Discongruency in Brokeback Mountain

[Front-Ranger]

I took careful notes on my way back from Bay City, Michigan. But, I seem to have misplaced theml However, I remember what I wrote about, and I'm goin to talk about it on this thread!!

[Front-Ranger]

Where to begin? I guess Aguirre is as good a place as any.

After the descent from the mountain, Aguirre looked at the flock and said, "Some a these never went up there with you." So, there were some extra sheep. But then it says that the count was not what he'd hoped for either. Meaning, the count of the sheep was lower than it should have been? Go figure.

[serious crayons]

Where to begin? I guess Aguirre is as good a place as any.

After the descent from the mountain, Aguirre looked at the flock and said, "Some a these never went up there with you." So, there were some extra sheep. But then it says that the count was not what he'd hoped for either. Meaning, the count of the sheep was lower than it should have been? Go figure.

Well, I've always taken that to mean he could tell from the paint marks that some of the sheep didn't go with them originally, but also that they were missing a few that DID. In other words, Aguirre is saying that in a disquieting way, everything seemed mixed.

[Fran]

Aside from the one sheep that fell victim to the pack of coyotes, there most likely were others.  Ennis and/or Jack weren't with the sheep all the time, especially at night when the herd would be most vulnerable.  But even if one of them was sleeping in the pup tent, they'd still have to sleep at least part of the night.  Plus, the herd is spread out over a large area.  It'd be difficult to watch everything all of the time. I'd expect some sheep to die of natural causes, too, over the course of the summer. 

Joe Aguirre appears to be the type of boss that wouldn't be satisfied unless all of his sheep came back, and what were the odds of that happening?

[David]

Indeed.  Not only was the count low, but he could see the incorrect paint markings on the mixed up sheep.    So he knew the boys were not doing what they were suposed to be doing.   And he saw that with his own eyes too.     He of course figured with two men up on the mountain and one sleeping with the sheep that the loss to wolves would be less.

[Fran]

Part of the difficulty separating the mixed-up sheep was due to the fact that the paint brands were worn off or faint that late in the season.

I like to think that Jack and Ennis tried their best to remove Joe's sheep from the herd of Chilean sheep -- in the story it took them five days, so it was a huge effort -- but if the brands were completely worn off, it'd be an impossible task. They'd just be guessing as to whether those brandless sheep were from Joe's herd or the other herd.

If the brands were faint, at least they wouldn't have to rely on guesswork.  Still, it would be difficult to separate them because they'd have to closely examine each and every sheep, which would be more time-consuming than, say, just glancing at the sheep (if the brands were clearly visible) and removing the ones that obviously didn't belong.  The task would be made even more difficult by the sheer number of sheep, and the sheep probably weren't that cooperative.  The fact that the Chileans didn't speak English further complicated things.   It was a huge mess any way you look at it.

 He of course figured with two men up on the mountain and one sleeping with the sheep that the loss to wolves would be less.

And fortunately for Joe, he didn't lose another 42 sheep to lightning.

[Front-Ranger]

Okay let's talk about discongruency in titles, starting with, what else. Brokeback Mountain. When I think of mountains, I often think about the Continental Divide, which is like the "spine" of the Americas. The Continental Divide is typically the highest region of the Continent, where rivers run in opposite directions to the seas. So, Brokeback Mountain presents an image of discongruency, the spine of the continent which is broken. Brokeback also connotes weakness, while mountain connotes strength.

It is interesting that in Central Wyoming, there are actually two Continental Divides, one over near the Bridger/Teton ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and another further to the east. (Now all of you geologists feel free to come in here and elaborate, correct, whatever) Between them is a high plateau, the "Muddy Gap" and the Wind River Valley.

[Front-Ranger]

Was it the discongruency in Brokeback Mountain that drew the auteur of "Lust, Caution" "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Sense and Sensibility" to the project??

[Front-Ranger]

Okay let's talk about discongruency in titles, starting with, what else. Brokeback Mountain. When I think of mountains, I often think about the Continental Divide, which is like the "spine" of the Americas. The Continental Divide is typically the highest region of the Continent, where rivers run in opposite directions to the seas. So, Brokeback Mountain presents an image of discongruency, the spine of the continent which is broken. Brokeback also connotes weakness, while mountain connotes strength.

It is interesting that in Central Wyoming, there are actually two Continental Divides, one over near the Bridger/Teton ranges of the Rocky Mountains, and another further to the east. (Now all of you geologists feel free to come in here and elaborate, correct, whatever) Between them is a high plateau, the "Muddy Gap" and the Wind River Valley.

Here is a photo I took while travelling south through the spectacular Wind River Canyon. It was explained to me that this is an "hourglass" canyon with a very narrow pass. It is unsettling to see the rapids of the Wind River flowing NORTH in this canyon. This is also part of the area where the Continental Divide is itself divided into two.

[Front-Ranger]

I'm moving fast here...hope you can see the connections...

From the book "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A Porttrait of the Ang Lee Film" here are the words of Ang Lee:

"What is the Tao, the 'way?' Of course if you can say it, it's not the real Tao, It's enigmatic, in that it can only manifest itself through contradictions, through the conflicts of the heart rather than through the harmony it seeks."