It's happening ..

[Cameron]

And then there's me.  I've seen it about 25 times and spent hour upon hour discussing it here, and I'm not even close to being tired of either!

I am so glad, so that there are some 'old-timers' here to talk to us newcomers!!!

[Scott6373]

I am so glad, so that there are some 'old-timers' here to talk to us newcomers!!!

And it's good to have some fresh perspective

[ednbarby]

I am so glad, so that there are some 'old-timers' here to talk to us newcomers!!!

Yes, indeed.  And I for one never get tired of forcing my perspective of it upon (I mean sharing my perspective of it with) the newbies! 

Welcome, marlb42, if I haven't said so already!  Like Scott said, I'm always happy to see new folks with new perspectives on it here.  And I really don't mind answering the same questions I've answered before, because we all had them once, too.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Oh, goody. I've been waiting for this moment to bring out my Jack-was-a-top-at-the-Siesta-Motel argument, just waiting for you to run out of steam!!

Little Darlin', you want a believe Jack Twist was a top, and Ennis Del Mar took "it" up the you-know-where, you go right ahead. Ain't gonna bother me none.

[Ellemeno]

I think Katherine's use of the phrase "saturation point" is a good one.  I became a Brokie in October 2005, and since then I've had waves of of what I focus on, and kinda focus on, don't focus on, and refocus on.

In late summer I actually didn't visit the Open Forum for a couple of months.  I just didn't have it in me, for whatever reason, to do the analysis.  And there was some really great analysis going on then, and I knew it, but couldn't jump in.  Over the last month or so I've been enjoying some of those threads I never read.

Some people seem to reach saturation, and just leave, either loudly or silently.  So far, I reach saturation, and I goof around for a while.  So far BetterMost has been able to provide me with enough variety of experiences that I can analyze or not and still have a good time.

As for Our Duty to Those Who Have Come After Us, I think the same applies.  I am delighted the new folk are here and participating.  If I come on here tomorrow and the top threads are all like "What did Ennis say at the end?" and "Did you catch the moustache continuity error on Jack?" that'll be okay.  And I won't feel the need to be the one to "explain" anything, and I bet someone else will.  The post that made me think the most this week was by a newbie, marlb42.  Thanks. 

[Daniel]

It is strange, but after my book, I have done little analysis. The only thing I am continually going over in my mind is how similar TS2 is to the second chapter of Dark Night of the Soul and what that means. There are certain things that this film led me to look at in more detail than I would have ever thought that I would want to. I am glad now that I have followed the paths of consciousness the film led me down, but I cannot find it in my heart to go back up to the top and find new ones. Sometimes people ask me what I think a certain scene means, and in correlation with the remaining themes that I've discovered: Love, Beauty, Truth, Wisdom, Spiritual Communion, Redemption.... Eros, Thanatos, Happiness, Individuality, Sexuality... These are the broad and narrow themes that I can find recurring over and over again in various scenes... Once we've discovered it once then, haven't we explored it already.

I think we have much to thank from Casey Cornelius's work in bringing classical symbols to the forefront. The Aeneid, in the few years after it came out, was heralded by the Roman Republic as a vast and important work, and many believed it to be so, and had deep emotional connections with it. Within a few years, this emotional connection had faded somewhat as the people of the Roman Republic (now bound together in the spiritual focus of their people, the fate of the Roman Empire, as made clear by the Aeneid) went about their daily lives. In fact, it was really only preserved completely in the temples and governmental institutions of the day, since it was their powers that the text legitimized.

The point that I am making is that it may be that each generation can only deeply become imbedded in a subject once before finding their way out again, their lives being made better by the experience. Future generations will discover its meanings and discuss them much the same as we have today and future lives will be vastly improved, and there is great hope and joy in that thought.

[serious crayons]

Malina, who is a member here but more active on imdb, posted something there comparing Brokieism to religious faith. I wish I could find it, because I'm sure I can't put it as well as she did, but of course you can't search the boards at imdb ...    Anyway, as with religion, people tend to get very passionate and excited and intent on talking about it when they first discover it, but as they go along they gradually internalize it and, while they may not discuss it as much or even think about it as constantly, it becomes a permanent part of their outlook, a lens through which they view the world.

So far BetterMost has been able to provide me with enough variety of experiences that I can analyze or not and still have a good time.

Very good point. There are all kinds of fascinating discussions going on here, many of them not about the movie, many the sort that I probably would find nowhere else but here.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I've seen it 17 times and am worried about getting bored, but I know people who watched it well over 100 times without that happening.

At least, thank God, I'm not bored with the film. Of course, I don't watch it that often, which might have something to do with not being bored--or not--because it seems I rarely have a block of more than two hours of time to sit down and watch anything anymore without having to multitask--and I will not multitask when I'm watching Brokeback Mountain--that would be like hammerin' on a cell phone in church.

But these days when I do watch, like this past Sunday evening, there are no more tears, there is no more angst. The film now has the familiarity of a beloved friend, and I just sit quietly, suffused with pleasure at the beauty of it.

[Meryl]

At least, thank God, I'm not bored with the film. Of course, I don't watch it that often, which might have something to do with not being bored--or not--because it seems I rarely have a block of more than two hours of time to sit down and watch anything anymore without having to multitask--and I will not multitask when I'm watching Brokeback Mountain--that would be like hammerin' on a cell phone in church.

But these days when I do watch, like this past Sunday eveing, there are no more tears, there is no more angst. The film now has the familiarity of a beloved friend, and I just sit quietly, suffused with pleasure at the beauty of it.

Beautifully put, Jeff.  That's how it is for me, too.  And I find I have to be careful about turning on HBO when I notice that the film is playing, because there's no way I can bring myself to turn it off and do something--anything--else. 

In a similar way, I have to be careful about visiting BetterMost.  It's hard to stop until I've caught up with all my threads and seen what my buds are up to.  Phillip in his wisdom has made this a place that's gone beyond the film to become a kind of warm social club that has no exclusions and no limits.  I treasure it, and I hope all the newbies come to appreciate that aspect of it, too, as they get used to posting and moving around through the forums. 

[serious crayons]

I will not multitask when I'm watching Brokeback Mountain--that would be like hammerin' on a cell phone in church.

Me neither. In fact, I wait until I'm alone in the house, tilt the TV so there's no window glare, position the chair right in front of the screen, stock up on beverages and hit PLAY. I don't even like to pause it, if I can help it.