and agree or disagree, in most cases, the people sharing them are not attacking you just because they share a different perspective.

We are mostly all adults here, and we are strong enough to withstand contrary views about things.  Some of those views may open new interpretations one may not have considered before.  Just remember the one big rule that we do have here - no personal attacks on others.  We debate issues, not our users here.  Our community is only as strong as our weakest link, so being a positive and supporting individual here helps us all stay strong.

[ruthlesslyunsentimental]

I promised that if the original poster could show me where I was rude or disrespectful, I would eat my words.  The original poster has shown me where he took offense.  I honestly do not see the offensive nature of what I wrote since the sentence he quoted is the conclusion sentence to an entire paragraph of sentences that simply are my opinions; also, my string of opinion sentences starts with the words “To me, …”

However, I do not want to argue the minutia of a few words when the original poster was unwilling to respond to anything of substance within my detailed response to the original post.

So, because I am true to my word, I officially and publicly apologize to the original poster for offending him with my writing.  I am sorry.  I “eat my words.”  To show my sincerity, I have gone to the original post and deleted those words from it.

We may disagree, but I'm sticking to the promise that I made.  If anyone else finds any of what I have written anywhere in this forum to be offensive, I apologize to you also.  It was never my intent.

[louisev]

I wanted to thank you, Phillip, for your comment about the purposes of Bettermost.  I think, as a recent arrival, carrying my little parcel of fan fiction in hand and followed by more than a trickle of readers who felt unwelcome elsewhere as a result of wanting to get on with their lives post BBM... that what to do AFTER you go through the film experience, is ultimately the most important.  The film is in the can... it has been distributed, put on DVD, analyzed a million ways to Sunday, its makers gone on to their next projects, the Oscar snub fading into yesterday's news.

And yet there are wounds fresh in us.  Thousands of us, maybe millions.  Here in Germany BBM hit number one for nearly a month after it opened, getting better viewing than in America, and more and more people are viewing the film, looking for websites and talking about how to process their experience of the film.  Still.  Its impact is unimaginably great.  And yet, that is because we have to finish the story in our own lives.  For me, it means a rush of tribute stories that address Ennis's life after the end of Annie's story, and connecting with an audience that needs a positive outcome for him.  Each of us has our own vision, and our own "end to the story."  And I think ultimately, that makes Bettermost an invaluable resource for all who find and need it.

Thanks, Phillip, for welcoming me here.

[Ellemeno]

I haven't read the blow by blow here about who said what - it isn't what I want to absorb.  I just want to say that there are people here who put things out in ways that annoy me sometimes, or talk about stuff I'm not interested in, or have a different sense of what might be good to post about, but that's okay.  BetterMost is a big enough place for both of us, and I can easily skip over what I don't want to read.

Please all stay, avoid each other for a while if you need to, and then one day, if your experience is like mine, the very person who rubs you the wrong way today, down the road will offer an amazing pearl or two that stokes your day.

Love,

Clarissa

[Jeff Wrangler]

(Quote from latjoreme; see post above)

It's not a matter of, "Can't we all just get along?" That's facile (sorry, Rodney King). But how about: Can't we all just cut each other a little slack?

I have no wish to beat a dead horse here. Katherine's comment speaks to the heart of what I am really trying to get at. Yes, can't we just cut each other a little slack--but the slack cutting has to run both ways. On a number of occasions in my six-months-plus of Brokeback fandom, I've run accross--shall we say--strongly worded commentaries on somebody's opinion of what consitutes "acceptable" source material to be taken into consideration in understanding some aspect of Brokeback Mountain.

These commentaries have never come from people who feel, as do I, that anything in the history of the making of this film, Annie Proulx's story, early drafts of the screenplay, interviews with members of the creative team, whatever, may be considered for what light they may shed. On the contrary, these "rants" have always come from folks who insist that the only proper object of consideration is the film as we see it.

That's fine. I have no problem with someone taking that approach, and I respect anyone's right to take that approach. For that matter, I don't care if someone wants to use a ouija board to analyze Ennis's motivations. All I'm asking for is a respectful recognition that others have a right to their own ways of interpretation. I don't see this in a post that responds to someone with a rant about the other person's approach.

If "ruthlessly" felt my response, above, addressed nothing of substance because I refused to get involved in an argument over the minutiae of words, than "ruthlessly" just didn't get my point.

And I was genuinely shocked and horrified to read on "ruthlessly"'s "farewell" post that s/he was actually pursued to the point of threatening telephone calls for opinions expressed at IMDb. That makes me very sad.

[ffrn]

Thank you Phillip for your post.  I don't know the background to the disagreements here and don't want to.  However, what I want to say is that this site is a wonderful way for those like myself who were deeply affected by BBM to talk about it with others from similar backgrounds.  As Phillip said,

This site was created to help people figure out the film and then figure out how they are going to finish the story in their own lives and, with the support of a growing community of users here, help move beyond the film itself and open a new chapter in one's life.

The "trap" out there, for lack of a better name, is to get so caught up in the minute details of the film that one misses the greater point - the calling for one to not just see this as a film on a screen, but for many of us, a convincing call to awaken, evaluate, and evolve through change and growth.

I'm mostly on Jess' feedstore thread because that's where I've found people with similar backgrounds to myself.  We know where each of us is coming from and can understand each other's perspectives on this film.  To others reading that thread, it might seem as though the film and the many layers in it are the last thing on our minds but underneath that and in PM's we are helping each other to grab hold of whatever it is we've taken from this film and apply it to our lives.  Whether that is in helping us to understand and relate better to our family and friends or actually changing the direction of our lives instead of just talking about it.  For that I'm so grateful for Phillip and this site.

[2robots4u]

Ruthlessly...I, for one, did not get the impression that you were berating anyone with your comments.  In fact, I sometimes feel some posting are attacking, and other seem condensending, and occaisonally a "lecture" is probably needed.  So,  continue your comments and do not apologize for them.  This is a site for posting your thoughts, opinions, comments and interpretations of other postings, and we all should certainly be able to accept it without thinking it is a personal attack.

[dly64]

Ruthlessly...I, for one, did not get the impression that you were berating anyone with your comments.  In fact, I sometimes feel some posting are attacking, and other seem condensending, and occaisonally a "lecture" is probably needed.  So,  continue your comments and do not apologize for them.  This is a site for posting your thoughts, opinions, comments and interpretations of other postings, and we all should certainly be able to accept it without thinking it is a personal attack.

2robots4u -

Ruthlessly has left us and many of us are very sad. Just enjoy your time here and ignore anyone who rubs you the wrong way. I love this board and I know you will, too.