An Analysis of Brokeback Mountain Essay

Annie Proulxs Brokeback setting is a tragic story of forbidden love. It chronicles the ro gentlemans gentlemance between Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, devil cowmans who fall head over heels for each other in the pass over of 1963. Their relationship endures for twenty years, never fully resolved, never fully permit go of, and constantly surrounded by fear, confusion, and above all, by love. Brokeback Mountain depicted a story that was some(prenominal) accurate in its impersonation of queerness in the setting of its story, and in making it relatable to queerness and oddity today. Later, when turned into a movie, it broke even much barriers, and furthered its social effects on Hollywood and Society.Brokeback Mountain accurately describes the attitudes of society towards homosexuals in the 1960s, specifically of those that live where the story took place. In the 1960s, police raids of cheery bars were r turn upine, and passing violent. The stigma associated with even the idea of being homosexual was crippling. It was considered a disease, and looked polish up upon severely. save finally, the human being rights movement was gaining its footing. During this time, influenced by the model of a war interchangeable black civil rights movement, the homophile movement, as the participants dubbed it, became more visible. Activists, such as Franklin Kameny and Barbara Gittings, lookout stati unmatchabled government agencies in Washington to protest discriminatory employment policies. But the confederation, the setting of Brokeback Mountain, was very different.Although these were gravid steps towards equality, many states in the south and west were very far behind. The treatments of brisks shown in the story were painfully accurate. At one point, when Ennis and Jack reunite after(prenominal) four years, they fear what would fall out if they got caught. Ennis tells Jack the story from his childhood, saying There was these two antiquated guys spread headed unitedly overpower home, Earl and Rich- Dad would pass a remark when he seen them. They was a joke even though they was pretty tough old birds. I was what, nine years old and they found Earl dead in a irrigation ditch. Theyd took a tire iron to him, spurred him up, drug him around by his dick until it pulled off, just bloody pulp. What the tire iron applye looked wish pieces a burned tomatoes all over him, nose tore down from skiddin on gravel. (29)Incidents like this were not uncommon in the 60s, and as horrifying as it seemed to read this passage in the book, what made it worsened was the Proulx was in no way exaggerating, but rather relaying the harsh rightfulness of the events that would occur during this time. Brokeback Mountain is still relatable to by many people, especially by those that dejection identify with the characters in the story. Wyoming, the state where Ennis and Jack met, is in an scene of action of the United States that is still not completely sup portive of the gay rights movement. In an article published in The New York Times in 2005, after the release of the film based on Brokeback Mountain, many people who determine as homosexual came forward to speak about their experiences. They grimly speak about the intolerance they still face, and Derrick Glover, a 33 year old gay rancher said, Where I live, you screwt really go out and be yourself. You couldnt go out together, two guys, as a couple and ever be accepted.It wasnt accepted in the past, its still not, and I dont think it ever allow for be. Glover came from a family of ranchers, and his family had herded the lands around their home for generations. He grew up herding, branding, culling and haying, horses hobbled on picket lines and calves pulled forcibly from their mothers bodies during spring calving, and every summer he would set out with his brother in a panel truck carrying their two quarter horses, to compete in calf and steer catch competitions. His tale soun ds just like that of Jack and Ennis, growing up and intimate nothing but being a puncher, but just like Jack and Ennis, he would never have been accepted for who he was. Because of this, he was leaving his home and moving to an bea with more people and more tolerance. This situation, oddly reminiscent of Stephen in The Well of Loneliness, is something that occurs shockingly often.At one point in the story, Ennis declares, I aint queer, despite the feature that he had sex with Jack. He ref apply to acknowledge that he could possibly be a homosexual, and that somehow, maybe, he could be falling for another man. Ennis is more male of the two, and in declaring his homosexuality, even to himself, he would be losing an aspect of his masculinity. Ben Clark, another man who spoke of being growing up on a ranch and being gay, said of it, But I had no idea what to do about it, ever. I was raised in a ranching, rodeo world wrangling, pugilism horses, riding bucking stock, working in hun ting camps but always with the ace that I had to conceal who I was because cowboys could never be gay. Cowboys have always been seen as men who are rough and wild, who face nature with shadow faces and no fear, men whose masculinity was literally one of the main essences of their being, and this stereotypically cowboy image is what hinders the acceptance of so many homosexual men in the west. Of this image, Mr. Clark said, I could not accept being gay because of the stereotypes that were drilled into me festive men are e doingally weak.They are not real men. They are like women. This sentiment, unfortunately, is echoed throughout much of the United States, and the rest of the world as wellhead. By showing that these macho, strong, ranch hands and cowboys could be gay, Brokeback Mountain jilted the normative ideas of what is considered queer and gay. It showcased two homosexual men as steadfast men, and didnt attempt to fit them into the stereotypical, effeminate image of gay m en. paederastic men used to be seen as perverts, men who just precious to have sex with other men, but Brokeback Mountain destroys that idea. It shows queerness and homosexuality as what it truly is- love. It showcases the intense affection one person can have for another, regardless of their gender. In 2005, Brokeback Mountain was turned into a movie, and was met with great approval. Starring Jake Gyllenhall and Heath Ledger, the movie went on to receive many awards, including one-third Academy Awards for crush Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Score as well as four Golden Globe awards for Best drift Picture Drama, Best Director, Best Song, and Best Screenplay and four BAFTA Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best accompaniment Actor (Jake Gyllenhaal).The film as well as received four Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Ensemble, more than any other movie released in 2 005. It was a hit. More than that though, it reached thousands more people than it did as a book. What was once just a short story by a Pulitzer Prize winning author was now a major motion picture being shown all over the United States. It opened up peoples eyes, it started discussions, and it helped profane down barriers in the normative stereotypes of what gay men were. Instead of just imagined characters, Jack and Ennis now had faces put to them, and these faces were well known actors. Leonard Maltin, a film critic and historian, said that Brokeback Mountain was in some uncharted waters, because it shows what its like for two men to experience that kind of longing and passion for each other, and people arent used to thatNo one movie is going to turn things around, but they can be building blocks.That could be this movies legacy. The movie helped in attempting to erase Hollywoods homosexual stereotypes, and to raise consciousness of gay rights. Gay rights groups immediately emb raced the movie after it came out. The Gay and Lesbian bail bond against Defamation (GLAAD) established online resource guides for the movie. The guides had links to two articles and support groups for cowboys and ranchers who identify as homosexual, and who often felt confused and alone in the bark with their sexual orientation. The Human Rights Campaign also joined in, issuing Oscar troupe Kits, with posters of Brokeback Mountain, and cards that read Talk about It to encourage the discussion of gay rights. Brokeback Mountain put a new spin on cowboy stories.It showed the life of two queer cowboys, who could never fully give in to their love. It created a story that could have been plucked straight out of Wyoming in the 1960s, through its accuracy and effectiveness. It was raw and real, and it was unapologetically showed the struggles faced by homosexual cowboys and ranchers, both in the 1960s, and even today. The movie of the same name attempted to break down barriers in Holly wood, and it spread the story of Jack and Ennis even further, hypothesis more peoples eyes to the reality of queer relationships, and how they dont always fit into certain molds. Brokeback Mountain is a guileless piece of queer literature, one that will continue to be both authentic and relatable for years to come.